<p>Thanks for the thread bump. Interesting stuff! We’ll be counting the days until the candidate announcements.</p>
<p>Things happen in funny ways. DS’s HS has a junior year college fit/evaluation program. Part of the process includes the counselor giving students a card with a random college name. The task is to investigate and report back. These cards are supposed to be assigned at random and encourage looking outside of the well known comfort zone. His counselor (who has been his mentor since Freshman year) grabbed the card originally assigned to DS from the other counselor in the session. Her statement “I’m stacking the deck”…DS is to investigate Olin. His counselor refers to DS as the ‘Renaissance Man’. Until today, I’d never heard of this place…I will be checking back for all information and input with great interest.</p>
<p>Wow–your son has a perceptive counselor! Mine had to introduce his counselor to Olin–but now she knows so much about it, she’s sent one other student there and is poised to recommend it to a couple of others coming up. A “Renaissance Man” is the type who would find it an ideal fit. PM me if you have questions.</p>
<p>This is funny. My D’s college counselor also refers to her as ‘renaissance girl.’ I’m detecting a pattern here 
In part due to my daughter’s interest, her counselor (who I love, by the way) actually went up and spent a day at Olin (we’re not far away). She came back VERY impressed by what they had going there.</p>
<p>That’s wonderful! I wish more HS counselors would take the initiative and familiarize themselves with schools outside the sphere of “usual suspects” 
DS’s counselor (we’re on the east coast) used part a California vacation trip to visit the Claremont Colleges after we told her about them (DH and I are 5C grads), and did the same for Olin. It helped her to write the most helpful recommendation for DS.</p>
<p>I have a lot of respect for the Claremont schools. D came within a hair’s breadth of applying to Harvey Mudd (Pomona was on her list for a long time, too). Frankly, I think she would have done it if she hadn’t been suffering from a pretty severe case of essay fatigue by that point.</p>
<p>After spending a bit of time researching Olin I think this may be a very good fit for DS. He seems to have a talent for the physics/mathematics side of life but also enjoys the social sciences. He’s acknowledged that an strictly hardcore science environment (like MIT, CalTech, Harvey Mudd) is not as compelling as a place with a more mixed attitude.</p>
<p>Yes, he has an amazing counselor. The school supports their staff and requires them to make a certain number of college visits each year. And, because they are with the students for 2 years (DS lucked out in that his homeroom teacher and freshman history instructor is now his college counselor. She’s gotten to know him rather well.) They really get to know their ‘charges’. One of the difficulties they face is getting CA students (and parents) to look out of state. </p>
<p>This is exciting!</p>
<p>Dietz, are you familiar with Princeton Review, and their college guide book and website? They’ve got all these top 20 lists of things like ‘Dorms like Palaces’, and “Professors get High Marks”, etc. Olin is on a jaw-droppingly large number of said lists. It’s actually how it first came to my attention–I was looking over all these lists and thinking “what’s up with this Franklin W. Olin place that’s on seemingly EVERY list??”</p>
<p>“He’s acknowledged that an strictly hardcore science environment (like MIT, CalTech, Harvey Mudd) is not as compelling as a place with a more mixed attitude.”</p>
<p>Our college tours included those schools (and Pomona too, Rayrick). DS liked all three and very seriously considered Mudd. Olin became his strong favorite after Candidate Weekend. In some ways it is more “mixed” than the others (and more project oriented)… but the coursework is still mostly hard cord math/science. It works well for a “Renaissance kid” who also excels at and enjoys the geeky stuff.</p>
<p>Yep, Olin is on a lot of lists. Mudd too. The third “new name” to us was Rose Hulman, also on a lot of lists.</p>
<p>Colorado_mom makes an important point: you should be under no illusions that Olin is not a ‘hard-core science place’. It’s curriculum is still very science/engineering focused, albeit with a hands-on, project-based approach. 30% of students’ schedules are devoted to arts, humanities and social science–the so-called AHS-- though many of those courses still have a science-y slant, I’m told (folks with kids actually at Olin would be in a better position to comment). </p>
<p>If your son wants to take a lot of social science or humanities courses, he’d probably have to look toward affiliated institutions like Wellesley if he were at Olin. While that’s an option, I don’t get the impression that Olin kids manage to find a lot of time in their schedules for that sort of thing. They’ll take a class outside Olin here and there, but it would be quite rare for it to be more than one class per term.</p>
<p>I think Olin may have a more ‘mixed attitude’, in that the kids are well-rounded, generally outgoing, and interested in a lot of different things, but you’re still going to come out of Olin with an engineering degree of some flavor, and there’s less opportunity to decide mid-stream that what one really wants to study is, say, psychology, than at a LAC or university. That aspect of being committed to an engineering degree from the get-go is probably my biggest reservation about the place. Like most 17 year olds, D doesn’t have perfect clarity about what she wants to be when she grows up.</p>
<p>Both rayrick and C_M make good points, Olin is definitely a hard-core engineering place. DS would have chosen Mudd second after Olin. Mudd may even have about the same number of humanities requirements (not sure). Of course, it’s easier to step across the street and take a class at Scripps or CMC etc. (I went to Scripps–and rarely saw Mudders, however). At Olin, maybe a third of students are taking classes at Babson, Brandeis or Wellesley every semester, and their ability to do so is dependent on their own commitment level, as well as arrangement of their schedule. This can be difficult, as Olin classes are long and the work seems never-ending! Several students are fulfilling their AHS requirements and AHS capstone project at Wellesley this year, while others are doing the same at Babson, and some are taking a language at Brandeis.</p>
<p>It’s really the mix of the students and their interests that make it a more balanced place, as well as the opportunity to delve into those interests (via passionate pursuits, extra-curriculars and co-curriculars). The professors’ own interests that lie outside science/math are also shared with students and it sets up a general well-rounded ideal that permeates the place. Groups like the Olin Conductorless Orchestra and FWOP (drama) are well-supported by the school and have a lot of student involvement. Other student initiatives which we’ve seen over DS’ 4 years have been the meat club (BBQ!), a student-run bakery business, film club, art club, dancing classes and circus arts classes. Students may find that it’s easier to do everything some years than others, but they are certainly encouraged to pursue broad interests.</p>
<p>There are also students who graduate every year who have decided to follow a non-science career path (divinity, theater arts, film etc.) But even those graduates have relished their time at Olin and feel that their engineering education has been tremendously valuable.</p>
<p>When people visit Olin, they are usually taken with the fascinating breadth of student knowledge and interests, as well as their outgoing personalities. this is part of what the Candidate weekend process accomplishes. DS, even after 4 years, says he never gets tired of talking to his classmates (and DH and I agree). I encourage you to compare visits at various schools and see for yourself. </p>
<p>It is a leap of faith, however, to know that an engineering degree is the only possible outcome. Is Olin worth the trade-off? Only your child can make that decision for themselves. From an Olin perspective, however, an engineering degree is infinitely applicable, and it will certainly be well-respected worldwide by all types of employers and grad schools.</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone for all this info. I feel a bit overwhelmed.</p>
<p>I do understand that Olin is engineering based. After reading your comments my assumption of a more ‘well rounded’ student body .or maybe a better way to put it is …a student body with diverse outside interests… seems to apply.</p>
<p>Our DD just started her sophomore year. While going through the whole search and application process with her the Princeton/Fisk/Colleges that Change Lives etc. books were lying around everywhere. After her decision was made I placed all these in a deep dark corner. We all needed a rest :). Guess it’s time to pull them out of retirement.</p>
<p>dietz - You’ve got it right… there are diverse interests at Olin, especially so considering it is an engineering schools. </p>
<p>It’s great that you have started exploring the options. Your DD has plenty of time to refine interests, which can evolve over time. Darn, DS took forever honing in on a major. At one point, we decided to just make it a game about what he didn’t want to do. Basket weaving and dance got onto the ‘No’ list quickly… and eventually History. But it was not until late junior year of hs (when we visited CalTech, Pomona and Mudd) that he realized he should eliminate colleges that didn’t at least offer engineering. By then he was pretty sure he was aiming to Engineering or Math or Physics - lucky for us many colleges offered all three. That was not true at Olin, so as Rayrick points out there is a lot to consider.</p>
<p>Figured I would add some thoughts as an alumni…</p>
<p>Olin is “just engineering”. But that being said, the more artsy kids gravitate towards design engineering, the more entrepreneurial kids take more business kind of classes, the kids who like tinkering with cars go MechE, the kids who love chem go engineering with biochem emphasis or materials science. The kids who really like working with people seem to end up more design engineering, starting businesses, or systems engineering. I have friends who have been extremely successful in their law, medicine, and religion graduate programs after their time at Olin. The nice thing about Olin is that we focus a lot more on soft skills like communication, cross-discipline thought, project management, problem solving than some engineering schools. The down-side is we do get a bit less hard-core technical depth than some. Though people who want that usually get more depth through research with profs, REUs in the summer and technical-focused graduate degrees.</p>
<p>One down-side to Olin over a powerhouse state school with good engineering like Purdue or Texas A&M is we do have a smaller network. Olin is best at helping you get jobs in New England, Southern CA, and Portland/Seattle. We have less of a presence in the middle of the country where that big name state school is seen as as natural feeder to many companies. Though big cities like Houston and Chicago tend to find clusters of Olin grads as well. If you have your heart set on living in small-town america, you may want to consider a local school near that small town. Olin students do tend to end up all over. We have a very low unemployment rate even still and the ones that have struggled to find jobs mostly are looking in small geographic areas or are very picky about the exact job they want. But as a parent, I see it as your job to consider the boring things like jobs after graduation that your child may not consider. Olin students get GREAT jobs but not always exactly where you might want them to end up. Though this would probably be just as true for a Mudd or Rose-Hulman grad going far from their schools for jobs.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>"… REUs in the summer…"</p>
<p>?? Research Engineering Universities?</p>
<p>REU = Research Experience for Undergrads
It’s an internship but instead of being in industry, it’s often with a unversity.
[nsf.gov</a> - Funding - Research Experiences for Undergraduates - US National Science Foundation (NSF)](<a href=“Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) | NSF - National Science Foundation”>Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) | NSF - National Science Foundation)</p>
<p>If you are thinking you want to go to grad school you would really benefit from doing an REU. Plus I believe sophomores can get them. If you are thinking more industry, a more typical internship would probably be more helpful as internships often turn in to job offers after your summer after your Junior year.</p>
<p>Joyjoy makes great points about careers after Olin. So far, grads are clumped geographically in the areas she mentions, but that will change as the college becomes better-known and alumni go on to their second jobs (using their work experience to get attention rather than college ties). Also, the soft skills she mentions are the very thing that sometimes attracts employers to Olin grads! </p>
<p>In addition to REUs for grad school experience, some students do research with Olin professors over the summer to deepen their knowledge in things like robotics or materials science or design engineering–things in which Olin doesn’t offer a lot of classes. Then that research may attract employers (or so I hope in the case of DS!)</p>
<p>Joyjoy - Thanks for the insights. Your geographic insights are helpful. In CO, employers mostly know CU and Mines and big name schools. (But like you say, here between the coasts the same was true of “Harvey Who?” and “Rose What?” and “RP-huh?”.) That means a CO internship is a long shot. Darn. </p>
<p>Siusplau - Good hints. DS is looking at Olin summer research… that could work for him this year.</p>
<p>The really cool thing about research at Olin (during the semester or over the summer) is that many Olin students get the chance to get published alone or more often along side a professor while they are an undergrad. This is really rare and will definitely help your chances of getting into a top graduate school.</p>
<p>So happy to see more action on the Olin thread. DS is a SUPER happy Olin freshman counting the days til he can go back home (to Olin). Winter Break ends in about 1 1/2 weeks. He loves his Olin friends, his roomie, his classes and the whole Olin environment. I am a big crybaby, but I don’t cry when he leaves us b/c I know he is going to a place he loves.</p>