October 2008 Archives

Olin students are very fond of Halloween, and I think it was one of my favorite holidays in college as well. It's a great opportunity to be creative and funny, or to just completely step out of character for a night. They're having their SAC-sponsored Halloween dance tomorrow night. Today, faculty and staff are getting together for a "Monster Mash" social. It will be considerably tamer than the student party, since it's held during work hours, but it's a nice time to get together, chat, eat some yummy snacks and remember that we're all in this together. Emily and Jessica (a key member of the Admission team) came prepared with good costumes. I went to CVS last night and found the place cleaned out, so I ended up with the ensemble you can see below. I'm just going with "in disguise" if people ask what my costume is. Pretty lame, I know. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget to write to us at apply@olin.edu if you have any questions about the application process.

-Caitlin

Caitlin Clark

781-292-2212

caitlin.clark@olin.edu

Jessica, me, Emily (that's Jessica's tail we're holding, by the way)

Yesterday we had our 6th annual Fall OPen House, which was a great success. We got to meet so many prospective students and their families, and they challenged us with some great questions about the program.

If you attended Fall Open House, and would like to complete the survey, click here.

If you have any additional questions, please review our FAQ’s and then feel free to email us at info@olin.edu.

Thanks!!

Emily

It occurred to me that I haven't written a blog post in FOREVER (or more specifically, 40 days). Probably because I have been so preoccupied with Allison leaving (we miss her more every day!), Career Initiatives Day, Family Weekend, and Fall Open House! I cannot believe that it is already that time of year, in fact, the fall is nearly half over, and I feel as though it was just summer. I am happy to say that all of the events were a resounding success, though I don't want to jinx Fall Open House, which is this Sunday. It's already full, and we are gearing up for about 350 guests to share our vision of Olin College. If you didn't get to sign up, don't worry, you can visit us another time. We have daily info sessions at 2 pm, with a tour at 3 pm Monday through Friday, and Saturdays at 10 am. You should register for these on our website so we know how many people are coming. We will be holding sessions throughout November, and we stop in early December in order to start processing your applications.

Speaking of applications, we are already receiving your forms and grades!! Thank you for getting them in early. It helps us out alot, as we do all of the mail opening, sorting, entering, and filing ourselves, and then we read! We are running a tight ship with our deadlines, but our team is unbelievably effective, so we know we can handle it. Also, don't worry about sending information in piece by piece. We check items off as we receive them, so this is a fine way to stay organized.

OK, I know this is off topic, but this is so Olinesque I have to mention it. I just saw two Olin students zoom across the Oval on Razor scooters, dressed in full Tyvek suits with sombreros from the Academic Center to the Dining Hall. I may have been the only person to notice. Very cool, and very strange. Tyvek reminds me of being a child, when my dad would bring us suits home from work (he's a chemist) and we would color on them and make artistic outfits to wear around the house. Maybe I should consider that as an option now, when I haven't gone to the drycleaners! Speaking of dressing up, I haven't picked out a Halloween costume yet. Any ideas? What are you going to be?

Have a happy October!

Emily

This is the time of year when seniors suddenly realize that college application deadlines are coming up soon and start scrambling to get their materials together. While we need you to get your Olin application in by December 1st, we also encourage you to BREATHE. It will all get done.

Since we've gotten some questions through the apply@olin.edu address about recommendation forms and SAT test dates, I thought I would post some answers here. (though I should also point out that we have a FAQ page on the website that will hopefully be useful)

Q. My school uses its own recommendation forms. Do I need to convince my guidance counselor and teachers to use your Forms A, B and C?

A. Many high schools do have their own recommendation forms that are quite similar to the Olin forms. While we do prefer the forms that we provide (Forms A, B and C) we will accept your school's form. We ask different questions than are found on most generic forms, which is why we prefer ours, but we also realize how busy guidance offices become at this time of year. One note: it is very important that the recommendation letter accompanies the form, since we really need both types of information.

Q. I just realized that you require two SAT subject tests and the only time I can take them is in December. Will you accept these scores? Do I need to pay for rushed delivery?

A. Relax! We will accept scores from the December 6th SAT test date. You do not need to pay for rushed delivery. It will take several weeks for the scores to reach us, but this will not adversely affect your application in any way.

Also, a side note. I got married a few weeks ago, so my name will be changing to Caitlin Clark (hopefully next week). Don't be alarmed, and more importantly, don't delete the emails I send you just because you don't recognize the name! Thanks.

-Caitlin

Caitlin Snow (soon to be Clark)
781-292-2212

caitlin.snow@olin.edu

Yesterday, Olin hosted 40 different companies and organizations for our annual Career Initiatives Day. Students were given the day off from class in order to attend sessions like "Creating Your Own Start-up Company", "International Scholarships and Fellowships 101″ and "Service to Society." There were also presentations throughout the day about Olin's different majors, so that freshmen and sophomores could pick the brains of the faculty who teach within those majors. The afternoon featured a large career fair, with a wide variety of companies attending in order to talk to students and gather resumes from potential interns and employees. The Office of Post Graduate Planning has been working hard this fall to get students prepared for this day. There was a "dos and don'ts" fashion show, a resume workshop, plus a workshop on how to approach and talk to corporate recruiters. Our campus is usually quite casual, and I am accustomed to seeing students in pajamas and hoodie sweatshirts heading to class, so seeing them in suits, ties, skirts and heels was a little startling! They looked really great, and I think it showed our corporate guests that we take them seriously.

A nice feature of this year's event were the alumni who came back to campus to represent their companies. We had 25 alums here, from all three of our graduated classes. It was a great chance for our current students catch up with people they know and also get some advice about specific classes and projects that will prepare them for the type of work they do at a particular company. Many stayed for an Alumni Panel, which occurred later in the afternoon, when students could ask candid questions about their preparation for the Real World, thoughts on the current financial crisis, and their adjustment to being working adults. All in all, it was a great day, and Emily and I (who helped with some of the behind-the-scenes details) are ready to move on to the next event, Family Weekend! October is a busy month for us, but we like it that way. Here are some pictures I took of the job and internship fair.
-Caitlin

Senior ECE major Ash talks to National Instruments.

Jayesh, Class of 2011, learns about robotics research at the University of Texas, Arlington

Tiana, Class of 2008, representing Athena Health, which creates management systems for the health care industry. Olin engineers can make a difference at a variety of companies!

Deka Research and Development Corporation is always a hit because they bring toys. Here, Class of 07 alumnus Erik, helps current students try out the Segway.

Kevin, Angela and Aisaku (all '09) chat with Microsoft