Olin College of Engineering

Needham, Massachusetts

WAITLISTED

SETTING

Suburban Boston

SIZE

Very Small (~400 students)

ACADEMIC RIGOR

Very High

Environmental Programs

Engineering

B.S.

  • Project-based, interdisciplinary engineering program
  • Can focus projects on environmental topics
  • Highly innovative, hands-on approach
  • Entrepreneurship and design thinking emphasis
  • No specific environmental engineering major

Campus & Nature

Small campus in suburban Boston with access to city and nature

  • Suburban Boston location
  • Access to Boston area resources
  • Small, modern campus
  • Close to hiking and outdoor recreation

Academic Rigor

Extremely selective engineering school with innovative project-based curriculum

  • Extremely selective admissions (~10% acceptance rate)
  • Project-based learning from day one
  • Very innovative curriculum
  • Strong entrepreneurship focus
  • Collaborative rather than competitive culture

Liberal Arts Access

  • Engineering-only college with limited on-campus liberal arts
  • Access to Wellesley consortium for economics, history, philosophy
  • Can take liberal arts courses off-campus at partner schools
  • Moderate breadth through consortium, not on-campus

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Innovative engineering education
  • Half-tuition scholarship for all
  • Hands-on, project-based learning
  • Close to Boston
  • Collaborative culture
  • Strong entrepreneurship focus

Cons

  • No environmental engineering major
  • Extremely small school (~400 students)
  • Engineering-only focus (no liberal arts)
  • Not ideal for pre-law path
  • Very young institution (limited alumni network)

Student Voices

Real perspectives from students and alumni on third-party review sites

What Students Love

"Olin's project-based curriculum is incredible. From day one you're building real things and solving real problems, not just sitting in lectures taking notes."

— Junior, 3 months ago

What Students Love

"The community at Olin is unlike anywhere else. Everyone is collaborative, not competitive, and professors are more like mentors who work alongside you."

— Senior, 5 months ago

Common Complaint

"Olin is tiny - only 400 students total. If you want a traditional college experience with big sports, Greek life, or lots of social options, this isn't it."

— Sophomore, 8 months ago