College · Private nonprofit · Needham, MA · Suburb
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
Needham, MA
Admit rate25%
6-yr median pay$105k
Net price / yr$25k
Undergrad size377
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $25k/yr for a shot at a $105k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 25% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1520 · ACT 35.
If you get in
377 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $86k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $25k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$346k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$101k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$245k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $66.4k
- Room & board
- $20.8k
- Books & supplies
- $240
How students pay for it.
Pell grants12%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans25%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$20k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $7k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention98%
Very high — students stay.
Graduation · 6 yr96%
Most finish on time.
6-yr median pay$105k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$129k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Suburb
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 377
- Location
- Needham, MA
- Region
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Carnegie class
- Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · High Traditional
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- New England Commission on Higher Education
- Also known as
- Olin College of Engineering
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White42%
- Asian24%
- Hispanic12%
- Two or more races8%
- International7%
- Unknown5%
- Black2%
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$90k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 3
What you can study.