NEWS: Olin Sees Leap in Applicant Pool for the Class of 2029
Olin College received 1,154 applications for admission to the Class of 2029.
Olin’s Office of Admission and Financial Aid (OAFA) has reported a significant increase in applications for admittance to the Class of 2029. The College received 1,154 applications for fall 2025 enrollment—an increase of 15.4% over last year’s admission cycle.
Applications are also up 35% over the last three years after experiencing steady growth during that time.
Image of Olin's SIBB Reunion, where Olin students welcome their new olin classmates into the community.
“We are pleased with the growth in demand for an Olin education. Congratulations to the OAFA team and our campus partners,” says Salvadore Liberto, dean of admission and financial aid. “Olin uniquely offers students fantastic academic and career options, and an outsized return on their investment. We are proud to share Olin’s amazing stories with an ever-widening pool of prospective students and families.”
The OAFA team is looking to fill 95-100 spots in Olin’s next class of first years. “Our 2025 Candidates’ Weekends will be our largest on record,” says Liberto.
About 320 candidates will attend one of three 2025 Candidates’ Weekends in February and March as part of Olin’s unique 2-step admission process. 40 students living outside the continental U.S. will also participate via virtual interviews. The weekends are designed to be fun, informal and informational opportunities for candidates to get to know Olin, and for Olin to get to know the candidates. Final decisions for the Class of 2029 will be made in March.
President Gilda Barabino celebrating convocation with our first-years, 2024.
OAFA has focused on enhancing the fall open house (boasting a 130% increase in attendance since 2022), increasing domestic travel, and continuing to run Olin’s fly-in program to broaden the applicant pool.
“The quality of our applicant pool is remarkable,” says Susan Hartley Brisson, director of admission. “Students applying to Olin boast incredible academic records, but they are also artists, climate activists, entrepreneurs, community builders, and so much more. We are thrilled to invite such talented and compelling students to come to Candidates’ Weekend and potentially join the Olin community.”
2024 marked the 8th year of Olin’s Mix & Mingle Fly-in Program, which brings first-generation and low-income students to visit campus. In the fall, 31 students visited Olin through the fly-in program to attend Olin classes, learn about campus life, and meet students, faculty and staff.
Image of our most recent class, the Class of 2028.
“We celebrate all forms of diversity at Olin, and this is one way we ensure all highly qualified students know about Olin and have a chance to enroll here,” says Liberto.
OAFA staff traveled to New York, Atlanta, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, California, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey to carry out a variety of recruitment events, including panels, college fairs, regional information sessions, high school visits, and meetings with Community Based Organizations (CBOs).
Olin graduates again contributed to the College’s virtual interviewing program, helping to expand Olin’s reach internationally and throughout the U.S.: 24 alumni conducted over 120 virtual interviews.