The OLINformer

Many, many apologies!

All my grand plans for lots and lots of posts didn’t exactly work… Yeah, so my computer died the minute I left Massachusetts (separation anxiety!?!?) and I’ve been rather out of touch for the last two weeks. Yes, I DO see the irony here….

At any rate, I am alive. And I’m still in Texas. I must say, as I veered across 5 lanes of traffic to catch the exit for one of my favorite restaurants, it was good to be back! Ahhhhh… great BBQ, TexMex, and (diet) Dr Pepper flows like water…

  This is Rudy’s - in my opinion, the BEST BBQ sauce ever and I would sell my right leg for their smoked turkey. And yes, it is in a gas station… welcome to Texas, folks!

It’s been a great trip so far - one of the highlights was in Houston, where Etosha Cave (graduate of Booker T. Washington HS for Engineering Professions and Olin Class of 2006) and her father shared their experiences at our information session… and her little brother saved the day by making all the AV stuff work! Etosha will join her Olin classmate and fellow alum, Adam Horton, in Antarctica next week. Check out Adam’s blog on the Blogroll to the right…

At this late date, I won’t bore you with all the details of my trip - although if you’re ever on campus and meet our Dean of Admission, Charlie Nolan, ask him about his adventure in Texas this year! I will say that I’ve met some AMAZING students and I cannot wait to read their applications.

So instead I thought I’d answer some questions that have been popping up lately, both via email and from our information sessions:

1. Olin asks for two Teacher Recommendations. Can I send in additional letters of recommendation?

The simple answer is… Yes, absolutely! But don’t go crazy - we don’t need letters from every teacher you’ve ever had or the department chairs or headmaster/principal of your school. It’s about the quality of the letter and how well the person knows you, not the title underneath the signature.

However, there are a couple of things I’d like to point out. First of all, we ask for one letter from a math or science teacher and the other from a teacher of your choice. I would like to encourage you to consider asking a non-math/science teacher for the second letter of recommendation. The purpose of the Teacher Recommendations is to give us some perspective on what you’re like as a student. If have both of your letters come from teachers math and science, we often times get a rather one-dimensional view of you. So think about asking your English or history teacher (or some other humanities or social science instructor) - even if you didn’t make your best grades in those classes, those teachers often have great insight to share with us and can help flesh out your application by providing us with a different angle.

Secondly, if you’d like to submit an additional recommendation, it should still add dimension to your application. And since it’s supplemental, it doesn’t have to be academic. So ask your boss or Scout Master; consider your band director or coach; essentially, any adult mentor in your life would be a great addition to your file. Remember: an extra letter of recommendation is just that - icing on the cake! We do not require it and you won’t be at a disadvantage if you don’t submit one.

2) How do I get a copy of the paper application?

Actually, we don’t even print paper copies of the application. The Application for Admission is meant to be submitted electronically and the supporting forms need to be downloaded from the website and given to your counselor/teachers to complete. Go to apply.olin.edu to create an online Application Account. Once there, you can check out the application and download the forms.

However, if you are unable to submit the application electronically, we do provide a PDF version at apply.olin.edu (after you’ve created an account and logged in). Worst case scenario, we can email you a copy of the PDF Application and forms.

OK - I think that’s all for now. I’m off to enjoy dinner a terrific little Mexican place in Fort Worth (Benito’s) and wish my good friend Wes a Happy Birthday!

Until next time… Have a great weekend!
Allison

allison.bahme@olin.edu
781-292-2203
IM: OlinAdmission
www.olin.edu