<p>Hi
My child is really interested in Olin for ee or cs. I know he has sent scores from sat to school but they are not the highest. He has had about 6 semi form letters from admissions but I am not sure if they are really interested or just looking to have people apply. any one know if these form letters should make him helpful?
Thanks</p>
<p>I don’t want to be a buzz-kill here, but there’s generally very little that any highly selective college such as Olin does prior to their application deadline that actually indicates “serious interest”. Obviously, they all have recruitment strategies and will do their best to make plausible candidates aware of their institution (and they have various ways of identifying such candidates–PSAT scores probably being the most important). If your son made it on some top schools’ outreach lists, that’s a positive sign but little more. No amount of glossy catalogs or flattering letters are anything close to a guarantee of admission at such schools, so please don’t have any delusions otherwise. </p>
<p>About the best one can do in terms of determining whether one should be “hopeful” is get as good a read as one can on the type of student that gets admitted to a particular school (grades, class rank, scores, EC’s, etc). If your son falls comfortably in the top half of that range, then you can probably allow yourself to be a bit hopeful, but with any super selective school, there’s pretty much no way to make it all the way up to “confident”. All your son can do is put his best foot forward in his applications, make sure he’s applying to some schools where he’s justified in feeling reasonably confident of admission (not on the super-selective list), and let the chips fall where they may. Trying to read the tea leaves from what amounts to a college’s marketing strategy is a fruitless exercise.</p>
<p>I may be wrong … but it sounds counter that Olin would do an outreach and try to attract a specific student. From everything I’ve read Olin is trying to find students that believe that Olin is a “Good fit”… and figuring that out is a very personal thing. They may send out information just to let students know they exist (I’ve received a couple packages) but they seem to want students that really want to be there. right now I’m not even thinking about acceptance. I just want to get into Candidates Weekend. and even if I make it that far its still not a given that I would get accepted. I’m not exactly sure how hard it is to get admitted but from what I read SATs are very High & GPA is very high…and they are looking for evidence that you “play well with others” . I think the admission stats are skewed since the school is not very well known and it becomes self selecting amongst smart kids. average & dumb kids will apply to Harvard on a hope & a wish … but only kids that know about Olin will apply (and that’s a small group). Olin is on my list but I’m doubt I have a chance. even with a 4.5+ GPA and good SATs. I just haven’t done anything special like invent the toaster.</p>
<p>I believe that the Olin student body is amazing, but most of the students would tell you that they aren’t famous inventors. :-)</p>
<p>Thank you for the reality check.
I know the weekly letters and pamplets from NYU have to do with getting record numbers of applicants.
I went through a similar experience with my other child who was told she would definitely get in to two LAC folllowing interviews and was turned down at both. Luckily UCLA took her.</p>
<p>“I know he has sent scores from sat to school but they are not the highest.” - Olin does not need perfect scores… but still way above average. </p>
<p>The applicants are mostly top students, often also applying to MIT, Stanford, Princeton, etc.</p>
<p>Futureholds-that is a shame if she was really told that. Interviewers, alumni or otherwise, have very little influence on most admissions decisions.Interviews are mostly used as informational and as a "check’ to make sure the applicant is as represented on paper. Some interviewers, however, try to make themselves out to be more important than they actually are, and promise students things they could never actually deliver.</p>
<p>Even if Olin were sending some type of message (which they are NOT), it would mean very little in the long run–even if a student gets invited to Candidates’ Weekend–things could go any which way from there. It’s tempting to speculate, but best to tamp down expectations–sorry. </p>
<p>Best of luck to your student. Just tell them to be themselves–if the fit is there, they have as good chance as someone who HAS invented the toaster ;)</p>
<p>“any one know if these form letters should make him helpful?”</p>
<p>Olin is a “reach” school, and no one should be hopeful, other than always hoping for the best. That said, as long as the application fee is not a hardship, anyone with a serious interest should apply.</p>
<p>I believe grades and test scores get your foot in the door (able to successfully graduate). And, it is the overall person that gets you in (fit, what the person does with their talents, etc.).</p>
<p>Be less concerned about grades/scores, and more concerned about the rest of your child. What are your child’s passions? What has your child done with the talents he has?</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be extraordinary, but it has to show that the person is more than a bookworm. My D was admitted. She did a bunch of the normal geeky stuff. But she did it in a way that showed passion and commitment. Passion that can convey the excitement to other kids. Schools do not want rounded kids. They want ovals. Ovals they can combine into a rounded student body. Passions that can rub off and excite other kids to explore something new.</p>