<p>U.S. News & World Report has ranked Olin College of Engineering as number four in the nationa jump upward of two ranks from last year's positionamong engineering institutions where a bachelor's or master's is the highest degree. The ranking was included in the U.S. News 2014 Best Colleges edition, which was published online September 10.</p>
<p>Olin is listed among the top ranks of institutions widely recognized as the leading undergraduate engineering programs in the nation. Olin shares the number four spot with the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy. Other institutions in the top ten include Harvey Mudd College, Cooper Union, and the U.S. Military Academy.</p>
<p>"We are very pleased that U.S. News has once again recognized the quality of Olin's innovative engineering program," said Richard K. Miller, president of Olin College. "We have committed ourselves in our second decade to becoming recognized as the national leader in engineering education innovation, and this rankingwhich represents the second straight year our standing has risen significantlyaffirms that we are making progress toward this goal."</p>
<p>U.S. News ranks undergraduate engineering programs accredited by ABET. The rankings are based solely on a survey of engineering deans and senior faculty at all accredited programs, conducted during the spring of 2013. Surveys sent to the dean and a faculty member at each accredited program asked them to rate programs with which they're familiar on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished).</p>
<p>Since its inception in the mid-1980s, the U.S. News college ranking, which groups schools based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, has grown to be one of the most comprehensive research tools for students and parents considering higher education opportunities.</p>
<p>It is so exciting that Olin is finally getting its proper recognition from U.S. News and World Reports. The only thing that is frustrating to me is that they always get a few things wrong in their description of the college. First of all they state that 39.5% of all full-time students receive some need based scholarships, with the average need based scholarship at $17,058, but they fail to mention that ALL admitted students currently receive a 50% scholarship. So right off the top the $42,500 tuition is reduced to $21,250 for every student attending Olin. I know that Olin also additionally offers need based scholarships to students in addition to the 50% scholarship, but I can’t vouch for the actual average amount of need based scholarships that students may qualify for. </p>
<p>In addition to this, U.S. News and World Reports states that “Nearly all students live on campus.” As far as I have heard, there have only been two students who lived off campus in the first decade of Olin’s existence, and they were given this exception because they were married. Someone, please correct me if I’m wrong. It really is important for all students to live on campus, since there is so much collaboration on team projects, and students tend to meet all hours of the day and night.</p>
<p>Cunundrum - I believe you are correct about the on campus living. Compared to other schools where housing costs are very unpredictable and many times, very expensive, housing at Olin is comparatively uniform (two dorms side-by-side, two configurations) and fairly determined (by lottery). Also, since Olin does such an amazing job selecting its students, I think there are less negative roommate matches.</p>
<p>One thing to be noted about USN&WR, Olin is considered "Unranked which means that USN&WR does not include schools on one of its major lists (such as national universities or national liberal arts colleges). We are on the Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs list, but this is really a ranking of programs, not of colleges (since most colleges offer programs in other areas). Because Olin is focused only on one area (engineering), we do not qualify for the broader institutional lists, even though our data would probably place us near the top of the rankings. They explain their calculations in the fine print and in their methodology section.</p>
<p>This classification causes us to left out of many “lists” where we would perform favorably including the recent alumni giving report. Our alumni give at a significantly higher rate than any of the schools listed.</p>
<p>It’s also worth pointing out that, unlike their other lists that plug a bunch of data into a ranking formula, I believe the engineering list is based entirely on a survey of folks at other engineering institutions. Olin’s rapid rise reflects it’s rising profile nation wide as more folks become aware of it. My guess is it’s going to keep climbing!</p>
<p>Olin is new, with cutting edge (and ever evolving) teaching methods. So I’ve been surprised how well it does on rankings. Happily surprised - it will help when when prospective employers check out Olin.</p>