<p>One of my friends was trying to decide between MIT and Rice, so I figured it couldn't hurt to get some feedback on my college decision too. Besides, this forum's been lacking in Olin-related threads.</p>
<p>My parents have been telling me to make my decision w/o worrying about the costs, but if Stanford's financial package is any indication, we'd have to pay around 20-30k per year, and w/ my family's shaky financial status (dad has contract job, etc), it'll surely make things pretty difficult the next few years. </p>
<p>With regard to Olin, I absolutely love the atmosphere it gives. I've attended TAMS (small school in Texas that lets me take my final 2 years of HS at the University of North Texas), so I really like the small, closely-knit community that Olin offers. The Olin professors (though maybe not world-renown) were extremely open and helpful with everything, while those I saw on my visit to MIT seemed a bit more unapproachable (if that makes sense). </p>
<p>As for careers, engineering's obviously my top choice (possibly double in mechanical/electrical), but seeing as how I'll actually have a minor in math from college credits after this semester, the additional academic options that MIT has over Olin seems pretty appealing (I have some interest in architecture too). However, I'm not looking to become a researcher or professor, so I'm drawn to the practical aspect of Olin's curriculum.</p>
<p>From my viewpoint, 4 years down the road, it'll seem more impressive for me to graduate from MIT, but I really think I'd accomplish more at Olin.</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? MIT all the way; this is the easiest choice anyone could make. It is obviously the best university in the world for engineering, and you have Cambridge AND Boston (the best college town in America, I have been there 5 times) at your fingertips. Please do not give up this opportunity; it will pay off monetarily and academically. Stop talking about the "feel" of Olin; that's ********.</p>
<p>I'd choose Olin in a second. Maybe this is more rare, but for what you want in a school, Olin will serve you VERY well. MIT will offer perhaps more connections, but people make Olin sound like a lousy school sometimes. It's fantastic as you know! My friend who's going to Olin didn't apply to MIT mostly because she loved the practical apsect of Olin's education.</p>
<p>Ultimately I think you ought to choose the school that makes you the happiest. That, to me, is the most important consideration. I also don't think you ought to make your choice based on the impression you'd make on the average person -- choosing a college based on prestige is just asking for trouble.</p>
<p>For the record, I don't think MIT's an "ivory tower" sort of school -- plenty of people who want to become actual engineers come to MIT, not just people who are interested in the academic life. And although MIT is a bigger school than Olin, the residence selection process does ensure that you'll be placed in a small, close-knit community; community certainly isn't something that's lacking at MIT.</p>
<p>dude, it sounds like you've already made your decision. It seems that you've already considered both sides of it and came to the conclusion that that what you will lose in breadth of education and experience (architecture, humanities, athletics, social atmosphere, urban setting, research, diversity of interests) you will gain in personal attention (more one on one teaching, more hands-on experience, more tight-knit campus-wide community). Personally, I'd suffocate in a community like that and I'm turned off by hand-holding and I owe my life to the theoretical sciences and can't live without all the fabulous humanities (literature and architecture ones so far) courses I've taken or the people of various interests I've met or blahblahblah. But on the other hand, I prefer lecture/recitation-style learning to small classrooms with a professor taking attendance, whereas I know people who can't stand having any teacher of theirs not know their name. It's all about what you want from college and what you see yourself comfortable with. And for you, it seems like Olin is the better choice.</p>
<p>I've definitely decided where I'd enjoy attending more, but seeing as how MIT's been my dream school ever since I was a kid, it just feels really hard to reject the best engineering school in the nation. </p>
<p>As I've told a lot of my friends, it's like finding a tall, cool glass of milk in the burning desert after years of wandering...and then realizing you're lactose intolerant =(</p>
<p>I got into MIT and Olin this year, and I sincerely wish I loved Olin the way you seem to, because I would go there in a minute if I did. Have you received the list of grad school placement and job offers of Olin grads yet? They emailed it the other day, and if you somehow missed it, PM me and I can forward it to you. The placement is EXTREMELY impressive. Almost 1/7 of the class to MIT, a few to each of the other Ivies and UCs, a kid to Oxford (and to law/business schools as well)... the only thing I thought was under-represented was med schools, but you don't go to Olin to be a doctor anyway. Grad school is more important than undergrad, and you can save a lot of money by doing Olin then MIT, and it isn't the off-handed "oh go there for grad school" assumption as though it were so simple that most people make. With an Olin education, you actually stand a very good chance of getting into MIT for grad, and if you can handle the small size and even like it, then you know what to do... GO TO OLIN!!</p>
<p>Oh and about your analogy... well, it's more like wandering for years in the desert and then finding a glass of milk except it didn't do so well in heat and it smells a bit off. Luckily there's a glass of water next to it... and you didn't really want water because you've been hunting for milk all along, but water will probably taste better and it's more practical because the milk is spoiling.</p>
<p>But of course your analogy was shorter, and most people wouldn't be listening anymore by the time you finish my version of it. ;) Good luck to you!</p>
<p>I don't think you can compare the two schools. </p>
<p>Olin is a tiny school with 30 professors and only a handful of academic courses. It offers almost no resources and employment potential is very limited due to a non-existant alumni network. Besides, it has no graduate school or professional placement records since they have yet to graduate a class. As such, nobody knows how Olin graduates are going to be received in the real world. Olin's strengths lies in the intimate atmosphere and close interaction with faculty. If all you care about is a small and cozy school with lots of faculty interaction, you cannot beat Olin. </p>
<p>However, if you want any of the following:</p>
<p>1) Broad course offerings in mutliple and individual disciplines
2) Strong alumni network
3) A career center with extensive ties with exclusive firms in the Biotech, Pharma, Aerospace, Defense, Investment Banking, Management Consulting etc... industries.
4) An school with an established reputation and track record of success</p>
<p>MIT (or Stanford for that matter), blows Olin out of the water. It is not even close.</p>
<p>There are obvious sacrifices to choosing an unknown school over a giant, but <em>assuming you go to grad school</em>, the prestige is quite sufficient to get you into a top one, in which case the alumni networks are there for you. It's basically like choosing the less prestigious school for merit money, except that Olin truly is not that much less prestigious, only new.</p>
<p>I got into MIT and Olin as well. For me, I came from a really small school like Olin, and I wanted to experience something new so I'm MIT '10. I also felt that MIT was much more diverse even though the percentages are close (MIT just has more people).</p>