Pros and Cons of Olin

SimpleLife · 10-13-2009, 08:57 PM

Can anybody who has first-hand knowledge of Olin tell me the pros and cons?
What do you really like about it? What could be better? My son is interested, but we know so little about it.

susgeek · 10-13-2009, 09:28 PM

We are also interested. It is my son's first choice.

We are going to open house on the 25th -

Olin College : Admission : Fall Open House

SimpleLife · 10-14-2009, 02:18 PM

Gosh, that sounds good. We live so far away, I don't know if we can make it because it will require 3 days, including travel. Will have to check son's schedule. Thanks for the info!

siusplau · 10-14-2009, 07:53 PM

Parent of an Olin '12er here. I will try to take a stab at this, but I'm not sure it will be the best--since DS is so happy we never hear from him! However, we are about to head up for Family Weekend, so maybe I'll add more next week.
Pros: Great professors and lots of close student-faculty interaction
Innovative Do-Learn curriculum--project-based classes
Highly motivated students with a wide-ranging variety of talents and interests--students teach each other
Fantastic facilities--and you can use them for your own projects!
Close-knit student body (for some this is a negative--my son loves it--he says he never gets tired of talking to fellow students)
High level of confidence/respect given to students from faculty/administration--can really get invoved and influence the college's future
Students love the fact that they are being trailblazers
Great dorms/food/etc.
Students really learn to work in teams and present themselves well because they are always doing that in classes and at Expo--they learn the entire creative problem-solving process--skills that never go out of style!
Great location
Co-curriculars, Passionate Pursuits, and you can start just about any group you and at least one other student want to join!
Enterpreneurial opportunities and The Foundry!

Cons: Still relatively unknown in the world, so their connections might not be as good as another school's BUT for the amount of time they have been around, they do quite well with placements AND students really have to hone their "pitch" for the school.
You need to want want they offer--you can't decide to be a Philosophy major! BUT there are certainly plenty of great offerings with Wellesley and Babson close by and in partnership
You're not going to see big "acts" (music/speakers etc.) coming by--but there's plenty of stuff available in greater Boston
You have to know that you will be OK within such a small milieu

SimpleLife · 10-14-2009, 10:13 PM

Wow. Thanks, siusplau, for such a great explanation of the pros and cons. You really lined it all up for us. Appreciate it!

What does your son do in his free time? (Does he HAVE much free time?)

siusplau · 10-14-2009, 11:07 PM

Well. he has less free time than last year, and I imagine that the workload will continue to intensify. But the interesting thing is that so much of what he does in his free time is all wrapped up with learning.
I don't want to identify him so I'll throw out lots of things he and his friends do. Many are involved in drama or music, or do college council type things. Some teach co-curriculars like photography or cooking, some take co-curriculars in puzzle-solving or sewing for engineers. Most do community service, like First Robotics or Habitat for Humanity or Engineering Discovery. They like to unicycle and do Fire Arts (dancing with fire sticks or chains).
Lots of times they get involved in projects like trying to figure out how something works and then tweaking it, or coming up with a business idea. Sometimes if they get deeply into a personal project, they can present that at Expo, even though it's not something they did for class. Expo is once each semester where every student has to make a presentation (like a poster session) and people from industry, professors and other students come around and listen to them.
They like to make things--like elaborate Halloween costumes or dorm decor etc.
They have bikes you can borrow to go into town or over to Wellesley. They do really random things like drive overnight to Maine or Canada. Or making a slip n' slide, or go rafting on the Charles. Sometimes they go to a rock climbing place. They play Ultimate Frisbee and dodgeball and practice fencing. There are plenty of gamers!
They watch a ton of movies and teach each other foreign languages.
They do have parties--typical college stuff, and a lot of them take swing dancing or other types of dance.
They go into Boston for various things--just out to dinner or games or museums.
Some have research positions or campus or even local jobs, and several work on businesses in the Foundry.

He is very, very busy--but is profoundly happy! I think it sounds like a blast, but it might sound like not a lot of fun to many of my friends' kids who are into the more typical college experience of football games and frat parties. I think if it suits you--you will know!

susgeek · 10-15-2009, 10:01 AM

siusplau, my son would fit right in there!

We are so excited to visit next weekend and hopefully my son will be accepted there next year. He also loves theater and music and is not much of a partier - and of course loves those video games

SimpleLife I hope you can make it to the open house!

susgeek · 10-15-2009, 10:37 AM

BTW, SimpleLife is your son a Junior or a Senior? My son is a HS Junior this year. He is interested in Materials Science @ Olin.

SimpleLife · 10-15-2009, 08:52 PM

My son is also a junior, susgeek. I don't think it will be possible to make it for the open house. But just maybe. I saw the Oct 21 deadline.

siusplau, the activities you described would be right up my son's alley, too! None of my kids are into the football/frat party/drinking thing at all. They like to spend their free time doing just the sorts of things you described. That makes me REALLY want to get up there for the open house and check it out! Maybe it'll work out.

Olin sounds like a really neat school -- different.

And, from the way you described it, it sounds like the kids have plenty of free time since they can be involved in all those sorts of things!

siusplau · 10-16-2009, 09:49 AM

I also forgot to mention one great pro: almost 50-50 gender equality!!

And another thing that some of them do is get involved in various competitions; some of which are long-term committments like the Darpa Mini Baja or Human Powered Vehicle teams, and others which come up quickly and a group gets together. Last year, a team won the Stanford Global Innovations Tournament, and this year, a co-curricular team is going to compete in Microsoft's Puzzle Challenge. There are more, but I can't think of them offhand.

lotsofquestions · 11-02-2009, 08:24 PM

As the parent of an Olin class of 2011 son, I'd echo everything said by Siusplau. The school is amazing, no other word for it! The people (both faculty and students) are what make the school so special. Olin is filled with a student body of academically talented folks who are also exceptionally kind and personable. As my son said during his first semester, "mom, we're all geeks but we're socially adept geeks". How true... the spirit of collaboration and respect on the campus is remarkable and unlike the competetive spirit I hear about at some other schools.

My son isn't sure that he wants to pursue engineering once he graduates, but he has such a love for Olin that he has never expressed an interest in transferring. He took a class at Wellesley last year, is biking to Brandeis for a class this semester, and will be studying abroad next semester. Life there has been very good for him and I have been thrilled with the experience my son's having there. My daughter is taking a gap year before she starts at a small LAC in the fall of 2010 and my hope is that she'll be as happy with her college choice as her brother is with Olin!

SimpleLife · 11-02-2009, 09:13 PM

Wow. You paint a great picture of Olin. We've got to get out and visit that place!

susgeek · 11-02-2009, 11:45 PM

My son is a man of few words, but after open house, my daughter-in-law asked him what he thought of the school. He simply gave it a thumbs up

conundrum · 11-14-2009, 03:41 PM

There is a video that was produced by an Olin '06 student called, "The Olin Experience." It really captures the spirit of Olin. You should watch it. Just be aware that this video was created when Olin was fairly unknown. It can be found at
Tostie Productions
You can also view some of the other projects this alumnus has been involved in during and since his time at Olin.

sishu7 · 11-15-2009, 08:47 PM

As a current freshman (who is absolutely loving my Olin experience), I can simply echo what has already been posted. I would say the biggest pro is the sense of community here--it leads to a very safe and supportive environment. Whether it's getting homework in, baking each other cakes, or making sure others don't do stupid things while drunk, we really watch out for each other and ensure everyone's experience is positive.

About gender equality . . . not all the girls in our class are thrilled about outnumbering the boys. The boys, however, are very pleased!