Supplemental essays · 2026–27 application
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering supplemental essays.
All 2 essay questions Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering asks this year, word for word, with the word limits and how to approach each one.
Checked against olin.edu and the Common App application on October 17, 2026
What you write: One essay, 250–500 words, plus an optional story, up to 250.
Olin's mission and your values
Olin is a community striving to change the world and positively impact people’s lives through engineering education. How does Olin’s mission align with your own values? How do you hope to use your engineering education to change the world?
How to approach it
- Name things you could only find at this college: a class, a professor, a program, a tradition.
- Tie every detail to something true about you.
- Swap test: if another college’s name fits your sentence, it’s too general.
Optional: what we don't know yet
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.
How to approach it
- Pick one moment and stay there. Readers remember a scene, not a summary.
- Spend at least a third of the essay on what you thought and how you changed.
- Read it out loud. If a line doesn’t sound like you, it isn’t done yet.
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