<p>My goal is to develop a strong engineering awareness and use that as a foundation as I continue my education. I believe we live in a technical world and I would like to fluently speak the language of technology when I enter the real world.</p>
<p>I realize both schools are extremely competitive but if there was a choice between Olin and Cornell which would you pick.</p>
<p>I realize one is big & the other is small. One has sports and lots of activities while the other one does not.... but which electrical engineering program would you pick to prepare you for your professional career.</p>
<p>I sincerely thank you for sharing your thoughts.</p>
<p>I have only read about them. and yes I do realize the admissions process will probably make the decision for me. I hope to visit both schools and if I have good luck I would like to go through “Candidates Weekend” at Olin…and from what I read just getting invited is a huge deal. But I was wondering if any electrical engineers have already thought (or had experience ) with the two schools… Cornell is an amazing school, with a tremendous opportunity to learn in the traditional way and a very broad and rigorous EE program. </p>
<p>Olin on the other hand is much smaller but from what I’ve read it is very demanding, very intense and its a project based format and departs from a traditional teaching environment. The school seems to be huge on their honor code, and they also seem to emphasize collaborative learning.</p>
<p>Both experiences sound great but they are both so different … So I’m hoping someone might have an insight or perspective that they could share.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can get a straight answer without visiting both first.</p>
<p>I’m not applying to Olin since it doesn’t offer Chemical, but I remember its faculty page blew my mind when I looked at it a few months ago. You can’t go wrong with either imo, unless you just find Olin too small.</p>
<p>With 346 students, Olin is smaller than most high schools. We visited Olin and Cornell, among many others and my honest feeling was that Olin is TOO small. Part of college is becoming part of a larger community, expanding your social horizons, learning to find new friends. My husband’s concern was with the long-term financial viability of the school, since it didn’t have an alumni pool to replenish the endowment. The engineering program is certainly innovative and we were impressed with the professors we met. Cornell was amazing, but in a totally different way. Everything about it was different than Olin, but really impressive. My son applied to both…</p>
<p>A friend of my daughter goes to Olin; she’ll be a sophomore in the fall. I asked her about the school this past spring. She loves the school. It’s very challenging but she likes the challenge. I think the project based learning drew her in. </p>
<p>At least visit the school or see if you can talk/chat/email a student.</p>
<p>As an employer and recruiter in the Boston area, I will tell you that in my opinion, Olin is an experiment, and the jury is still out (actually not for me). My company (not my group) has hired several Olin grads, and I’m not aware of any that have really excelled and at least one that really underachieved. Cornell on the other hand is the 2nd best school for EE in the northeast by a pretty wide margin. We hire a lot of Cornell grads, and they come in much better prepared. We even get them after their PhDs (also at top schools). Some of my best interns have been Cornell students.</p>
<p>If Olin appeals to you, consider Cooper Union, or even better, Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>thank you very much for the blunt objective view… that’s what I need.
I looked into Copper Union …and to be honest…that one seemed like the most intensely challenging program of any engineering school I’ve come across. I think I have the grades to get in but I don’t know I could keep a “Cooper Union” pace… that’s funny because I was wondering if MIT was actually a less intense academic experience.</p>
<p>The initial draw on Olin was the high standards for admission and then once you’ve been admitted the switch to a collaborative environment (also intense) but you move through as a team. </p>
<p>My draw on Cornell is just that its an incredibly solid Engineering program that’s surrounded by so many other great programs. the depth is hard to match.</p>
<p>I have a bunch of other schools I was looking at but from what I was reading Cornell and Olin where at the top (and I figure that will change by the time fall comes around)</p>
<p>so far my constellation of possibilities is:</p>
<p>Obvious reaches for anyone
Cornell/ Olin
AF Academy/Westpoint/ Naval Acadamy
Harvey Mudd</p>
<p>safeties are the standard tech safety schools.</p>
<p>MIT & CALTECH would be Graduate school reaches…I was looking for an environment where I could get more attention as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>the academic rigor and expectations appear too intense at Cooper Union. I’ll look closer into it. but I have major respect to anyone who finishes that program. wow.</p>
<p>If you don’t actually want to practice engineering, and are a little intimidated by the hardcore engineering work loads, but want to study engineering to work in the technology industry in some other capacity, you might like Tufts which emphasizes Global Perspectives more than engineering itself. It isn’t the most rigorous, but it’s not designed to be and they are up front about it (ask AdmissionsDan - he gave a great engineering information session which changed my opinion about the place). I think it’s fine for someone who wants to be in the technology industry but doesn’t expect to do actual engineering. </p>
<p>Olin might actually be fine for that direction too. </p>
<p>The really hardcore schools are all going to be extremely rigorous.</p>
<p>thank you for your feedback.
I am strongly leaning in a direction where I serve our country for a few years (+/-10 years).</p>
<h1>1 priority is a very rigorous technical foundation.</h1>
<p>I want rigor …but Cooper Union may be the extreme limit for rigor.
from what I’ve heard there is no other place like it and its a 4 year intense grind … and if you survive then you emerge and rejoin society.</p>
<p>ClassicRockerDad -your perspective on Olin is interesting. It was one of our reservations about the place, it is just too NEW to be a known quantity.
Re: TUFTS - Ummm, I know tons of very successful WORKING engineers that have come out of Tuts engineering. No, it is not MIT, but don’t make it sound like a student graduating from Tufts can’t do “actual engineering”!!!
OP- if you liked the atmosphere at Olin that was more collaborative than cut-throat, then consider WPI. I think it represents a good compromise for you.</p>
<p>… 346 students? My graduating class had many more! I couldn’t even imagine!</p>
<p>I would sit down and wonder if you really want that. Not many people do. If you’re more interested in a typical college experience, maybe look into UIUC, UMich, UC-Berkeley and UT-Austin. You won’t get the same attention as you would at Olin, but still highly reputable engineering+more social opportunities.</p>
<p>Or if you do prefer the smaller setting, Rose Hullman is a solid option too.</p>
<p>What I meant was that if your goal wasn’t to do actual engineering, then you may not benefit from a hard core program, and a lighter program with more of a “Global Perspective” might be more suited to your goals. </p>
<p>It is what it is. Admissions Dan was very straightforward about it in the Engineering Open House. He explained what it was, and more importantly what it wasn’t. He said that if you wanted hardcore engineering with the full breadth of opportunities and technologies, then perhaps Tufts wasn’t for you. I’m not making this up. </p>
<p>There are plenty of successful working engineers who went to Tufts. Many of the ones I’ve interviewed are pretty green and would be well served by going to graduate school first - they didn’t have a lot of skills I normally find from graduates of say Michigan or Illinois or Purdue or even Northeastern. Northeastern graduates because of all of the co-ops, I’ve often found are much more ready to work. I bet there are a lot of Tufts graduates who went on for MBAs who are working as venture capitalists. </p>
<p>I agree that WPI is a good compromise between rigor and “feel good” collaboration. I see a wide range of talent levels among WPI grads. Some are great, some not so great, but all the resumes seem to have great GPAs - makes it hard to distinguish the stars.</p>
<p>Undergraduates at both of these colleges get a great deal of attention.</p>
<p>I’m unclear about your perception of what an engineering/science college should be about and what it means to get attention.</p>
<p>As noted in another post employability after graduation is extremely important. And indeed your first employer is important in the sense that a good first job sets the stage for a career.</p>
<p>Cornell ranks very high among employers in engineering nationally. My sense is that Olin has only a regional visibility.</p>
<p>I would personally choose Cornell over Olin for many of the reasons stated – it is a more nationally known program you will have a more “traditional” overall college experience. I believe that Cornell also has ROTC programs if you want to go that route. However, if you are 100% certain that you want to enter the military, then the academies are certainly worth looking into as they are known to have excellent engineering programs.</p>
and my honest feeling was that Olin is TOO small. Part of college is becoming part of a larger community, expanding your social horizons, learning to find new friends. My husband’s concern was with the long-term financial viability of the school, since it didn’t have an alumni pool to replenish the endowment. The engineering program is certainly innovative and we were impressed with the professors we met. Cornell was amazing, but in a totally different way. Everything about it was different than Olin, but really impressive. My son applied to both…</p>