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

Continuing our essay blog from previous years (’29 Part 1 & Part 2), 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: 

Common App Personal Essay Prompt 1: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. 

Example 1: Joey ’30 reflects deeply on lessons from family and engineering and how these will fuel future actions and goals: 

That shift changed how I lead. I stopped pretending to have every answer and focused on making answers possible: assign clear owners, say “I don’t know yet” out loud, and write procedures someone else can run at dawn. Failure turned into usable data. Each test narrowed uncertainty, and that narrowing became the habit. 

My father taught me to respect what the world hands you. Engineering taught me to change the parts you can measure. The joy for me isn’t ignition; it’s the moment after, when a curve sits where it should because we asked it to. That sensation has become my compass. Whatever I build next, I want to stand in noisy rooms—of wind, or data, or doubt—and make them a little steadier, so more people can do their best work. That’s how I plan to honor the man who never asked for control and gave me the chance to learn it.  

Common App Personal Essay Prompt 2: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? 

Example 2: Elise ’30 establishes a strong opening and narrative voice to convey personality: 

Right before a storm, there is a stillness. The rolling waves wilt away, and the billowing breeze begins to buckle. The ocean lies limp, reflecting the brooding clouds that churn above. 

As I drifted toward the water’s edge, metallic echoes lapped through the air. The waterpark’s rushing water drowned beneath its swelling crests. My keys clanged against the borrowed radio, its yellowing label reading Op-11: Supervisor of Section 1. It was a title I was never trained for and had only shared with another Team Lead. Yet, for that transient eternity it was mine alone. 

I clung to my equilibrium. A comforting ignorance, convincing myself that nothing would go wrong, that I’d never need my training. But disquiet consumed my section like a waxing wind. A whispering undertow of what-ifs eddied beneath the surface. Three thousand people were in the park that day. Three thousand ways for everything to go wrong.  

Think about all the things we will learn about you throughout your application to Olin, from your application materials and recommendations and through your own words in your other essays. Is there anything missing? If there is, you may share a specific story that tells us something about you that we don’t yet know. 

Example 3: Briana ’30 explores other areas of interest and how these passions inform engineering as well: 

I’ve collapsed stars and designed cities that defy physics for years. My notebooks overflow with sketches of floating kingdoms held up by electromagnetic suspension and heroes who manipulate particles at will. Creative writing has been my playground of the impossible. 

Behind outlandish inventions or ambitious worldbuilding lies research deeper than any school project. To understand the physiology behind superpowers, I’ve dug into genetics, bioelectricity, and human enhancement. Designing ships that travel between galaxies meant learning orbital physics, the Fermi paradox, and warp mechanics. 

Writing taught me to ask not just “what if” but “how” and “at what cost?” It’s pushed me into the role of biologist, engineer, and physicist—connecting concepts across disciplines to solve problems I created. Writing is my most intricate engineering project, another expression of my drive to understand how things work and make them real.  

Olin has a mandatory supplemental essay, like many colleges do. The purpose is to get a deeper understanding of you as an applicant and how you could thrive in the Olin community. With our deep desire to do good in the world we ask applicants to answer, What change do you hope to be a part of? Why is this particular change important to you? 

Example 4: Jack ’30 highlights an avenue of potential exploration and how an Olin education would help drive this ability.  

At Olin, I hope to utilize my education to contribute to the rehabilitation and conservation of our oceans. I have learned a great amount about the process of coral bleaching from open lectures at my local college. I’ve also seen firsthand the beaches around me littered with bottles, cans, and cigarette butts. This disregard for the environment will result in irreversible damage, killing coral reef populations that many aquatic ecosystems rely on, and polluting the very ecosystem that covers 71 percent of our planet with harmful carcinogens. I believe we need to do much more to protect our oceans, and I would like to create low-cost, innovative solutions that can be replicated globally to make a real change for the aquatic environment… I know that an education from Olin, one rooted in making tangible, actionable change, will help me do just that. 

As you can see from the Class of 2030, there’s no “perfect” way to write a college essay and there’s no one topic we’re hoping to read from you all. This aspect of the application is truly an open-ended opportunity for you to share about who you are and how you might make a good fit for the Olin community. So, take a risk, be authentic, and write to the best of your ability. We’re excited to read what comes next!