The OLINformer

Remember my pics from Candidates’ Weekend?!? Well, here’s a little follow-up to one of those photos:

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/06/the_knex_computer.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/06/mechanical-calculation-childs-play.html

Also check out Matt, Jeff and Olek’s blog (in the blogroll to the right) - it even has video!

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

…from yesterday’s Chicago Tribune. Another article about “BigBelly” solar-powered trash compactors (see my post from last fall about Seahorse Power and Olin alum Jeff Satwicz)

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

It’s Senior Week at Olin! Finals are finished. 3 days of Expo have just concluded. Graduation is on Sunday. Life here now revolves around one or more of the following things:

1. sleep
2. relaxation
3. packing
4. sleep
5. eating
6. celebrating seniors
7. sleep
8. celebrating sleep

With all that going on, I haven’t quite been able to keep up with everything. So I have decided to forgo any lame attempt to capture all of it. Instead, I bring you my SUMMER PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS…

(more…)

ACTUAL BLOG POSTS!!!

Yes, dear readers, I will return with brand spankin’ new entries soon. Life is still ridiculously busy in our office (it never ends!) but after a mini-vacation and a week full of cool stuff on campus, I’m back………………………

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

The first official day of spring! Here at Olin, the sun is shining and birds are singing but it’s still really cold outside!! I actually thought I’d take Dunkin’ Donuts up on their offer of free iced coffee today (in honor of the possibility of warm weather in the near future) but thought better of it after getting all warm and toasty in my car on the ride into work. Ahhh, New England weather… I find it quite similar to my native Texas weather in one regard: wait 15 minutes and it’ll change. But we do have 4 distinct seasons, of which I am still quite enamored!

It’s Spring Break this week, so things are pretty quiet on campus. Even the students who have stuck around are taking it easy (or at least easier) - sleep appears to be high on everyone’s list of favorite activities! Actually, I’m still trying to catch up on sleep as well. 

And even though we’re not quite through this year’s admission cycle*, we’ve already starting thinking about the Class of 2012. If anyone out there is considering visiting campus - come on over! You can arrange a visit online and sign up for one of our daily information sessions and tours. Info sessions start at 2pm and the student-led tour follows at around 3pm.

Hope to see y’all around campus soon!
Allison

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

*and yes, for those of you applicants still reading my blog (whoa! I’m impressed!)… decisions are live and online through your Olin Application Account at https://apply.olin.edu

So things are crazy busy here in anticipation of the 2007 Candidates’ Weekends! Can’t really talk now, but I thought that any Candidates out there - as well as anyone else! - might be interested in the updated (but still officially tentative) schedule for the Weekends. Here you go… my Valentines gift to you all!

2007 CW Schedule

And on a different note…we’ve finally got our first REAL snow of the year!!

Happy V-Day everyone,
Allison

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

… It’s about our STUDENTS!!

So go check them out at their new-but-still-a-work-in-progress BLOG!

http://studentblog.olin.edu

Happy reading!
Allison

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

Now that more and more of you are submitting your applications, you’re probably wondering what happens after you click “SEND”… so today I hope to shed a little light on *our* application review process.

NOW through early January - APPLICATION PROCESSING:

1. You create and application account (if you’re like me and procrastinate a bit too much, here’s the link again: https://apply.olin.edu).
2. You submit your electronic application (with uploaded résumé). After we receive your application, we go into our files and pair your application with any other credentials you have sent us: your transcript, your standardized test scores, secondary school report (Form A), teacher recommendations (Forms B & C), senior year progress report (Form D or equivalent) and any supplemental materials. If we have no credentials for you on file, we’ll create a file for you and then add all of your credentials/materials as they arrive in the mail.
3. You check your status online. After submitting your application, you can see what credentials we have received by logging back into your application account and checking your status page. We update these accounts as soon as we can, but PLEASE BE PATIENT! I cannot stress this enough! Every piece of mail must be sorted, dated and manually updated - so it takes some time. Remember that, in contrast to other schools you may be applying to, we are a VERY small college with a very small Admission staff. Be kind to us!
4. You’re complete! When our office has received all the required pieces of information, your status page will show your application is complete. Your application folder (containing all the cool and interesting stuff you’ve sent us) is then ready to be reviewed and your folder is assigned to a reading team….

…So what the heck is a reading team? There are four reading teams made up of five or six faculty and staff members. Each reading team is captained by a member of Admission Office - Dean Charlie Nolan, Assistant Directors Patricia Blanchette, Emma Goodman or myself. Applications are divided amongst the reading teams based on the large geographical regions outlined on our “Meet the Admission Team” page on our website - go ahead and check it out! You know you want to!

Late December through late March - APPLICANT REVIEW:

1. Starting in the end of December/beginning of January, all completed applications are read twice.
2. Throughout the month of January the reading teams meet to discuss the applications assigned to their team.
3. In the last week of January, the reading teams make recommendations to the Admission Committee regarding which applicants should be invited to Candidates’ Weekends (CW). The Admission Committee is made up of 5-6 members including faculty, the Dean of Students and Dean of Admission - all of whom also serve as readers on the aforementioned reading teams.
4. The Admission Committee determines which applicants will become “Candidates” and will be invited to CW. All students are notified of their status in early, early February - we’re shooting for February 3rd or 4th but that’s not a guarantee at this time! I’ll keep you posted on that timeline…
5. Candidates flood campus for CW (February 23-24 or March 2-3) and learn more about Olin, participating in a design/build exercise, interviews and group exercises.
6. The Admission Committee reconvenes to review information gathered during CW by the CW interviewers, a group of faculty, staff, alumni and current students. The Admission Committee determines which Candidates will be offered admission, which will be placed on the waitlist and which will be denied.
7. Notification letters will be sent sometime in the end of March.

As elementary as I’ve tried to make sound above, it was insanely difficult to do! While this process is not exactly “rocket science,” it is very nuanced, subjective and agonizing at times. Because we have created (what we believe to be a very good) holistic application process, it is not as cut-and-dry as admitting all the students with perfect SAT/ACT scores or those with straight-A’s on their transcripts. That would be too easy and far too simplistic… and not very Olinesque! Our review process is extremely labor-intensive but it is the best way for us to build the kind of intellectual and creative community that makes Olin unique!

Learning about each of you is fascinating; the hard part is that we feel like we’ve really gotten to know you after reading your essays and hearing what your teachers have to say about you (or if we’ve met you in person on the road or on campus during CW). The reality is that we only have a small number of spots in each class… and unfortunately we just don’t have room for everyone.

I constantly have to remind myself (and others!) that things typically happen for a reason, even if the reason is not clear at that moment… When I was a high school college counselor, one of the most heart-wrenching aspects of my job was when student came to my office devastated by a disappointing decision from their dream school. It makes my heart ache just thinking about it now (melodramatic, but true, I swear). But the funny thing was that in the vast majority of those cases, the college that a student ultimately chose to attend was just as good for her/him as the original first-choice institution… and in some cases, it was an even better match!

Our applicant pool is one of the strongest in the nation and each of you will have tons of amazing opportunities come April - whether at Olin or somewhere else. I truly believe in our application process; it is perhaps one of the most personal ones out there. And though no admission process can be perfect, I think Olin’s process is pretty darn good!

So now that I’ve pulled back the curtain and revealed the “wizard,” I hope that you feel a bit better (or at least better informed) about our process. I really want to convey the level of dedication that the entire Olin community puts into our approach to admission - from the application readers to the interviewers and presenters at Candidates’ Weekends, we put a lot of ourselves into the process.

Whew! I’m exhausted. That’s it for now. I’m working on posting more pics soon…

Enjoy the weekend and the holidays!
Allison

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

So as I was going through my emails this morning, a posting from one of our many listservs caught my eye…

One of our first-years got up at the crack of dawn today to go pick up HUNDREDS of flowers and bring them back to campus. Why, you ask? Just because. Because getting flowers feels good. Because giving flowers feels good. Just because.

“…I guess it just seems like a good time for flowers. People are extremely stressed and tired, and flowers just make things happier…” ~Traz ‘10

Thanks, Traz!!

Sometimes Olin just makes me happy.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!
Allison

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

Olin Receives Accreditation from NEASC

The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering has received accreditation from the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC). The college received a “Certificate of Accreditation” from the association on December 7, signaling that the college has met the body’s standards for membership.

“NEASC accreditation is a major milestone in the establishment of the college,” said Olin President Richard K. Miller in a note to the Olin community. “It has many implications that flow from this recognition by our peer institutions that our academic institution is sound and in good standing.”

Word of the accreditation decision caps a process that began in 2002 when the college first applied for candidacy status from NEASC. There followed two visits by official NEASC teams under the auspices of the association’s Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, and two “self studies” by the college, culminating in a recent vote by the NEASC board of directors to grant Olin accreditation. Olin graduated its first class in May 2006, and the accreditation will apply retroactively to that class.

NEASC accreditation applies to the institution as a whole. Olin is also seeking accreditation for its degree programs from ABET, the accrediting body for engineering programs. A decision on ABET accreditation is not expected until next summer.

(copied from the Olin Website at http://www.olin.edu/about_olin/news/pr_single.asp?id=176)

And of course, the “I go to an Accredited College” Group was created on Facebook soon after the announcement!