The OLINformer

So it’s been something like a month since I’ve darkened the blogging doorway… Apologies, but well… there are only so many things a girl can do in the name of Olin College! But I’ll try to make up for it now…
I am still recovering from Candidates’ Weekends! Yes, still recovering. I was kind of hoping for a really long vacation in some far away place, but alas my friends, there is still work do. BUT I think I can safely say that the 2007 Candidates’ Weekends were a great success… at least that’s what everyone keeps telling me!

Actually, thanks for the feedback. I know it seemed like we threw a lot at you over the weekend (well, we did) but it’s great to see that so many of you took to heart the Olin ideal of constant improvement and threw your ideas/suggestions/comments back at us. We really appreciate it. I also want to thank ALL of you for joining the Olin community for a couple days - it was an honor to have you (and your families) on our campus. Seriously. Although you were invited to Candidates’ Weekends and, yes, it is a requirement for admission, you could have decided that a trip to Olin wasn’t worth the time or money or… whatever. But 178 of you did take that chance - you did take time off from school or away from outside activities, traveled to campus (whether it was from down the street or from halfway around the world) and, hopefully, got a better sense of what Olin is all about. And whether we made a good impression or not, you at least got to know us a bit better… and we got to know you a bit better too! Although I didn’t get to meet everyone during the weekends, I truly enjoyed my time spent with you and your families! It was also great to finally put happy, smiling faces with all the applications and emails and IM’s and….

Some highlights included:

• Candidates telling “bad” jokes between sessions in the auditorium
• Some impressive ideas/creations in the “No, you are not being evaluated” Design Build exercise
• The most amazing Poi shows EVER (fire spinning, dancing, juggling, tossing and more)
• A glimpse of our “quirky” and talented students at the Variety Show
• Impromptu unicycling lessons on the “O”
• The 1.25 story K’nex calculator at the Mini Expo (yes, this is proof that I have a nerdy side)

photo courtesy of Maia ‘10

• An opportunity to see our fine thespians in action at FWOP’s presentation of The Importance of Being Earnest
• The “Risotto Incident” - I am not too proud to say that it was perhaps the most unprofessional moment of my illustrious career

And of course, great food and scintillating conversation around every corner! Oh and before I forget…

Dear parents: Thank you for sharing your talented, funny, creative, mature and just plain amazing children. I know you knew that already, but it was great fun to learn that for ourselves! And contrary to popular belief, CW is not entirely about the Candidates - some of my favorite moments were with y’all.

So now you wait… it’s painful, I know. Some of you will be disappointed by our decisions, others of you will be ecstatic, and more than a few of you will feel confused about your options. But like I said after we mailed CW decisions, things happen for a reason. Trust that.

As Dean Nolan mentioned, only about 100 of you will be admitted. And after we send out those packets, then… well… we wait! Yep, the tables will be turned in a couple weeks and you guys will be in the driver’s seat. The decision-making will be in your hands. That’s a pretty heady and powerful experience, but one of the things I *know* about our admission process is that y’all will be making educated decisions about where you’ll spend the next four years precisely because you came to Candidates Weekends. And I think that’s pretty darn cool! Even if you don’t choose to attend Olin, I know that you probably couldn’t have made that decision (really!) without having those 36 jam-packed hours at CW.

So I think I’ve officially hit the “Sappiness Zone” as well as the “Stick a fork in me, I’m done” Zone. So I’ll leave you with those thoughts for now.

Oh and need to get back to work…

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

P.S. Eventually, there will be pics from CW on the website. Keep an eye out for those!