What a friend would tell you
What Olin is looking for
Olin's two-stage process includes a Candidates' Weekend where you collaborate with other applicants on a design challenge. Admissions is watching how you work with others, not just what you've built alone. Show that you're a builder who communicates well and iterates on ideas. Your portfolio of projects matters more than your GPA or test scores.
What students wish they'd known
At 350 students, there is nowhere to hide and no anonymity. If you clash with someone, you'll see them every day for four years. The curriculum is almost entirely project-based, which means students who learn best from lectures or textbooks will struggle. There are no humanities or social science departments; liberal arts courses are limited. The Needham suburb is quiet, and campus social life can feel repetitive quickly.
Olin might be a fit if...
- You want to spend four years building things with your hands in a community of 350 engineers who all know your name
- You learn best by doing, not by listening, and want a curriculum designed around team projects from day one
- You value collaboration over competition and want an engineering education that includes design thinking and entrepreneurship
Olin Admissions Strategy
Application Info
Plans: RD (unified deadline)
Deadlines: RD January 5
Deadlines: RD January 5
Test Policy
Test-optional (requirement suspended through 2026-27)
You choose whether to send scores. A strong score helps your case; a weak one is better left off.
Demonstrated Interest
Important
Not tracked. Skip the info-session circuit and put those hours into the application itself.
Interview
Required on campus
Yield Rate
49%
49% of admits enroll, which is typical for a selective school. Waitlists here move every year.
Want to boost your odds at Olin and every reach on your list, so admissions stops feeling like a coin flip?
Join the free one-hour workshop from two Harvard grads who have helped 3,000+ students get in. Parents welcome.
Cost & Financial Aid at Olin
$87,000
Sticker Price
$10,000
Avg Merit Aid
Need-blind admissions. Meets 100% of demonstrated need. 100% receive financial aid.
What you get for it: Olin spends about $82,000 per student per year on instruction and student resources, roughly 5x the $15K national average. You see it in class sizes, faculty access, and research budgets.
What Olin Graduates Get
$68,000
Avg Starting Salary
97%
Employed or in Grad School
64%
Graduate in 4 Years
The 4-year number is the on-time rate; the 6-year rate (94%) is the one schools usually advertise. A wide gap means many students pay for extra semesters.
Olin Campus & Culture
The Campus
Olin's 75-acre campus in Needham, Massachusetts, is a single cluster of modern buildings (opened 2002) arranged around a central oval. The architecture is glass, steel, and brick, purpose-built for project-based learning with open workshop spaces and fabrication labs on every floor. Adjacent to Babson College's campus, with Wellesley College a mile away. Small enough to cross in five minutes.
The Social Scene
Tiny, tight-knit, project-focused, Babson cross-registration
Olin Traditions & Trivia
California Day
On the first heavy snowfall of winter, the youngest Californian on campus leads the entire student body in laps around the central O in swimwear only, followed by snow angels and igloo-building in the same attire.
SIBBs
Every incoming student is matched with a returning student through Students Intentionally Building Bridges, a peer mentorship program that begins before classes start and runs through the first year.
Academics at Olin
What Olin is known for
Full-tuition scholarships, project-based learning, tiny cohort, innovation labs
Most popular majors at Olin
Standout programs
Engineering (all disciplines), hands-on design, entrepreneurship
How the curriculum works
Unique integrated engineering curriculum with Babson entrepreneurship access
Recommended high school courses
4 years Math (through calculus), 4 years Science (including Physics), 4 years English, 3 years History/Social Studies, 2 years Foreign Language
Notable Olin Alumni
Jessica Townsend
Engineering entrepreneur and Olin alumna
Juliana Cherston
MIT Media Lab researcher working on smart textiles for space exploration
If you like Olin, also consider
Harvey Mudd College
Similarly tiny STEM school with more traditional coursework and Claremont Consortium access
MIT
Builder culture at massive scale, with far more resources and research
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Engineering-focused with teaching emphasis, larger student body
Cooper Union
Tuition scholarship model in New York City, includes art and architecture
Babson College
Next door, literally, with cross-registration and an entrepreneurship focus