August 18, 2022
Olin College is one of the nation's best undergraduate institutions according to The Princeton Review’s 2023 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 388 Colleges.
“I am so pleased that Olin has been recognized yet again for its many outstanding qualities by the Princeton Review,” said President Gilda Barabino. “We can see how hard our students work in the pursuit of engineering for a better world. I feel a great sense of joy watching this community creating the singular experience that is an Olin education each and every day.
“We can see how hard our students work in the pursuit of engineering for a better world," President Gilda Barabino says in response to the Princeton Review naming Olin a Best College for 2023. Photo by Leise Jones.
Olin consistently ranks high in many “Best Colleges” categories; the 2023 edition boasts a repeat #1 of “Students Study the Most.” The annual “Best Colleges” list includes unique ranking lists that highlight specific ways in which schools stand out, and the top colleges in 50 categories are based on a 160,000-student survey.
In Olin’s profile, The Princeton Review notes Olin’s “rigorous hands-on program on the ‘bleeding edge of engineering education’” despite having graduated just 17 classes since its founding. At the end of the day, students say, “Olin doesn’t create engineers—it prepares them.”
Of the faculty, students say “Uniqueness is everywhere: There is a tremendous amount of flexibility in the classroom, with almost no lectures… and most semesters offer at least one new experimental course (‘and the classes that aren’t new are better than they were last semester’). Faculty are ‘interested in how their teaching works,’ and there is ‘constant improvement in the curriculum and learning styles'."
In the 2023 edition, Olin appears in the following “Best Lists”:
- Students Study the Most - #1
- Professors Get High Marks - #3
- Best Classroom Experience - #5
- LGBTQ- Friendly - #6
- Least Religious Students - #6
- Best College Dorms - #11
- Their Students Love These Colleges - #13
- Best College Library - #15
- Best Career Services - #16
- Great Financial Aid - #19
- Most Accessible Professors - #21
- Best Student Support and Counseling Services - #22
- Happiest Students - #23
Olin also received a Green Rating score of 80 out of 99 this year. This rating provides a comprehensive measure of a school's performance as an environmentally aware and prepared institution. Specifically, it includes: whether students have a campus quality of life that is both healthy and sustainable; how well a school is preparing students for employment in the clean-energy economy of the 21st century as well as for citizenship in a world now defined by environmental concerns and opportunities; and how environmentally responsible a school's policies are.
"We salute Olin College for its outstanding academics, and its many other impressive offerings. We’re delighted to recommend it as an ideal choice for students searching for their ‘best-fit’ college,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief and lead author of The Best 388 Colleges.
The Princeton Review chose the colleges for the book based on data it annually collects from surveys of 2,000 college administrators about their institutions’ academic offerings. For its selection of profiled schools for the book, the company also reviews data from its surveys of college students attending the schools. Only about 14% of America’s 2,700 four-year colleges are profiled in the book.
Founded in 1997, Olin instills passion and ignites innovation in its students and prepares them to envision, create and deliver products, services, and systems that transform and improve people’s lives around the world. Olin teaches students to be explorers and creators who design their own path forward. By challenging norms and sharing its unique approach to education, Olin is revolutionizing the way engineers, and all undergraduates, learn and create knowledge. Located in Needham Massachusetts, Olin is ranked among the top-three undergraduate engineering programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report.