This Week’s College: Olin College of Engineering, Needham, MA
You’ve never heard of Olin. That’s OK. Most people haven’t. They are a well kept secret. But I’m here to tell those of you in STEM you want to know about them. Because this is a heavy hitter school when it comes to Engineering.
The first thing you have to know about Olin College of Engineering is that it is usually either the number 1, 2, or 3, in the rankings of undergraduate STEM programs in the United States. The second thing you need to know is that the kind of engineers that Olin produces are cutting edge, award winning, and revolutionary. The third thing you need to know is that the reason for the first two is due to the way the curriculum at Olin works: it’s hands on, innovative, project based, and collaborative.
Olin is a small school. It’s really small. 370 students small. I know what you’re thinking. You can’t possibly go to a school that small. What kind of engineering school is that small? You can’t get a decent engineering degree from a school that size. Keep an open mind though. Because Olin functions quite a lot like a business does and you work there the way you would for a company in many ways.
The curriculum at Olin is in direct response to what is perceived as a problem with all of those big engineering schools (you know the ones, because you’re planning to apply there). Those schools are good at teaching people how to solve problems. But Olin doesn’t think that solving problems is enough. At Olin, they start with the idea that engineering is for people, by people and that the problems being solved have to be the right problems and that these solutions have to actually get out into the world for people to use and have. To this end, even freshmen begin their coursework with hands on, real world, engineering (3 classes their first semester). And, Olin doesn’t neglect the idea that people need both an education in engineering and in the humanities, social sciences, and entrepreneurship. After all, people have souls as well as needs. By senior year, students are actually working on solutions for companies. businesses, or the community, in their coursework (often this leads to job offers upon graduation) as part of their capstone projects.
Most classes take place in studios and is hands on, no 500 person lecture halls here! Students have dedicated space within the studios and can choose classes based on their interest in projects. Faculty act more as coaches than as a sage on a stage as often is the case in a more traditional engineering school. Students take a series of interdisciplinary classes and classes are often team taught by faculty in different disciplines. Imagine a class with a professor of biochemistry and of ethics, another one with a professor of design and one in entrepreneurship. The classes are extremely well designed to help students put their work into context in the world.
The Olin Innovation Lab (OIL) is a series of spaces that bring companies, students, faculty, and resources together for collaboration. The goals are to bring people together for the sake of innovation and discussion about the state of industry and technical challenges facing the engineering community. There are 9 separate labs and each has a different focus on a different industry.
Olin is on the Common App and the Coalition App. They are extremely selective, taking only about 11% of students who apply and usually students who have a GPA of 3.75 (Unweighted) and up. They offer a 4 year BS and also a 4+1 BS/MS degree.
It should come as no surprise that a school this small doesn’t have a lot of sports. But they have plenty of intramurals with Babson College and Wellesley College which are both nearby. They also have a soccer team and an ultimate team. They have an Honor Code and Council, Student Government, and Community Service is a big activity there. But they also have theater, music groups, and a student newspaper to keep you busy as well.
But mostly, students at Olin love what they do. And they do it in and out of the classroom. Passionate Pursuits is a program students can engage in where they design and build something that they are passionate about. Projects range from micro-aeronautical vehicles to a fuse machine. Others worked on a project for USAID that helps to solve problems in global health, food security, and chronic conflict. In their capstone projects, students have helped women in West Africa by creating a mechanized cassava grinder. They even consider themselves to have a “Startup Culture.” It’s possible that Franklin Olin has more projects going on per square foot than any other campus in the US. With no graduate students to compete with, undergrads are the research assistants. They get to do what they love and they love what they do.
Is Olin for you? Well it can be. If you eat and breath engineering and you want a top school for it, then yes, especially if it’s a non-traditional kind of program you’re looking for. This isn’t a typical college where you’ll have football games on Saturdays. But if you live and breathe this sort of thing, well then, get packing.
Pros:
Cons
You’ve never heard of Olin. That’s OK. Most people haven’t. They are a well kept secret. But I’m here to tell those of you in STEM you want to know about them. Because this is a heavy hitter school when it comes to Engineering.
The first thing you have to know about Olin College of Engineering is that it is usually either the number 1, 2, or 3, in the rankings of undergraduate STEM programs in the United States. The second thing you need to know is that the kind of engineers that Olin produces are cutting edge, award winning, and revolutionary. The third thing you need to know is that the reason for the first two is due to the way the curriculum at Olin works: it’s hands on, innovative, project based, and collaborative.
Olin is a small school. It’s really small. 370 students small. I know what you’re thinking. You can’t possibly go to a school that small. What kind of engineering school is that small? You can’t get a decent engineering degree from a school that size. Keep an open mind though. Because Olin functions quite a lot like a business does and you work there the way you would for a company in many ways.
The curriculum at Olin is in direct response to what is perceived as a problem with all of those big engineering schools (you know the ones, because you’re planning to apply there). Those schools are good at teaching people how to solve problems. But Olin doesn’t think that solving problems is enough. At Olin, they start with the idea that engineering is for people, by people and that the problems being solved have to be the right problems and that these solutions have to actually get out into the world for people to use and have. To this end, even freshmen begin their coursework with hands on, real world, engineering (3 classes their first semester). And, Olin doesn’t neglect the idea that people need both an education in engineering and in the humanities, social sciences, and entrepreneurship. After all, people have souls as well as needs. By senior year, students are actually working on solutions for companies. businesses, or the community, in their coursework (often this leads to job offers upon graduation) as part of their capstone projects.
Most classes take place in studios and is hands on, no 500 person lecture halls here! Students have dedicated space within the studios and can choose classes based on their interest in projects. Faculty act more as coaches than as a sage on a stage as often is the case in a more traditional engineering school. Students take a series of interdisciplinary classes and classes are often team taught by faculty in different disciplines. Imagine a class with a professor of biochemistry and of ethics, another one with a professor of design and one in entrepreneurship. The classes are extremely well designed to help students put their work into context in the world.
The Olin Innovation Lab (OIL) is a series of spaces that bring companies, students, faculty, and resources together for collaboration. The goals are to bring people together for the sake of innovation and discussion about the state of industry and technical challenges facing the engineering community. There are 9 separate labs and each has a different focus on a different industry.
Olin is on the Common App and the Coalition App. They are extremely selective, taking only about 11% of students who apply and usually students who have a GPA of 3.75 (Unweighted) and up. They offer a 4 year BS and also a 4+1 BS/MS degree.
It should come as no surprise that a school this small doesn’t have a lot of sports. But they have plenty of intramurals with Babson College and Wellesley College which are both nearby. They also have a soccer team and an ultimate team. They have an Honor Code and Council, Student Government, and Community Service is a big activity there. But they also have theater, music groups, and a student newspaper to keep you busy as well.
But mostly, students at Olin love what they do. And they do it in and out of the classroom. Passionate Pursuits is a program students can engage in where they design and build something that they are passionate about. Projects range from micro-aeronautical vehicles to a fuse machine. Others worked on a project for USAID that helps to solve problems in global health, food security, and chronic conflict. In their capstone projects, students have helped women in West Africa by creating a mechanized cassava grinder. They even consider themselves to have a “Startup Culture.” It’s possible that Franklin Olin has more projects going on per square foot than any other campus in the US. With no graduate students to compete with, undergrads are the research assistants. They get to do what they love and they love what they do.
Is Olin for you? Well it can be. If you eat and breath engineering and you want a top school for it, then yes, especially if it’s a non-traditional kind of program you’re looking for. This isn’t a typical college where you’ll have football games on Saturdays. But if you live and breathe this sort of thing, well then, get packing.
Pros:
- Innovative program
- Hands on, student research
- Incredible preparation for real world work
- Cutting edge work with businesses
Cons
- Very small
- No sports really
- No Greek Life
- Not a typical college experience