Olin

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Does anyone have any information about Olin college? I'm interested in engineering, and money is a big issue for me, but Olin seems like it could be a very good value. Does anyone know the details about life on campus? I saw it was rated as some of the happiest students in the country, although there are few of them. I know it's near boston and works with Babson and some of the local colleges, how does the integration work as I'd like to do some work in business as well. How is the rigor of the courseload, I know Cooper Union was criticized as havining extremely tough course load and little social lives of the students. Last of all would I even have a shot to get in based on my stats listed below?</p>

<p>My stats:
3.57 unweighted GPA 4.0 weighted. About the top 7% of the class or so
SAT's M770 CR690 W700</p>

<p>EC:
3 year varsity letter in swimming
3 year NHS
3 year spanish honor society
treasurer of spanish honor society
1 year debate club
volunteer at elementary school
a bunch of those meaningless talent search programs
AP scholar
national merit semifinalist (likely finalist)
maybe a few other things</p>

<p>I'm taking almost the most difficult schedule possible at my school, with the only AP classes offered that I have not taken being AP spanish and AP art history, while taking honrs everything else that would fit into my schedule. Overall I'll have taken 8 AP classes after this year, nearly all that my school offers</p>

<p>Also in extenuating circumstances my mom just died from ovarian cancer after a 3.5 year battle, and I have some strong essays reguarding my responsibilities with her and family stuff.</p>

<p>Anything you guys could tell me would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>I'm a sophomore at Olin. There are a couple other Oliners who post here (as well as a few Olin parents) so I'm sure they'll also be able to help answer your questions.</p>

<p>You can take classes at Babson. Business isn't something I'm interested in, so I don't know a ton about what classes kids take, but I do know that many Olin students take advantage of Babson's business classes. </p>

<p>Classes are tough. Just how tough they would be for you would depend on your preparation, but most everyone is challenged. Olin students are happy because they enjoy engineering, not because the courses are easy. </p>

<p>Yes, you have a shot. Admission is based on more than just stats though, so it's impossible to say for sure. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>beck86nj, Do you get into Boston at all? Does Olin or Babson offer a shuttle into Boston, or how do you get there? Do you find Olin isolating?</p>

4

<p>hmm, I definitely think I could be interested in Olin, but still ould like to know as much as any of you can tell me. How would the education differ/be better than a large public university, namely University of Florida. Even with the full tuition I would be better off Financially by about 30k by going to UF, would the higher quality education be worth the money? Any knowledge about corporate recruitment at the college being that it's so new?</p>

<p>Also, I know the classes would be tough, any engineering degree would, but for exmple my "insiders guide to colleges" talked of Cooper union (the books from 02 and didn't include Olin) and their serious grade deflation, with the average being a C. Now, For me to go to a college like this I will be turning down a full ride to UF, something that I couldn't get back even if I transfer there, so if I attend I need to know that I would be able to graduate. Working isn't that big of a problem, but I don't want to kill myself just to stay in the college, and judging by the SAT scores for Olin it's not gonna be a school I could just skate through due to natural abilities or anything. I'm not necessarily looking for "easy" classes, or I'd be a full on business major, but I want something attainable without killing myself and still having a social life.</p>

5

<p>My daughter has worked very hard at Olin, as is true for most engineering undergrads any where. But there has always been strong support from faculty and other students. From her experience, I would say that everyone at Olin wants to see the all of the students succeed--there's no such thing as a "flunk out" course designed to push people over the edge. </p>

<p>The saying is, "learning to swim in the deep end of the pool."</p>

6

<p>northeastmom: </p>

<p>There are several ways to get to Boston. Many kids have cars on campus, and we have email lists so that people can find out when others are going to go do something interesting and tag along if they want. The commuter rail has a stop in Needham within walking distance, so you can get into the city that way. Also, there's a T stop (Eliot) that's a short drive away from Olin. </p>

<p>Olin is only as isolating as you make it. Getting off campus frequently is more important for some students than for others (simply because of differences in personality) but generally people seem to be able to strike a balance of Olin/ life outside of Olin that works for them, especially those who make it a priority.</p>

7

<p>gatordan: </p>

<p>Many prospective Olin students are in your position. I'm from New Jersey, so in my case it was Rutgers that was the cheaper alternative. </p>

<p>I think Olin is worth it for several reasons. First of all, you'll face very difficult classes, but you'll have tons of resources to help you. As chrisd mentioned, you won't get the 'look to your right, look to your left, one of you won't be here in a year' lecture. Everyone wants you to do well. Other reasons? Small classes. Teachers who always have time for you. A campus where everyone knows each other by name. Brand new dorms. An extremely interesting student body. An honor code that creates trust. </p>

<p>I realize you asked some other questions, but I have a meeting with my Matsci prof now... I'll post the rest of what I wanted to say this afternoon.</p>

8

<p>Ill also get to what I wanted to say sometime tonight... Ive got project work time now, but after that ive got a free hour. If you come up with questions, ask</p>

9

<p>Ok.
What is there about Olin. Ill mostly say why I am here. I am here because of the people. We have the most amazing students, professors, and staff around. Professors know your name. They know when you email them asking for help, they reply. The students are amazing. Everyone has some other passion than engineering. Cars, Bikes, Music, Art, Dance. You name it, we probably have it. Our staff is also amazing. Any one of them will help you out if you need it. Ive not found one yet that bites. </p>

<p>And Ill agree with Becky that Olin is worth it for all of those reasons. Its one amazing place that tosses you into the deep end to learn how to swim, but you become a really good swimmer. Im already seeing how much more Im learning and its only semester one.
Ive heard people say you dont have to do the hand holding with Olin kids that you do with some other schools engineers. and that Ill vouch for. Take this past week. A group of us entered a design contest for fun. Wrote up a proposal and sent it in. We were the only college group to enter and we did it all on our own. There was no professor saying "now, do this" it was completely self directed. It was really cool. It showed me how much Ive learned and how much I have left to learn. </p>

<p>I am a frosh here so if you have questions about that, send them my way, Ill be more than happy to answer.</p>

10

<p>reguarding the money, hos is the jobmarket when you get out compared to other state schools? I realize taht this is actually the first graduating class, so there wont be much data on this yet, but is there significant recruiting on campus? Any idea's about the level of job's when you get out, if the pay scale is significantly higher than that of state schools and such?</p>

11

<p>I just found out it may be too late for me to attend Olin anyways, due to my plans on attending UF I had never taken SAT II tests, which online the deadline is december, and I can first register in Jan. I emailed the dean in hopes of making an exception or something, but I may be out of the running for that alone.</p>

12

<p>If I remember correctly we had a few kids start the year with job offers. We also have a lot do internships every summer, Im even working on getting stuff together to apply for one.<br>
<a href="http://careers.olin.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://careers.olin.edu/&lt;/a> has some good infromation for this type of stuff.</p>

13

<p>When my daughter was looking at engineering programs, most told her that she could probably get an internship after her sophomore year. After her freshman year at Olin, she got a summer internship with GE Power Systems. I think the skills she learned during her freshman year at Olin, listed on her resume, made the difference.</p>

14

<p>I heard back from the Dean already, they will excuse my lack of SAT II's, but I will still be competing with people with full applications. So I might be at a disadvantage, but it's still possible. So I still have a decision to make, I'm considering applying at the very least.</p>

15

<p>I would encourage you to apply anyway. Who knows what will happen, right?</p>

16

<p>I know its impossible to tell by stats. But Tomboy and Beck86nj what were your stats when you applied, what sort of Extracurriculurs were you involved in? Internships?</p>

<p>I would like to get an idea of a 'pre-olin' student.</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

17

<p>Nevermind with the question above.. I saw your answer on the other forum. Thanks!!!</p>

18

<p>Just know that no two 'pre-Olin' students are alike, and that there is not set of things to do to be sure of being admitted. </p>

<p>Try to relax a little bit... you don't have too long to wait.</p>

19

<p>First, here is some background on Olin:
Total Enrollment for Class of 2009: 77
48 men/29 women </p>

<p>Acceptance Rate: 24%</p>

<p>65% recognized by AP Scholars Program | 40% National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists</p>

<p>Average GPA: 4.2/4.0 Scale </p>

<p>Middle 50 percent of SAT scores: 1450–1550 </p>

<p>Ethnicity: 21 percent identify themselves as students of color </p>

<p>40% Academic Team Captains | 22 Student Government Officers
60% Community Service Participants | 9 FIRST Participants
40% Involved in Theater | 10 high school publication editors
51% Musicians | 1 Junior Olympic Medalist (swimming)</p>

<p>Representing 27 states, the class of 2009 will mark the first time in Olin history that four “complete” classes reside on the Olin campus – freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The class of 2009 is academically gifted with several AP Scholars, National Merit Scholarship finalists and academic team captains. The class is passionate about activities outside the classroom, including community service (60%), athletics (45%), music (51%) and student government (35%). The class includes several students with unique accomplishments – state bowling champion, world Lego building champion and an ultralight flight instructor.</p>

<hr>

<p>PRINCETON REVIEW RANKINGS:</p>

<h1>1 for Best Quality Of Life (#2 is Stanford)</h1>

<h1>1 for Lots of Race/Class Interaction (#2 is Rice)</h1>

<h1>2 for Dorms Like Palaces (Most technologically advanced dorms in the country)</h1>

<h1>2 for Professors Accessibilty</h1>

<h1>2 for Best Campus Food (Cornell was #4 I concur on that one!!!)</h1>

<h1>3 Intercollegiate Sports Unpopular Or Nonexistent</h1>

<h1>4 Their Students Never Stop Studying (Behid #1 Reed, #2 Webb, and #3 CalTech)</h1>

<h1>4 Town-Gown Relations Are Great</h1>

<h1>5 The Toughest To Get Into (Behind HPY & MIT)</h1>

<h1>8 Best Overall Academic Experience For Undergraduates</h1>

<h1>8 Professors Get High Marks</h1>

<h1>12 Gay Community Accepted</h1>

<h1>14 Stone-Cold Sober Schools</h1>

<h1>16 Dodge Ball Targets</h1>

<h1>17 Best College Theatre</h1>

<h1>20 Got Milk? (Almost Beerless campus)</h1>

20

<p>What do you talk about in the group discussions at Canidates weekend?</p>