火爆社区

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering鈥檚 beloved project-based curriculum offers an engineering education rooted in 鈥渉ands-on, team-based learning鈥� with an emphasis on 鈥渓earning the practical skills engineers actually need.鈥� Students appreciatively explain that the few lectures at the school are 鈥渟hort, concise, and interesting,鈥� and that 鈥渨e have almost no tests.鈥� Instead, projects are 鈥渦sed to immediately apply things learned in class to realworld scenarios,鈥� whether that鈥檚 programming robots or learning 鈥渉ow to build a facial recognition algorithm.鈥� This specialized approach carries the advantage of, as one student describes it, doing 鈥渙ne specific thing really, really well.鈥� That said, there are also opportunities for 鈥渋ndependent study/research to learn more about specific topics that we鈥檙e interested in.鈥� And while 鈥渢here isn鈥檛 a huge variety of classes鈥� in non-engineering subjects, students can round out their options by cross-registering at Babson, Wellesley, and Brandeis. Students say that 鈥渁cademically, classes are challenging but there are many resources,鈥� including professors who are available to meet outside of class as well as tutors. The professors 鈥渁re all passionate individuals that understand the content really well and are constantly adapting their courses to make it a better experience for students.鈥� Students feel 鈥渃ontinually inspired,鈥� 鈥渓istened to,鈥� and 鈥渞eally engaged.鈥� Ultimately, because so much work involves being 鈥渋n pairs or groups,鈥� enrollees categorize Olin as 鈥渁 very collaborative environment鈥� where 鈥渆verybody is willing to help out and bring each other up.鈥�

Olin is 鈥渇illed to the brim with interesting and brilliant people who all want to do incredible things.鈥� Students describe the school as a 鈥渧ery close-knit community鈥� where 鈥渆veryone supports each other.鈥� As one student says, most people are 鈥渢ypically motivated in a collaborative way, not competitive鈥� and students are often described as 鈥渉ard working, kind, empathetic, smart and quirky.鈥� The student body is made up of 鈥渧ery different people鈥� who are 鈥渁ble to meld well to be an entire school.鈥� In addition, 鈥淥lin is a genderbalanced institution, which is very refreshing鈥� and 鈥渉as a massive LGBTQ population.鈥� The small campus means 鈥渆veryone knows everyone.鈥� It鈥檚 a 鈥渧ery welcoming environment鈥� where, as one student describes, 鈥測ou can sit down at any table in the dining hall with any group of students and have a good conversation.鈥� Olin is a 鈥渟chool of nerds,鈥� which students embrace. It鈥檚 a place where 鈥渆veryone has something they鈥檙e extremely excited about, which is inspiring to see.鈥� In addition to engineering, these interests 鈥渞ange from music to cooking to theater to writing and reading,鈥� explains one student. 鈥淚 think that because we are all engineers and are so close, these interests are allowed to shine more than they would at a larger school.鈥�

Students describe a lively campus where their enthusiastic peers pursue an eclectic array of interests. 鈥淚t feels like everyone is always busy and running around,鈥� explains one student. Popular activities range from the fire arts club, where students 鈥渟pin different items with fire on it for fun,鈥� to competitive sailing. As one student explains, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how to sail before coming here but now during sailing season I sail at races most weekends, which is really fun.鈥� In addition to activities such as rock climbing, soccer, and ultimate Frisbee, there are also unusual activities like beekeeping and the Baja off-road race team. It鈥檚 also 鈥渃ommon to see people being active on the great lawn,鈥� says one student, and 鈥渢here are a lot of social events too, from small hangouts in someone鈥檚 room to larger parties in suites/ wings.鈥� You鈥檒l even find students working on personal projects for fun in the available shop spaces. In fact, there are so many options that students actually use a public email list to 鈥渁nnounce spontaneous events they鈥檙e hosting. That鈥檚 a good way to spice up the day.鈥�

The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Olin) offers 鈥渆xcellent project-based learning鈥� and 鈥渃lasses that have a very nontraditional emphasis,鈥� and students note that these experiences prepare them to excel in all aspects of their careers. Undergraduates can gain a head start on professional lab skills through research programs that are sponsored by the National Science Foundation and NASA, and students can share their innovations with the community each semester at expos. Career Services promotes undergraduate engagement with professional industries through Engineering for Impact discussions and alumni panels, provides access to an exhaustive list of job boards, and guides students through the application process for graduate school and fellowships. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Olin is one of the top producers of Fulbright scholars in the nation. On the whole, 鈥淭here are classes here that don鈥檛 exist anywhere else, and they鈥檝e given me some amazing experiences and the tools to build things that will actually help people.鈥� Graduates go on to work for technology and STEM giants such as Google, Amazon, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. According to Payscale.com, 90 percent of graduates feel they are earning a return on their investment with a starting median salary of $91,000.