Media AdvisoryContact:Joe Hunter 781-292-2255([email protected])
TOP STUDENTS FROM AROUND COUNTRY COME TO BOSTON TO CHECK OUT COLLEGE THAT ISN'T EVEN BUILT YET
(Needham, Mass. -February 19, 2002) Top college-bound seniors from around the country-students who could have their choice of the likes of Harvard or MIT-will be coming to the Boston area February 23-24 to check out a college that hasn't even finished building its campus yet. The students are visiting Olin College in Needham, Mass., for an unusual weekend of activities to see if the innovative new engineering college is the right fit for them. The 78 students, who hail from as far away as Honolulu, Hawaii, were chosen from more than 500 highly qualified applicants.
During a day-and-a-half of presentations, interviews and team activities-including a hands-on foam tower building contest to test the mettle of the budding engineers-the students will be evaluated to see if they are the right match to become members of Olin's first freshman class. Thirty-two will ultimately be selected for this fall's inaugural class, with each student receiving a full, four-year scholarship worth $130,000.
"It's very unusual for a college to bring all its top candidates to campus for a required weekend of activities," says Olin Admission Dean Charles Nolan. "We're looking for a special sort of adventurous student who will work with us to found a new kind of engineering college."
In the Saturday tower building contest, energy, creativity and enthusiasm will be on display as the students break into small teams around a gym and vie to design and build the largest foam tower. The three-hour exercise culminates in an awards ceremony.
This and other activities will help Olin choose the students with the creativity, enterprise and team skills it is going to take to build the new college. Olin College has been given a commitment well in excess of $300 million, along with a mandate from the Olin Foundation to create a reform-minded curriculum that could stand as a model for undergraduate engineering education. Thirty students, called "Olin Partners," have been on campus since last August, helping to ready the college for its first freshman class.
What: Olin College "Candidates' Weekend"When: Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24Where: Various locations, Babson College, Wellesley, Mass.
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