<p>My daughter is seriously considering Olin after spending a night there a few weeks back and falling in love with the place. I don't profess to be an Olin expert, in that we're still learning about the school, but today's article about the soul-sucking nature of many STEM (and particularly engineering) programs and the resulting high attrition rate sure made me think of Olin. It seems the problems they highlight in the article (lack of interesting applications; dearth of project-based learning; large, depressing lectures) are exactly what the Olin curriculum was designed to rectify:</p>
<p>I agree–as an Olin parent, it seems to me they should be referencing Olin as the ideal in articles like this. The college is always trying to increase it’s exposure–hopefully, in the future, the Olin name will be synonymous with engineering innovation! If you have any questions–let me know. Good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>I’ll confess that as the parent of an applicant for a very limited number of spots, I’m not especially devastated that the glories of Olin were not broadcast far and wide on the pages of the NYT (but maybe I’m not supposed to admit that) :)</p>
<p>So true… You want it to be a little secret while our kids are applying, but once they get accepted, you want to be able to give questioning relatives something like the NYT magazine article from around 2008 so they can better understand the choice! And then, once your student is at Olin, you want the profile to rise–especially with employers and grad schools etc. :)</p>
<p>I am the very proud parent of an ecstatically happy Olin freshmen who sweated out the admissions process just seven months ago. During the process, we too did not want too many other applicants to find our hidden gem. But as siusplau indicated, once your child is fortunate enough to get in, you want to tell the world. At Olin, we are a family. Please PM me with any questions, concerns or if you just need some handholding.</p>
<p>I consider Olin to be a niche-fit, too small/limited for many student. But my son is really loving it! I like it that Olin does its final cut via mandatory February-ish Candidates Weekend. It gives a very good feel for the collaborative, hands-on approach. That’s when my son (and husband) caught “Olin Fever”. </p>
<p>Interestingly my son had MIT near the top of his wish list before that. An MIT re-visit during classes on Friday right before Candidate Weekend changed that. Other students might have the opposite reaction. It’s all about fit.</p>
<p>Totally agree with colorado_mom. Olin is not right for everyone. There is no sitting in the back of a lecture hall checking your Facebook page or missing classes. Nor are there football games on Saturday afternoon. But if you want a hands-on approach to learning in an environment that treats you like an adult, check out Olin.</p>
<p>My daughter’s pretty convinced that Olin would fit her learning style to a tee. She’s been going to small schools for most of her educational career, and is very accustomed to being a vocal, involved participant in the proceedings. A sit-in-the-back-checking-facebook type she most definitely is not.</p>
<p>She’s applying for sure, and is fervently hoping to make it to the candidates weekend phase of the process, where we’re hopeful that her strong communication skills will put her over the top.</p>
<p>As far as getting to that point, we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed. She’s not one of these kids who’s immersed themselves in STEM-type activities for years. She’s never been on a robotics team; she hasn’t participated in any science Olympiads, etc.</p>
<p>But she’s a bright kid with very strong grades and scores, and she really loves math and science. She’s taking AP Physics C now (they’re doing both the mechanics and E & M parts) without ever having a had a decent physics course before, and, though it’s a significant challenge, it’s her favorite class. Plus, I know that being female helps a lot with admissions at Olin, since they work so hard to keep it close to gender balanced.</p>
<p>How have your kids reacted to the size? Do they ever complain about missing out on some of the opportunites/varieties of experience that are available at more traditional colleges? I think that’s my biggest worry about Olin–my daughter loves to do things like sing and dance and go on outdoor adventures, and I worry that she might feel like she’s missing out in those areas at Olin relative to one of the LACs she’s considering.</p>
<p>Well–singing and dancing and outdoor adventures…check, check, check! Those things all happen at Olin. There are also plenty of speakers and events around the various consortium colleges if you so desire. I would say the main things that don’t happen at Olin that might at bigger schools are a sports event culture and large scale events like bands/comics etc. (and you could still search those out in Boston if you want). But having said all that, Olin students are incredibly busy, and they have so much going on between their classes and other activities that they really have to want something to make the time to venture out. I’m not saying that to scare you off, but it is a fact! Students also can participate in a "passionate pursuit’ off campus, like dance classes, as an example.</p>
<p>As far as the size, that has never been an issue for my Oliner. My husband and I were talking recently with a group of students and they made the observation (in comparison with friends at other schools) that at a big school you find your closest friends in your classes and activities, and the ones you get to know well will be people quite similar to you. You also can only know 20 or 30 well enough to call them friends (despite having hundreds or thousands around you). At Olin, you will know every student at least by sight in a semester or two, and you can get to know many of them closely by working on teams and activities together. Despite being at Olin together, the students are all so different. You really have to get along with everyone–you can’t just avoid someone whose personality you clash with! My son can tell me so much about so many people-- and everyone knows him (when we step on campus, more people come up to us than ever did at his sister’s school, which was only twice as big!)</p>
<p>You reminded me of a great observation an Oliner made to my daughter during her overnight visit that I’ll attempt to paraphrase-- “Well, sure it’s small, but it’s full of pretty much only the cool people you’d actually want to hang out with…” :)</p>
<p>Rayrick - I echo siusplau totally. The size is a positive. My son did not want to go to a school where kids spent their time at football games and tailgate parties. He loves his Olin friends. On his first day home (our house) for Thanksgiving, he said he really missed his Olin friends even the ones he didn’t know that well or like a lot. What could be better? </p>
<p>He is working hard, but when you are enjoying what you are learning you are happy. Olin students vary in their academic background. Some are stronger in math, some physics, some robotics, some programming. By working in teams first semester, they help each other with their strengths. There are also ninjas (TAs) available to help. </p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter. Feel free to PM me.</p>