Olin College Trains New Engineers By Going Its Own Way
Olin College, a nontraditional engineering school located in a very traditional bastion of higher education, doesn’t do what might be expected. The Needham, Mass., college is in the heart of the upscale eastern Ivy League but appeals to middle class students with free tuition and claims that it is not elitist. Its now-deceased benefactor and its current president both have ties to civil engineering, but there is no such major there. And, the school pushes entrepreneurship and competitiveness to students, yet has few links to an industry founded on those principles.
Even so, Olin is making waves in academic and corporate worlds with its innovative approach, and it is tapping into new thinking by students, even with skeptical parents.