<p>So I am a Jan-starter at whitman college (for those that don't know that means I take my first semester in spring 2010) and I am interested in doing the 3-2 engineering program. </p>
<p>Again, for those that don't know the 3-2 program involves spending 3 years at Whitman itself taking general physics and math classes as well as the humanities core which Whitman requires and then 2 years at an associate school like Caltech or Columbia University and then graduate after 5 years with a B.A. from Whitman and a B.S. from the other school.</p>
<p>It's a great program and it's one of the reasons why I picked Whitman, but being a Jan-Starter means that I don't exactly fit into a clear and simple 3 year program so I have some questions and I'd like to ask the general Whitman community as well as the registrar's office (I emailed them earlier tonight :D)</p>
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<li><p>Am I able to begin taking engineering classes at one of Whitman's associate schools in the middle of an Academic year? Meaning I'd finish my 6th semester at whitman fall of 2012 and would start at Caltech or Columbia or wherever in the spring of 2013. Or would I have to wait til the beginning of the next academic year (fall 2013)?</p></li>
<li><p>Even though it says that I have to spend three years at whitman am I able to instead spend one semester (say the current semester which I have off anyway) taking classes at a junior or community college taking enough credits to help me meet the 93 credit requirement assuming the credits transfer at a 1 to 1 ratio. This would mean that I would finish the five year program in the actual five years as opposed to five and a half (starting from this semester onward.)</p></li>
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<p>These are just the major concerns I have and are what really will determine what I do these next few months while waiting to start at Whitman. I would of course love to hear from other Jan-Starters and others who have experienced the 3-2 program.</p>
<p>I realize that these boards are pretty slow when college applications are not in the mail, but I'm hopeful that former students or parents of students still frequent them to try and help confused or frustrated students like me get some answers. I appreciate the help :D</p>
<p>I’m not affiliated with Whitman; I’m a professor at a small liberal arts college in California. I saw your post because my son is interested in Whitman and I thought I’d see what kinds of questions students were asking on this thread. But as a faculty member myself, I’d be willing to bet that you will have a faster, more thorough response from Dr. Moore than from anyone in the Registrar’s office or from anyone likely to wander in and post here on cc.</p>
<p>Dear Cal Alum: This board is not a very good way to get a sense of Whitman because it draws relatively little “traffic”. I think Whitties (or prospective ones) tend to be very collaborative and some of the high intensity chat (at least among students) on CC may send them to other boards (though where I don’t know). I’m just launching my second kid to Walla Walla and am happy to respond to specific questions, whenever, if you want a parent’s perspective. Just send me a PM or post the question. (I don’t however, know anything about the 3/2 program–just logged on because I saw someone had posted on the Whitman board…) The website, which you’ve obviously found, is pretty good.</p>
<p>Thanks CalAlum, I talked to a woman at the Registrar’s office and she managed to clear up a few things for me. She also suggested that I talk to Dr. Moore about any further questions I should have.</p>
<p>Apparently both my questions have the same answer: “It depends.”</p>
<p>For transfer credits it apparently depends on the class whether or not the full amount of credits. It must be an academic subject and it must be taught by an accredited school, but not only that, if it is comparable to a similar subject taught at Whitman and is worth more credits than the class at Whitman then only part of the credits from that class (equal to the number of credits of the same class at Whitman) would be transferred.</p>
<p>And then some of the associate schools allow students to start mid-way in the academic year, but not all of them do so it depends on which school I apply and am accepted to in order to complete the program.</p>
<p>I’ve decided to take classes at a nearby Junior College and to make sure that the classes I pick transfer the full amount of credits that they are worth by getting them approved by the registrar’s office. </p>
<p>Getting into the right classes and making sure the credits all transfer over okay is a little bit of a headache, but it will save me a lot of trouble (and a lot of money since the Junior College is 39,000 or so dollars cheaper than a semester at Whitman) down the road when I finally reach Whitman’s three year credit requirement and can then start taking classes at an engineering school. </p>
<p>For anybody who is also a Jan-Starter reading this board I suggest doing the same thing even if you’re not interested in the 3-2 engineering program as it will mean that you graduate with your degree on time as well as save some money.</p>
<p>Hey there, I am a current Whitman student who started in Spring 2009 as a Jan-start last year. I decided to work at local thrift store, play with a symphony orchestra, and coach instrumental sectionals with a youth symphony during “time off” last fall. I really think everything I did - especially working my first “real” job - provided me with a lot of extremely valuable real-world experience I wouldn’t have gotten at school. Whitman is awesome – if you have any more questions about it or being a Jan-start, feel free to message me. See you in the spring semester!</p>