# Olin College of Engineering [Small college guides](/colleges/) Olin threw out the traditional engineering curriculum and rebuilt it around doing: students build real things in teams from the first semester. Every admitted student gets an automatic merit scholarship, and the whole school is about 400 people. LocationNeedham, Massachusetts EnrollmentAbout 400 undergraduates Tuition modelAutomatic merit scholarship for every student (half tuition historically; reported dropping to $10,000/year from 2026-27), plus full need-based aid SelectivityAbout 25% The distinctive thingEngineering taught through real team projects from the first semester, 400 students total. ## Campus culture Students describe Olin as a small, high-pressure school where you work harder than you ever expected but have fun doing it. The Princeton Review's student quotes call it a very close-knit community, typically motivated in a collaborative way, not competitive: hardworking, kind, quirky, and, unusually for engineering, roughly half women with a large LGBTQ population. It is openly a school of nerds where everyone's passion projects get celebrated. The honest negatives, per students on Unigo and College Confidential: the workload is intense and self-driven, social life is bounded by the tiny size, and Needham is a quiet suburb (one student lamented that the town closes at 8). Students who want traditional lecture-based academics, big-school anonymity, or deep specialization in one discipline tend to feel out of place. ## Traditions - Candidates' Weekend: a required evaluation weekend where finalists solve design challenges in teams while faculty observe, blind to their transcripts. - The Phoenix mascot, chosen because the college revamps its curriculum every few years, like a phoenix reborn. - Expo, a student-run end-of-semester showcase of projects and Passionate Pursuits (funded independent projects). - The Honor Code's 'Do Something' clause: students must actively fix problems they see. - Quirky vocabulary: Ninjas (peer tutors), R2s (resident resources, deliberately not enforcers), FWOP (theater club). ## Dorms and food Students live on campus all four years in West Hall or East Hall. Rooms are famously spacious and hotel-like, each with a private bathroom and air conditioning; the running joke is that the dorms were built so they could be converted to hotel rooms if the school failed. The dining hall gets strong reviews from students. ## Social scene Everything runs through the 400-person community: lounges, the great lawn, clubs, pickup sports, a fire arts club, and an a cappella group. Students cross-register and join clubs at Babson, Wellesley, and Brandeis to widen the social pool. Parties exist but are low-key and nerdy. ## Who thrives here Makers and collaborators who learn by doing, tinkerers with side passions like music or theater, and students who want faculty who teach instead of publish and a community where everyone knows their name. ## Who should look elsewhere Students who want lectures and problem sets as the default mode, who need anonymity or a big party scene, who want deep specialization in one engineering discipline, or who are strongly grade-motivated (the first semester is pass/no record and the culture de-emphasizes competition). ## Costs and financial aid Olin originally gave every student a full-tuition scholarship, cut to half tuition after the 2008 financial crisis hit the endowment, and the merit award is reported to drop further to $10,000 a year starting 2026-27. On top of that, Olin meets full demonstrated need with need-based grants. Run the numbers in our [true cost of college calculator](/college-true-cost-calculator/): the automatic scholarship plus need-based aid can make Olin cheaper than a state school for many families. ## Admissions A two-stage process ending at Candidates' Weekend, where teamwork and creativity are scored and current students have input on the class. Essays, recommendations, and demonstrated passion beyond math and science matter; loner geniuses are explicitly screened out. Median SAT is around 1520, but collaboration scores weigh heavily. ## Notable facts - Founded in 1997 with a roughly $460 million gift from the F.W. Olin Foundation, one of the largest gifts to higher education at the time. - Alumni include Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and the cofounders of Skydio and Twelve. - No departments, no traditional lectures: the curriculum is rebuilt every few years by design. - Graduates go on to top tech companies, startups, and graduate schools; when job hunting, our [resume templates](/resume-templates/) can help frame project-based experience. ## More small college guides - [**Deep Springs College**26 students, a working cattle ranch, and seminar academics in the California desert.](/colleges/deep-springs-college/) - [**Berea College**Free tuition for every student, funded by a work program and a huge endowment.](/colleges/berea-college/) - [**St. John's College**One shared Great Books curriculum, no majors, seminars instead of lectures.](/colleges/st-johns-college/) - [**Reed College**Intellectual intensity, narrative evaluations, and a legendary senior thesis.](/colleges/reed-college/) - [**Webb Institute**One major, naval architecture, free tuition, about 100 students.](/colleges/webb-institute/) - [**Curtis Institute of Music**Elite conservatory, full scholarship for all, learn by performing.](/colleges/curtis-institute/) - [**The Cooper Union**Art, architecture, engineering in NYC with half-tuition scholarships.](/colleges/cooper-union/) - [**Warren Wilson College**Work college with a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains.](/colleges/warren-wilson-college/) - [**College of the Ozarks**'Hard Work U': no tuition, every student works 15 hours a week.](/colleges/college-of-the-ozarks/) - [**Antioch College**Co-op education and activist history, rebuilding in Yellow Springs.](/colleges/antioch-college/) - [**Hampshire College**No grades, no majors, design your own degree. Closing December 2026.](/colleges/hampshire-college/) Compare costs with the [true cost of college calculator](/college-true-cost-calculator/), find your fit with the [college culture fit quiz](/college-fit-quiz/), or browse the [full college hub](/colleges/). ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Olin College free? No. It was full-tuition for all until 2010-11, then half tuition; the merit scholarship is reported to drop to $10,000 a year starting 2026-27. Need-based aid covers full demonstrated need on top of the merit award. ### What majors does Olin offer? Three: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Engineering with self-designed concentrations. There are no departments. ### Is Olin accredited? Yes, ABET-accredited for engineering and regionally accredited. ### Do I need perfect test scores to get in? The median SAT is around 1520, but Candidates' Weekend collaboration scores weigh heavily. Students who cannot work in teams are screened out regardless of scores. ### Can I study non-engineering subjects at Olin? Yes. Arts, humanities, and social sciences coursework is required, Passionate Pursuits fund independent projects, and you can cross-register at Babson, Wellesley, and Brandeis. ### Where do Olin graduates work? Tech companies, startups, and top graduate schools. Employers value the teamwork and ambiguity-tolerance training the project curriculum builds. ### What is Candidates' Weekend? A mandatory on-campus weekend for finalists, where you solve design challenges in teams while faculty observe. It is the decisive stage of admissions.