Zachary
Throughout my life, I've struggled to find a place that felt like home to me. Part of this struggle involved finding others with the same interests and personailities as me. Olin is a very unique school, full of passionate individuals, and when I was accepted, I was overjoyed, as I believed that this would be the home I was always looking for. In some ways, I was correct; at Olin, I have met so many wonderful friends that I'm so glad I get to spend my days with. But at the same time, I'm often saddened when I have a hard time connecting with many other students. When I applied to a small engineering school with a focus on hands-on learning, I didn't really expect that there would be a plethora of atheletes or "normal people". Not that there's anything wrong with them, it's just that I have a harder time connecting with them than people who share my interests. If I could tell my high school self anything, I'd make sure that he understood that even at my dream school, I won't get along with everyone.
Michael
After first reassuring my past self that I am not just a hallucination caused by expired Chinese food, one of the things I would tell myself is that I shouldn?t worry about leaving New York to start over again in Massachusetts. ?Look,? I would say, ?You have already gotten through the terrifying aspect of introducing yourself as being deaf in high school, and that ended up going better than you expected, right? You were able to make good friends who didn?t care one way or another. The same will happen at Olin, despite your fears of having to reintroduce yourself. The students there are a lot more understanding than you?re giving them credit for, and since it?s an engineering school, they?re all actually going to be very curious about it and you?ll end up making many new friends! Just don?t fret for the entire summer over it, and if you can, try to see who you can talk to over the internet so you?ll be more familiar when you actually meet them face to face. Basically, don?t worry about meeting people ? you?ll be fine. Enjoy your summer!?
Wyatt
I would tell myself that college is much harder than I think it is. I make sure that I thought through the college application process and I would tell myself that the application process is just the beginning and it just gets harder from there. While Olin was a good choice for me, it is definitely rigorous and I would want my past self to know that and be prepared for it.