<p>I will attempt my best to answer your questions. I won’t comment on your scholastic record or your extracurriculars because that’s really the Office of Admission’s place, not mine, and I don’t want to get your hopes up or dash them.</p>
<p>Questions (with answers)
- Does Olin have any opportunities to “place out” of classes? It’s okay if I don’t get credit for past coursework.</p>
<p>For some of the foundations classes (math & physics), you can take a test to pass out of it. However, many have taken it and few have passed. Even some of those who passed decided it was in their best interest to take the class because they realized they may not have known certain areas in as much depth as they would have liked. Additionally, many of the professors are happy to help you figure out projects you can do if you’re feeling “bored” in class.</p>
<ol>
<li>Is Olin’s taekwondo club still active? I think I saw that Mikell was captain on one of the webpages, but she graduated this year… Also, if its not anymore, is it easy to restart them? I have lots of taekwondo teaching experience and wouldn’t mind teaching if there were people at Olin interested. I guess I’m kinda thinking too far ahead…</li>
</ol>
<p>Dean Dieker, a senior at Olin, has been very active in leading our martial arts club, SMAC. He is a prize-winning black belt in some form (sorry Dean, can’t remember) of martial arts and is a great teacher. So I’d like to say that SMAC will definitely be continuing this coming year. For clubs that have disbanded or kinda dropped out of interest, all it takes is four students and a mission statement to start a club at Olin. The Vice President of Campus Life, Angela Sharer, '09, is very happy to work with students who want to start clubs on campus.</p>
<ol>
<li>How far is Olin from Boston? I haven’t been able to visit yet and am a little curious.</li>
</ol>
<p>Olin is about 14 miles SW of the Boston proper. We’re about 3 miles away from the nearest T stop (think subway/trolley) and there is a commuter rail line that runs into Needham about 1.5 miles from the school, but that only runs once an hour. I’d say that roughly a quarter to a third of Olin students have a car on campus, and most are definitely willing to at least take you to the T. You can always try and convince someone to accompany you on your trek into Boston, but good luck finding parking. There are definitely students who go into the city every weekend, and then there are students like myself who only went in once a month or so. You’ll find that even with a small campus, there is always someone up and always something going on.</p>
<ol>
<li>Are there opportunities for study abroad through Olin? I’d like to experience another culture and think study abroad would allow me to do this.</li>
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<p>Right now, there is a “study away” program in place that allows you to study abroad for one semester during your junior year. Students have studied in Australia, Scotland, Singapore, Mexico, Budapesh, France, and many more that I’m already forgetting. We have a few partner schools set up where you don’t pay any tuition. The Study Away office is also very helpful at trying to get you into the program of your choice, assuming it meets Olin’s high standards. You can always also take a leave of absence for a semester and not worry about your grades, and make up the credits by taking 5 classes (instead of the average of 4) in other semesters.</p>
<ol>
<li>Should I avoid taking engineering classes through dual-enrollment? I think I remember reading that the deferred applicants are not supposed to take engineering classes at other colleges and am not sure if this also applies to high school applicants. I’ve mainly planned out my courseload with an emphasis on physics and math, but I think my main interest is really engineering </li>
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<p>I’m not sure what you mean by dual-enrollment, but yes Olin discourages you from taking engineering classes before coming to Olin. That doesn’t mean you should not be involved with your FIRST team or your science fair project (by all means keep at it!), but don’t take a freshman engineering class at your local state college. The Olin courseload is busy enough as it is, they don’t want to spend the time having to “unlearn” the methods that you were taught with at other institutions. Math and sciences are generally OK to take at colleges besides Olin. Believe me, you’ll have plenty of engineering work to keep you busy at Olin.</p>
<p>I think I’ve earned a cookie, but I don’t think it’s worth the trouble of trying to mail it without it melting or breaking into pieces. :-)</p>
<p>Kevin Tostado
Olin College '06</p>