The OLINformer

OK…

So there have been some questions - When can I visit campus? How do I set up a visit? What can I expect to see/do during my time on campus? Is there a way for me to attend a class? Do I need to have an interview before I apply? What the heck is Candidates’ Weekend anyway?!? 

So without further ado… 

Visiting Olin College:  

Details available on our website. 

In a nutshell, the Office of Admission is open for visits during September, October and November; our office hours are Monday through Friday, from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. We offer a group information session each day at 2:00 pm and a student-led tour will immediately follow (usually around 3:00 pm). We are also open on a handful of Saturday mornings - October 21st, November 11th & 18th - and offer the information session/tour combo starting at 10:00 am. The information session will give you a good overview of the college (a little history, the curriculum, admission process, financial aid) and the tour is the perfect chance to pick the brain of a current student about all the other stuff on your minds (like student life, extracurricular activities, why he/she decided to come to Olin, etc.).  

There is also an AWESOME opportunity to visit in a more organized and in-depth way! We welcome families to attend our annual Fall Open House. It is a great way to interact with our current students, alumni, faculty and staff as well as learn about our unique curriculum and check out our state-of-the-art campus. 

If you are a high school senior and would like to attend classes or spend the night on campus, all you need to do is email hosting@olin.edu to request an overnight or classroom visit.

Interviews:

Any interviews that take place before Candidates’ Weekends are informational. In other words, think of them as a one-on-one information session with an admission counselor and they do not carry any weight in the admission process. It is a great way to get your personal questions answered in real time, by a real admission professional! We do not offer interviews in our office; we provide them primarily as a resource for those students we meet “on the road.” Our staff will also be conducting interviews in various cities this fall, so watch your inbox and mailbox for information about interviews in your area. If you don’t have an interview this fall, don’t worry! The VAST majority of our applicants do not interview with us prior to Candidates’ Weekend. 

Candidates’ Weekends (Abridged):

I’ll go into more detail later (and we’ll have some more info on the website about it soon) but the basic idea is as follows…

After we review all of the applications during the month of January, the Admission Committee will select a group of finalists – known as “Candidates” – to continue onto the next portion of our 2-part application process. Approximately 170 Candidates will be invited to the Olin campus (on February 23-24 or March 2-3) for Candidates’ Weekend. Each CW involves the same information and activities, but we divide the group in half so that students and families can have more meaningful interaction with the Olin community and get a better sense of what it means to be at a college with only 300 students! Each Candidates’ Weekend includes LOTS and LOTS of information about Olin (for both Candidates and parents), a Design Build (led by our current students – waaaay fun!), a 25-minute individual interview with members of the Olin community, and a couple of group facilitation/interaction exercises. Oh and we feed you like there’s no tomorrow! The whole thing runs from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening; then we send everyone home.

It is after both Candidates’ Weekends that the Admission Committee reconvenes and makes decisions regarding admission to the College. We will admit approximately 120 Candidates and place about 10-15 on the Waitlist. So although an invitation to Candidates’ Weekend does not guarantee admission to Olin College, about 2/3 of the Candidates are offered admission.

So here’s my 2-cents (and if you’ve met me, you’ve heard me say this before): Our Application for Admission is a bit of a misnomer… it’s really an Application for Candidates’ Weekend! Your goal right now is to be one of those 170 students who become Candidates; don’t think anything beyond that at this point. We DO read your essays – very closely, in fact. We DO look at your performance in non-math/science classes. We DO care – a great deal – about your passions outside of math, science and computers!! So make sure your voice comes through in your application… we’ll be listening…

Have I sufficiently freaked you out yet?? I hope not! We just want to give as much information as possible, so you know what you’re getting into. We care alot about this process and we hope you do too.

Go out and frolic in the autumn leaves,
Allison

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