<p>I go to HMC, but I know quite a few people at Olin and would have applied there if I hadn’t ED’d to HMC. As I see it, the big differences are
- Olin is tuition-free, of course.
- HMC offers a much wider selection of courses, partly because of the 5Cs. Likewise for clubs and sports.
- Olin has more of an industrial bent, while HMC academics tends to be more theoretical and breadth-oriented.
- Olin has very snazzy modern buildings, not to mention better food.
- HMC is in California… :-)</p>
<p>But I agree that the schools have a lot in common – the sizes are comparable (Olin is smaller), name recognition is comparable, both have very self-selecting applicant pools, etc.</p>