The OLINformer

A new video has been posted on You Tube for anyone interested in the Study Away opportunities at Olin!

The Admission Office is planning our Open Houses for the fall. 

The Class of 2014 consists of 94 students, 54 men and 40 women (43%).

 

The "yield" (the percentage of students accepting our offers of admission) was greater than anticipated. The final yield is 55%, which is similar to last years 58% yield.

Where are they coming from?

 

Twenty three (23) states and three countries, other than the U.S., are represented. The leading states are:

 

California: 20

Massachusetts: 14

Texas: 9

New Jersey: 6

Florida: 5

Hawaii and New York: 4

Colorado, Virginia and Washington: 3

 

Note: Two students are from Idaho. These are first students from this state. The only state we have not enrolled a student from in our history is South Dakota.

 

Non-U.S. citizens: 3, China, Germany and South Korea. One U.S. citizen attended high school in Taipei, Taiwan.

 

Two siblings are members of the Class of 2014. One is the sister of a current student and one a sister of an alumna.

 

Big News: Deferrals

 

The most startling result of this year's admission process is the number of students who have decided to defer their enrollment to the Class of 2015. As you may know, students who choose to accept a place on the waiting list have the option of deferring their enrollment for a year, if we have no space for them in the new class.

 

All are guaranteed a place in the next class, as well as the half-tuition Olin scholarship. Other than in the first admission cycle in 2000-2001, when 14 students deferred their admission to Olin for a year (known affectionately as the "virtual Olin partners"), typically we have one or two students defer enrollment each year; one year there were four who deferred to the following year. This year the number is 19! Two of these students were admitted and 17 were on the waiting list.

Beyond the numbers

 

What's important about the Class of 2014 is that it will carry on the tradition of excellence inside and outside the classroom at Olin. The Class of 2014 is yet another wonderful group of exceptionally talented students.

Greetings from the Olin Admission Office! As you know, we are rapidly running out of April. The National Candidates' Reply Deadline is May 1st, though we are giving you until Monday, May 3rd to make your decision. The numbers as they stand now:

- 65 have submitted deposits and joined the Class of 2014. Hooray! We are SO excited to have you on campus next year!
- 13 have turned down our offer of admission and enrolled elsewhere. We wish you the very best and we know you'll succeed wherever you go!
- 1 has deferred enrollment and will join the Class of 2015. An awesome choice for those who need a little time to breathe before diving into the college experience.

That leaves 92 of you. What will you do? Where will you go? We hope that this decision is not causing you to lose TOO much sleep, though we also realize that it is an important one. All of you should have received emails from one of our current students. Please do not hesitate to use them as a resource. Ask them those tough questions that are keeping you up at night. Ask them about their own decision to enroll at Olin- many of them were admitted to the same schools that you are considering, and may have some insight into your own decision process.


One reminder: to respond to our offer of admission electronically, please use the https://apply.olin.edu site. The login credentials are the ones that you used to RSVP for Candidates' Weekend, NOT the ones that were emailed to you in early April. (Those credentials allowed you to log on to the Olin Portal and use the Admission Chat software.) We apologize for the confusion.  If you have forgotten your username for the https://appy.olin.edu site, please email apply@olin.edu. Generally speaking the usernames are "firstnamelastname" (no space). For security reasons, we are not able to view your password. You can reset your password here: https://apply.olin.edu/reset.cfm

Finally, if you would like to be put in touch with a faculty member, staff member, alumni, or current student, please email apply@olin.edu with your request. We will do our best to respond promptly. Financial Aid questions should be directed to Jean Ricker. Her email address is jean.ricker@olin.edu and her phone number is 781-292-2343. Parents can contact any of our volunteer Olin parents, listed here: http://www.olin.edu/parents/PRPContacts.asp

Good luck and remember that college will be an exciting journey no matter where you go! Make your decision with confidence and then sit back and start dreaming about the amazing classes you will take, the people you will meet and the fun that you will have over the next four years. We wish you well!

-Caitlin and the Olin Office of Admission

Hi all,
   It's officially the middle of April, and those of you who are deciding where to enroll are no doubt busy with campus visit days, email exchanges with professors and students, managing your senior course load, and trying to fit in time with friends. It can be very stressful! Our own seniors can relate. They are busy with SCOPE, upper-level classes, interviewing for jobs, visiting grad schools and oh yes! Trying to savor the last months of college! Many of you have wondered what our seniors are planning for the next step after graduation, especially given the economy. We have good news to report!

The post-Olin plans of the 86 members of the Class of 2010 run the gamut from prestigious scholarship and fellowship programs to top graduate schools and corporations, according to the college's Post Graduate Planning Office. While the results for the class will change as the semester progresses, details released by the office provide an intriguing look at general trends in the class's post-Commencement pursuits. Highlights as of mid-April include:

- One student has accepted a Fulbright scholarship for study at the University of Bath, U.K. Two additional candidates for the highly regarded international exchange program are awaiting word on their status.

- Three seniors have been awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Awards.

- Thirty-five percent have accepted offers of employment, at an average salary of $71,000; seven seniors have accepted positions with Microsoft, making the Redmond, Wash.-based company the largest employer of graduating Olin seniors.

- Some other destinations include Google, Lexmark International, Rockwell Automation, Intuit, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research, GE Health Care, Mitre and the Naval Underseas Warfare Center.

- Thirty percent are considering graduate school and will make decisions in the next few weeks. Possible graduate school destinations include MIT's MS/Ph.D. Program in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford's Ph.D. Program in Electrical Engineering and UCal-Berkeley's Ph.D. Program in Electrical Engineering.

- Six seniors (7 percent of the class) are planning to develop their own businesses.

- Proving that study at Olin can lead to a range of options, two seniors have been admitted to Harvard Business School, one has been admitted to medical school and one to law school. There is even one senior who plans on becoming a seminarian at a Catholic church in Washington.

We hope that you enjoy your senior spring! Please do not hesitate to contact the office if you have any questions that will help you make your final admission decision!

apply@olin.edu

781-292-2222

Hello, friends!

Hello Olin Candidates!
   We hope that you are getting excited about your upcoming trip to Olin! We are very busy getting ready for these massive events. As we have said before, Candidates' Weekend requires the input and energy of every single Olin community member. Our faculty, staff, students, alumni and parents all join forces to put on a very busy two days for you. Here are some reminders, as well as some clarifying information.

Reminders:

• Submit your travel plans as soon as you know them, especially students who are traveling alone! Laura Cotten needs to set up the shuttles that will transport you to and from Logan airport, so the sooner she has your flight information, the better.
• Students who are traveling alone and who would like to request a roommate at the Babson Executive Conference Center should email Laura directly. (that's laura.cotten@olin.edu)
• EVERYONE needs to submit their travel plans by Monday!
  
• EVERYONE needs to submit their medical and photo release forms by Monday! You can mail them, fax them (781-292-2210) or scan them and email them to caitlin.clark@olin.edu
• Send your bio (follow directions below) to Johannes Santen at olincollegeCW10@gmail.com
• Have a color photo of yourself scanned and sent as a JPEG
• The JPEG file name should be in the following format: Last name_First name.jpg (i.e. Smith_Chris.jpg)
• Compose a statement about yourself that is 20 (or fewer) words.Other Candidates have sent in lists of interests, poems about themselves, or favorite quotes. Feel free to be as creative as you want, so long as you meet the word limit.
• Send your email with your full name, hometown, high school and 20 word description in the body, and the JPEG as an attachment.
• This scanned image/photo does not have to be a portrait, but you must be clearly recognizable and the picture must be suitable for a PowerPoint presentation (group shots are not acceptable).
• Students who are coming to the first weekend (February 19-20) should work on their name tags.(use the 3''x4'' template we sent you in your packet)
  

Clarifications:

• I'm traveling with my mother and I'd like to take the Shuttle from the airport. How do I arrange that?

Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to provide transportation for all 270 Candidates plus their families. We reserve the Shuttles for students who are traveling alone ONLY. They are our priority, because they and their parents are relying on us to provide a safe and seamless experience while they are visiting Olin. If you are nervous about driving in Boston, we recommend taking a cab out to the Babson Executive Conference Center, and staying there during the Candidates' Weekend. Olin is a 10-minute walk from the BECC, and we will have students escorting guests back and forth throughout the weekend.

• I'm traveling alone from the West Coast and the only flight that works for me arrives on Thursday night. What do I do?!

Not to worry! We suspect that there will be a number of you in this situation. We will arrange a Thursday night Shuttle for students who are traveling alone. The Babson Executive Conference Center does have some rooms set aside for Thursday nights, so you should not have a problem getting a reservation.

• What time does the event end on Saturday?

The mandatory portions of the weekends are the interviews, and these wrap up by 5:30pm. You are welcome to leave at that point if your family needs to get on the road. Following the end of the interviews, there will be admission presentation by Dean Nolan, a particularly yummy dinner in the Dining Hall, a performance by the Olin Fire Arts Club, and an open house in one of the residence halls. Candidates tend to enjoy the Saturday night activities, because it gives them a chance to bond with each other and our current students.

• What should I wear to my interview? Do I need to bring anything?

Just wear your normal clothes! You will be receiving a Candidates' Weekend t-shirt when you arrive, and many students choose to wear these on Saturday, though it is certainly not required! We are not expecting formal attire of any sort, and the interviewers themselves will be casually dressed. Some of our crazier students will even be in flip-flops. You do not need to bring anything to your interview, just yourself!


Questions? Concerns? Please email us directly or call 781-292-2222!

apply@olin.edu
laura.cotten@olin.edu
emily.moscol@olin.edu
caitlin.clark@olin.edu
charles.nolan@olin.edu

This is, by far, one of the hardest parts of our jobs.

After spending the last 3 weeks poring over essays and transcripts, recommendations and resumes, DVDs and newspaper clippings, we had to narrow the field down to 270 Candidates.

There are hundreds of truly deserving candidates.

There are hundreds of students who could be amazing contributors to the Olin Community.

You are all talented and incredible people.

As trite as it may sound, we wish we could bring you all to Candidates' Weekends. But being the tiny institution that we are, we can only bring about 270 to campus.

We know many of you would like to know the EXACT reason why you were not invited to Candidates' Weekend. And yet, as unsatisfying as it may be to you, it ultimately boils down to the numbers... 270 spots waiting to be filled by hundreds of talented, extraordinary people. We agonized over these decisions - there were fights and arguments, and even some marathon team meetings. Please know that there was nothing "lacking" in you or your application. The letter from us should have no bearing on how you see yourself as a student or a person. In the end, it isn't about what you "didn't do" or could have "done better" but that there are just too many terrific students applying for only a handful of spots.

We hope that others are telling you this as well: you will have plenty of great college options this year. Next August you will be schlepping your laundry basket and your computer into a dorm room somewhere, and you will embark on a fun and exciting four-year journey. You will stay up late having philosophical discussions about crunchy Cheetos vs. puffy Cheetos and you will learn the true meaning of the "all-nighter." It will be fun, and you will be happy. It's hard to picture it now, but take it from us...your determination and hard work are what make you successful in life, not where you go to college for four years.

Take the same passion for learning that you shared with us, and carry it with you, no matter where you go in life. It will serve you well, and in the end, that's way more important than a letter from a college.

Stay well, and best wishes from the entire Olin Admission Team.

~Charlie, Caitlin, Emily, Laura, Susie and Jessica

President Rick Miller informed our community yesterday that our beloved Dean of Faculty and VP of Academic Affairs Michael Moody passed away overnight. Mike had been battling a form of lymphoma for the past two years and he informed us over the summer that after a period of remission, the cancer was back. Mike fought bravely, and the wonderful doctors and nurses of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute took excellent care of him. Faculty, staff, alumni, students, and parents of Olin all have very fond memories of Mike, and our community feels this loss acutely.  Those on campus gathered yesterday at 2:00pm for a moment of silence, and we will have a memorial service at Olin at a later date. We all send our thoughts and prayers to Mike's wife Joni and the entire Moody family.




Gill Pratt and Dr. M

Greetings from Olin!

Great news! We are extending the application deadline until Monday, January 4th!We realize that you are scrambling to complete all your college applications in time for the January 1st deadline, and we don't want this application to add stress to your New Years holiday. Plus, now that you have time to spare....

Play outside!


Take a nap!


And don't forget to submit your application and Olin Supplement through the Common App online by midnight on January 4th!

We realize that the remaining pieces of your application will continue to trickle into our office over the next week- and that's fine! It will probably be several days between when your mail is received in the mailroom and when it is opened. Please keep this in mind when you receive "missing items" emails from our office. We are working very hard to complete your application files, and taking time away to answer individual emails slows down the process. When your application is complete, you will receive a confirmation email from us. (likely next week, as we are auditing all the files before sending out the confirmation emails)

Sincerely,
The Olin College Admission Team (Charlie, Emily, Caitlin, Laura, Susie and Jessica)


http://www.dailypuppy.com/puppies/bella-the-dachshund_2009-12-09