<p>The essay topics were interesting. I’d pay a dollar for a collection of responses to the first essay.</p>
<p>What was the prompt for the first essay, WashDad?</p>
<p>I am definitely intrigued/amused by this thread!</p>
<p>I feel fairly confident, however, that our applicants’ essay responses are not for sale. ;-)</p>
<p>But believe me, reading Olin essays is far more interesting than reading/proofing the essays my former students used to write (back in my HS counseling days)! Our prompts are designed NOT to be easy or even interchangeable with other college applications and are meant to give us some insight that we might not find from other parts of the application.</p>
<p>FYI - for those dying of curiosity, our essay prompts:</p>
<p>1) An entrepreneurial spirit and a “lifestyle of philanthropy” are very important to the Olin community. Choose ONE (1) of these two Core Values and tell us what it means to you.</p>
<p>2) Olin College students are academically driven; that is not to say, however, that their studies dominate their lives. How do scholastic and extracurricular pursuits (or passions) fit into your life? How do these activities complement the true focus of your life?</p>
<p>Happy essay writing to one and all!
Allison</p>
<p>Who made those topics?</p>
<p>Sounds to me like they were thunk up by a steering committee that didn’t have to read the resulting essays… </p>
<p>However, I suspect that the first essay topic is more effective in reducing frivolous applications than the $60 application fee.</p>
<p>I’m just glad it is my first-born that has to answer this and not me!</p>
<p>Does Olin take common app? and 60 dollars to apply??? I didn’t see that on the site.</p>
<p>Yes, the suggested topics were great. I enjoyed the process of writing those essays.</p>
<h1>1 is a nice topic - few applicants will be able to recycle an essay they wrote for some other college to respond to it, and it should reveal something about the student’s match with an area that Olin thinks is important. If a student is completely stymied as to how to respond, perhaps he/she isn’t a good match for the school’s priorities.</h1>
<p>Of course, few high school students have had first-hand experience with a “lifestyle of philanthropy”. I suppose one could relate past and current community service to the topic of philanthropic behavior.</p>
<p>Junior’s challenge has been to couch “philanthropy” in a way that doesn’t require wealth. Defining what the term meant was hard – responding was pretty easy.</p>
<p>Junior wrote his first draft for the second prompt in about a half-hour. It just clicked for him.</p>
<p>I don’t care what my son does, but I want a time machine so I can go back and re-do my college admissions process. (Applied to one college, was accepted, THEN took the SAT. Times sure change…)</p>
<p>“If a student is completely stymied as to how to respond, perhaps he/she isn’t a good match for the school’s priorities.”</p>
<p>I think you hit the nail on the head. I really enjoyed writing the essays, and pretty much knew what I would say for each as soon as i read the topics. The essays are a great way to find students that match with the school and not kids that just want to go to a good school.</p>