Olin is not a traditional college. It's an engineering bootcamp that happens to also teach humanities. Every class is project-based, and you're constantly building, designing, and solving real problems. The cohort is tiny—around 300 students total—so you'll know almost everyone and they'll all push you. You'll graduate not just having learned engineering, but having actually done it at a level most undergraduates don't experience until grad school.
The admission rate is around 2 percent, which is harder than MIT. Students who succeed here are people who genuinely love engineering, work well in teams, and don't need a lot of hand-holding. Class sizes are small and professors know your work intimately. You'll build a network of future innovators who went through the same intense training. The lack of grades (only pass/fail) removes some anxiety, but the workload doesn't: you're expected to produce at a high level constantly.
The catch is that Olin is a single-purpose institution. There's no varsity athletics, limited party scene, and very few students there for the “college experience”—they're there for engineering. If you're 100 percent sure you want to be an engineer and you do well in intensity, Olin will accelerate you years ahead of peers. If you're uncertain about engineering or need downtime and social variety, the narrow culture will feel claustrophobic.