An Inside View: Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Students at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering are pioneers: Olin's doors only opened to students in 2002. Olin is unique in other ways. Founded with the mission of developing future engineers with strong business and entrepreneurship skills, Olin only offers engineering degrees, although an emphasis on biology within the engineering program allows students to prepare for medical school. Olin currently has just 219 students on its campus in Needham, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Each student receives a full tuition four year scholarship and lots of individual attention. Olin has fostered close relationships with next-door-neighbor Babson College, a business school with a particular expertise in entrepreneurship. I asked Becky, a sophomore at Olin, to describe what life at Olin is like.


When you were looking at colleges, what were the three most important things you were looking for?

Looking back, size, geographical location and collaborative atmosphere were the most important to me. At the time I didn't understand what I wanted in a school, so I wouldn't have listed the above three. Basically, I considered schools in New England that offered engineering. It was only after visiting Olin that I realized that the feel of Olin was categorically different and (for me) better.

What other schools besides Olin did you look at or consider?

I applied to Norwich, Rutgers, Clarkson, Lehigh, RPI, and Colgate (besides Olin). I was waitlisted at Olin and admitted everywhere else. Since I had admittedly done a pretty poor job of making sure I actually wanted to attend the schools to which I applied, I wasn't sure where I was going to go. I got the call from Olin that I was in off the waitlist, so I never had to make that choice.

What convinced you that Olin was the right school for you?

Within an hour of setting foot on the campus for Olin's Open House during my fall of senior year I was convinced that I knew where I wanted to go to school. It's nothing that I can really explain. I had visited many other schools by that time, and other schools had all seemed nice enough, but Olin was the first and only school I visited that I felt I would one day be able to call home.


What has been your biggest surprise about Olin?

I don't pretend that I had a real clear idea of what I was getting into before I started at Olin, but there haven't been any huge surprises. Olin does a good job of exposing prospective students to current students (student panels at open houses and candidate's weekends, online forums, etc) so it's pretty easy to get an accurate picture of what Olin is like.

How would you describe the academic work load at Olin?

Very hard (but possible). The collaborative atmosphere helps a lot, especially some entering freshman have better math/science backgrounds than others, and teachers are very willing to help out when a student gets sick and needs extra time for an assignment.

What's the "typical" Olin student like

It would be hard to define a typical Olin student, except generally. Olin students tend to be passionate about engineering, and also passionate about other stuff. The 'other stuff' varies a lot between kids.

Anyone who feels genuine worry that the size of Olin isn't going to be right for them should visit. If that feeling doesn't go away after a visit, they should think twice about coming to Olin. Having a class of 75 doesn't feel right to everyone.

What was your dorm room like freshman year? How are the dorms in general?

Olin has two dorms. Last year I lived in the old dorm (first used in 2002). The new dorm was still under construction, but it's done now and will be used for the first time this year. All Olin freshman (besides medical singles) live in a double that includes a private bathroom. The students are responsible for cleaning the bathroom, and an inspection is performed a couple times per semester. The old dorm has 4 floors with a laundry room and lounge on each floor. Not surprisingly, the dorms are in good shape. The new dorms (East Hall) have some suites in addition to the doubles.

How's the food? What's your favorite item on the menu? Your least favorite?

The food is great. A lot of kids love the fried ravioli, but I don't want clogged arteries that badly. They usually do sushi once a semester, which is also popular. Some of the vegetarian/vegan foods tend to be less popular except, of course, with the vegetarians and vegans.

What's the best part of the campus? What's the worst part? What is the area around the campus like?

The campus is pretty small so it's hard to identify a best and worst part. 'The O' is a grassy area with a path that's in the center of the Academic Center, the Olin Center, and the Campus Center. People play frisbee there, and when there are campus-wide activities (like barbeques) that's where they are. The Great Lawn is the grass in front of the dorms. It's a popular spot for frisbee, volleyball, and snowball fights. Parcel B is wooded land where people like to take walks in the snow.

Olin is in Needham, which is a small town with a decent downtown that has a Starbucks and some places to eat. Boston is easy enough to get to (Eliot station on the T, or driving).

Where do people hang out, on and off campus? What do people do on the weekends?

On campus the lounges are very popular. If people want to watch a movie at night they'll sometimes go over to the academic center to watch it on a bigger screen than lounge tv screens. People go to Boston a fair amount too. Anna's is a Mexican place that has cheap good food. Oliners go there a lot.

Females are still a rarity in some engineering programs. How have you found the environment at Olin for females? Do you have any advice for women interested in engineering about looking at colleges?

Olin has a good gender balance, and the environment has been great. I think gender balance is pretty important to a lot of girls looking at Engineering school, and I think it's a factor worth weighing heavily. I don't want to be the only girl in my classes, and at Olin, I'm not.

What advice would you give to someone still in high school about looking for colleges?

Put a lot of effort into figuring out what is important to you in a school. Don't just put down names on a piece of paper to get your parents to stop whining about colleges. It may seem far away and unimportant when you still have the most difficult parts of high school ahead, but it's important and it'll be May of senior year before you know it.