<p>I want to experience a liberal arts education and at the same time i want to pursue engineering as a career so I came to know about this wonderful program that has both of my preferences i.e. the 3-2 pre-engineering program. I wanted your suggestion that should i apply for the 4 year engineering program or 3-2 would be good. I know that there are other colleges like lafayette swarthmore union etc with both the liberal arts and engineering facilities with 4 years of undergraduate program but these colleges are very competitive .What I am really concerned about is at the 3-2 program after 3 years at liberal arts college wont it be hard to get scholarship for further 2 years of study. I would really appreciate if you could help me in this matter
Thank you in advance!!!</p>
<p>This type of program has been discuss very many times here on CC, with the consensus being that they are not very successful. Many students do not move forward on to the target Engineering University, for multiple reasons.</p>
<p>Your instincts are accurate; some Engineering Universities are a bit stingy with financial aid to transfer students. Read the other threads on this subject, but I and others will suggest that it’s better to start your studies at a college/university engineering department.</p>
<p>One other concern is that many (not all) of the “3” schools limit the student’s choice of major, often to physics or chemistry (but some, like Brandeis, allow any major as long as the student also completes the math, physics, etc. prerequisites for engineering). So if your goal is to use the extra schedule space in the extra year of a 3+2 program to take additional courses unrelated to your engineering major, you need consider what limitations the “3” school imposes.</p>
<p>Of course, the usual concerns about admission and financial aid or scholarships at the “2” school apply, and often prevent 3+2 hopefuls from having the opportunity to transfer. In addition, the type of student who prefers a small LAC that is usually the “3” school may not want to transfer to a big university that is often the “2” school.</p>
<p>Engineering degree programs typically have about 45-50% liberal arts content (25% math and science, and 20-25% humanities and social studies breadth requirements).</p>
<p>As @ucbalumnus says there is a significant amount of liberal arts & science in an engineering degree. If you are really looking for the small college atmosphere that you get in a liberal arts college, then you could look at one of the smaller private engineering schools ([AITU](<a href=“http://theaitu.org%22%5DAITU%5B/url%5D”>http://theaitu.org)</a>) which might meet your needs.</p>
<p>Good post above. In my many years on CC investigating engineering college, I don’t recall seeing that helpful AITU list. I’ll have to remember to recommend it to other families in the future. </p>
<p>In 2009 we evolved into the AITU-ish schools. DS applied to 6 from the list and is a senior at one of them. We also investigated closely at least 4 of the others (and visited 2…including the one where DH and I got our BSME degrees 30 years ago). </p>
<p>Note that there are some small public engineering-focused schools as well:</p>
<p>Colorado School of Mines
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology</p>
<p>Two of these are relatively low cost, even for out-of-state students.</p>
<p>If you plan your schedule correctly - and come in with enough AP credits, it’s possible to get a solid foundation in the liberal arts while studying engineering. Also, you can take advantage of study abroad programs, etc.</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore at Georgia Tech - not the most liberal university. Came in with some AP credits and, so far, has taken economics, poetry, public policy, history and also spent the summer in Europe - paid with the Hope Scholarship - studying art and music and also bioethics. </p>
<p>I don’t think GaTech is unusual. Just takes some planning.</p>
<p>The Liberal Arts are fairly sparse at SDSM&T, but what they do offer is excellent. The English Department being a prime example. And ‘World Politics’ is also a hit at SDSM&T where recently the class studied the novel and film “World War Z.”</p>
<p>Washington University in St.Louis gave my daughter more grant money than her liberal arts school did. The liberal arts schools don’t confer their degrees until the second school does which keeps the undergraduate study clock ticking for aid. WUSTL does an excellent job with the program. They have apartments nearby for the 3/2 students which helps to build a community. My daughter loves it there and is doing well. In contrast, USC also accepted her, but offered no aid, and it was go find your own place to live. You are admitted if you meet the required GPA threshold, a lot easier than competing with 29,000 applicants for one of the 1600 or so freshman spots. </p>
Do you happen to know what the GPA threshold is? @luvsmycat