Is anyone else applying to Franklin W Olin college of engineering? It’s a great college for engineers, it’s not horribly expensive, and Woodie Flowers was one of the founding partners! The college (from my visiting it) is basically all the fundamentals of FIRST in college. The students (Freshman included) were doing projects like potato cannons (with optical muzzle velocity/acceleration sensors) and pneumatic powered drag cars. This is a high quality college, check it out at www.olin.edu 
If I’m not mistaken, Olin is not just “not horribly expensive”, but it covers all expenses (tuition and board) for all students. I didn’t know Woodie Flowers was involved. I think that makes me feel a little bit more confident about the quality of this school.
I am also applying to the school and I do very much like the project based learning that they describe, but I wonder about the quality of the school in general being that it is so young, and is free. I’d appreciate any sort of comments any students or visitors might have.
I did think this too, at first. But I have visited the college twice, once for a tour, and again for an open house, and Olin did give free rides for the first 1 or 2 classes, but this year they only conver tuition (about $130,000 worth) so you only need to pay a little less than $15k to attend (that’s room, board, computer, and optional spending money)
I don’t believe Olin is nationally certified as of yet.
Or so I heard…
They won’t be accredited until the graduate a class, which I think won’t happen for 2 more years.
from olin.edu:
Accreditation: Seeking candidacy with NEAS&C; Working toward full accreditation review by NEAS&C and ABET as soon as eligible
To add my 2 cents, their facilities are freakin gorgeous (I went over there for dinner and watched one of the ALCS games on their projection screen in the dining hall), they have faculty and students that turn down top-notch places to go there and they’re doing lots of really innovative stuff, while staying really involved (I was asked by the Spiritual Life Office to revive the Babson Catholic Association my soph year, and since Olin shares a chapel with us, we decided to include them into the new organization. It’s one of the best early decisions we made, because they’re there every week even though it’s quite a schlep over there, and they are really committed to helping out).
Their first class, if on track like I’ve been hearing, will be graduating in May 2006.
-Jessica B, who can stand on Babson campus, take one step, and be standing on Olin campus.