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The Voices of Olin's Class of 2030: College Essay Snippets Part 2

July 21, 2026 - 10:56AM EDT | The Office of Admission and Financial Aid

Welcome back to another volume of “The Voices of Olin's Class of 2030: College Essay Snippets”! The Common App is opening soon, and you may still be considering how to best write about yourself, so explore these genuine stories about how to communicate your passions, interests, and personality behind your application.  

STORY: “Biomedical Device Design” Course Teaches Little-Known Industry Skillset

At Olin College, a new take on a “Biomedical Device Design” course shifts focus from next-gen prosthetics or cutting-edge implants in favor of teaching students something just as critical: how to prove that a device is safe, effective, and thoughtfully engineered long before it reaches a patient.

STORY: First-Year Oliners Win Awards at the 2026 BOW DataFest

Two Olin College teams—comprised entirely of first-year students—received awards for their work at the fourth annual BOW DataFest in April. Over 60 students from Babson, Olin and Wellesley (BOW) participated. 

The Voices of Olin's Class of 2030: College Essay Snippets

June 23, 2026 - 1:45PM EDT | The Office of Admission and Financial Aid

Continuing our essay blog from previous years, we wanted to introduce you to great examples of personal statements as well as Olin specific essays in a new installment from the Class of 2030.  

While there’s no foolproof way to craft an essay, these snippets reveal different approaches on how to authentically represent yourself to admission committees: 

STORY: From Microbes to Markets: “Microbial Diversity” Course Explores Intersection of Science and Entrepreneurship

In Olin’s “Microbial Diversity” course, students spend an entire semester in the lab thinking through challenges like these by working with microbes that can degrade or convert unwanted compounds.

STORY: Matthew D. Hill ’06 Endowed Scholarship Makes First Student Award

The first-ever recipient of the Matthew D. Hill ’06 Endowed Scholarship has been selected, marking an important milestone in expanding need-based and merit aid opportunities for Olin students.

STORY: Team of Olin Students Builds 14-Foot, Flying, Fire-Fighting Robot

A group of Oliners put their engineering skills and passion for positive change to work by building a 14-foot, eight-armed autonomous drone called OCTAL designed to extinguish wildfires before they grow out of control.

STORY: New “CLIP” Course Makes Independent Study More Accessible

“Cohort Learning in Parallel” (CLIP) is a new experimental course at Olin that is working to make independent study more accessible, connected, and sustainable for students and faculty alike.

STORY: Olin Students Learn to Take Action in New “Local Democracy” Course

While Olin students spend plenty of time solving technical problems, a new course asks them to tackle a different kind of challenge: how to participate in democracy where they live.

STORY: Olin HydroFleet Wins Farm Robotics Challenge Drone Award

The team from Olin College— who won the Grand Prize for their robot in 2024— took home the 2026 award for Excellence in Drone Applications.

STORY: How Olin First-Years Built a Viral Self-Balancing Bicycle (VIDEO)

This bike should be falling over. But it’s not. That’s because a team of first-year Olin students built it as an autonomous self-balancing bicycle for their Independent Study Research (ISR) project. The "how we did it" video of the bike has since gone viral, generating over 1.8 million views online.

NEWS: Commencement 2026: Lean on Us and Each Other

On Friday, May 15, more than 700 Olin family members, faculty, staff, trustees, students and guests gathered on campus for the College’s 21st Commencement Ceremony in celebration of the Class of 2026.

NEWS: Tamás Regan Receives 2026 Gilman Scholarship

Tamás Regan ’28 has received the 2026 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a prestigious and competitive program funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

DJS Social Impact Showcase 2026

Interact with teams of Babson, Olin, and Wellesley (BOW) students as they give 5-minute summary presentations followed by an interactive poster session, during for the DJS Social Impact Showcase on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at the Weissman Foundry, Babson College.

STORY: Embracing Uncertainty: “Probabilistic Robotics” at Olin

At Olin, experimentation isn’t just something students do in the lab—it’s built into the curriculum itself. A new course called “Probabilistic Robotics” exemplifies that philosophy, combining cutting-edge technical content with a student-centered design to prepare future engineers for meaningful, adaptable careers.

NEWS: Empowering the Next Generation of Engineering Educators

At Olin College, transforming engineering education means continually rethinking both how students learn and how educators are prepared to teach. Introducing the new initiative, the Olin College Teaching Fellows Fund.