<p>I noticed that majority of Olin students who choose to go to grad schools end up at top universities. Can anyone elaborate on what kinds of grades out of Olin are considered acceptable by these universities. If there are other factors please talk about them. Also, with respect to other tough places, how do Olin's grades compare?</p>
<p>“Can anyone elaborate on what kinds of grades out of Olin are considered acceptable by these universities.”</p>
<p>Are you asking for the GPA of Olin students who got into selective grad programs? If so, that data will be difficult to find. Each individual could tell you their GPA and what programs they got into, but since we don’t talk about GPA much among students at Olin, I, for instance, couldn’t tell you or even guess much at the GPA of my friends who got NSF Fellowships except to say they were likely above a 3.0 and below a 4.0.</p>
<p>Our professors say that GPA and GRE scores are often more gates you have to get through to be considered rather than deciding factors at grad programs. They told us recommendations are some of the most important parts and that essays and/or publications are important too, but the amount depends on the kind of program you are applying to.</p>
<p>One of Olin’s strengths is the great faculty to student ratio and the willingness of faculty to get to know students and vice versa. This means that at Olin, unlike at a larger school, there is a very good chance you can find 3 or more professors who know you well as a person and as a student who can write a strong recommendation for you.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thanks, joyjoy1321</p>
<p>I appreciate your response. Over the last couple of years, I have done a lot of research on a number of universities. In the process, I have developed a sense of admiration for Olin and its community. Apparantly, at Olin , rightfully, people care more about learning than grades. Nevertheless, there are times when grades becomes a deciding factor. I am just trying to find out whether grades from Olin carry the same weight as grades from most other schools where they are inflated.</p>
<p>The admissions office might be able to tell you more. Personally, I know so little about what grades other people receive that I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about the level of inflatedness of our grades. I would imagine that other students wouldn’t know much more about this. Feel free to e-mail admissions about this and any other questions you might have; they’re really awesome and helpful.</p>
<p>-Molly '09</p>
<p>Thanks, Molly!</p>
<p>kaman - Actually, we don’t know much more than Molly when it comes to grades/GPA and grad school admission. Again, it’s not really the culture at Olin to talk about grades. However, if you want to learn a bit more about this kind of stuff, I’d recommend heading to the [Post</a> Graduate Planning](<a href=“http://careers.olin.edu/]Post”>http://careers.olin.edu/) page on our website… and although specific data relating to your question probably isn’t there, you can certainly contact the PGP office and ask personally. Sally and Suzanne are super-nice and helpful. :)</p>
<p>~Allison</p>
<p>Maybe an alternative to the GPA question would be to find out how many Olin students got rejected from their top grad school choices and how many got accepted.</p>
<p>I figure, if you find out most or many students got into their top choices, you can assume if you come to Olin and work hard, get good grades, learn a lot, and make connections with professors, you too can get into some of your top choice grad schools.</p>
<p>Just an idea though.</p>
<p>Thanks, Alison!</p>
<p>I will contact Sally and Suzanne. Perhaps they can help more. Since I am pretty sure I will continue after Olin ( hopefully, if I am accepted), I am trying to get a feel for what it takes to keep my options open after I am done with the undergrad. </p>
<p>Thanks, joyjoy1321</p>
<p>The problem is I do not know anyone from Olin. Perhaps You might be able to answer some of my questions. What was your impression from the grading system at Olin. BTW, do you work now or go to a grad-school.</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>“The problem is I do not know anyone from Olin”</p>
<p>Well, I guess I was thinking you could ask on the forums.</p>
<p>“Perhaps You might be able to answer some of my questions. What was your impression from the grading system at Olin. BTW, do you work now or go to a grad-school.”</p>
<p>I am currently working. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life (still not sure), so my Senior year I applied for jobs, graduate schools, and a Fulbright Grant to study in Denmark for a year.</p>
<p>I applied to and was accepted at:
-NC State (MS in Industrial Engineering)
-Georgia Tech (MS in Industrial Engineering (MSIE) with Concentration in Human Integrated Systems)
-University of Southern California (MS Industrial & Systems Engineering)</p>
<p>My Olin degree was Engineering with a Systems Concentration. My GPA was just OK, but I did acceptably on my GREs (760 math, 670 English). I only applied to those 3 programs due to time constraints.</p>
<p>I got job offers at the 2 companies I got around applying to (Raytheon and Lockheed Martin) but didn’t accept either because I decided I didn’t want to work for a defense company.</p>
<p>In the end, I got the Fulbright to study for 1 year in Denmark. I did half of a Masters program called IT Product Design…which is the degree program that inspired Olin’s User-Oriented Collaborative Design class that all students take while at Olin. The Fulbright program is amazing.</p>
<p>That was last year and for now I’m working. I may still decide to get a Masters but probably not until I decide what I want to be when I grow up ;-)</p>
<p>Grading at Olin depends on the class. Your first semester is Pass/Fail. I’m pretty sure its the same at MIT in that regard.</p>
<p>I got all A’s in high school, and 2nd semester at Olin was so difficult I got more than one C! I was in shock. That happens to a lot of students (getting their first B or worse). My GPA increased every semester I was at Olin, not because the classes got easier but because my time management and study skills improved.</p>
<p>I’m sure there were a few students who graduated with a 4.0 but I imagine there can’t be more than a few in each class. There is a bit of randomness to grades at Olin because any time you take a class that is being taught for the very first time, the professors have nothing to grade you against.</p>
<p>At Olin, I know of no teachers that do traditional bell curves where only a certain percentage can get an “A”, etc. If you have mastered the matierial, you get an A, not matter if the rest of the class also mastered it. However, most teachers will curve up a test grade if no one gets an A for example so that 2 people get an A. In general, Olin students are very smart, if everyone gets a C on a test, most teachers assume there was something wrong with either the teaching or the test.</p>
<p>I never went to a different US college, so I can’t compare Olin’s grading against another one. But it was definitely much more challenging than my high school classes, even more so than some AP and Honors classes.</p>
<p>Does this help?</p>
<p>Thanks, joyjoy1321</p>
<p>You are so helpful. I heard that at Olin no one gets all A’s though. Nevetheless, you have answered some key questions I had. I appreciate your response. </p>
<p>Personally, my HS grades are all As too. What I am concerened about is whether I can maintain that in college, persumably at Olin. Since I am sure I want to continue my eduaction, I am trying to find out how my grades will effect my choices. Let’s say if can get better than a 3.5, does that ruin my chances at top schools? I know it depends on other factors. But let’s say my everthing esle is at that level, of course Olin’s standards.</p>
<p>Thanks again</p>
<p>Some people have all A’s at the end of freshman year (I know at least two people who have done this). However, I will reiterate that college is a lot more than getting good grades. I also got all As in high school, but it took me a while to realize that that wasn’t going to be possible for me at Olin if I still wanted to grow as a person and have a reasonable amount of good experiences, which I think is what college is all about. If you really want to go to a top grad school (and this is advice from one of my professors) be passionate about something, go into research, have good relationships with your professors. My GPA is a little lower than 3.5. At this point, I’m not worried; I’m not trying to go into engineering in grad school, but I am looking into very competitive programs. And if I don’t get in, I’ll do something else for a while and go back to it. You don’t need to know yet what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life. Olin prepares you in so many ways to be ready for lif after college: communication, teamwork, project management, just getting along with other people. If you only think about grades, you’re missing a huge part of the picture. Sorry to be such a bore. :)</p>
<p>-Molly '09</p>
<p>Thanks, Crazyyak (-Molly '09)</p>
<p>You pointed out an important point about having a passion. I personally love math and science. I also do understand your other point about growing as a person. I appreciate your frankness and your openness about your grades. Hopefully, you will get accepted to your selected colleges. It seems you are going to change your major. I also noticed some other people from Olin changed their major in grad-schools. I wonder why?</p>
<p>There are people at Olin such as myself who truly value the ideas behind engineering education and believe that a good grasp of problem solving and life-long learning will aid them in careers other than strict engineering. For example, I like learning about such a wide range of subjects that I’d rather go into something where that skill is specifically utilized. Others have found that architecture or design or education or medicine really appeal to them. Of course, I would say that the majority see themselves pursuing higher education in engineering, and hopefully that is what is right for them. Reahing my decisions involved a lot of soul-searching over the past few semesters, including a semester abroad, that I’m really thankful I did before going into my senior year. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>-Molly '09</p>
<p>Thanks again, Crazyyak (-Molly '09)</p>
<p>By the way any info on this year’s grad-school acceptance of Olin’s students?</p>