<p>Can anyone provide me some real world information on this program? Do many students take advantage of it? Are there any downside to the program that they don't tell you about? Can you elect in at any point, or is it a track that you enter when you start at Tulane?</p>
<p>TIA </p>
<p>From what I have heard since Katrina, while there are not a ton of students that have chosen this path there certainly have been some. The couple I have specifically heard about said they felt completely prepared in their new school. I think both went to Johns Hopkins, but I can’t remember for sure. I am sure Wayne Reed of the School of Science and Engineering would be happy to give you some statistics. He is the advisor for the program. Just email him. <a href=“mailto:wreed@tulane.edu”>wreed@tulane.edu</a></p>
<p>They are pretty transparent about the program, I don’t think there are any real surprises. The only one I can think of is that the student has to get used to a new school, make new friends, etc. But that isn’t really very different than if they were going to grad school, and in a sense this is similar, just a year quicker than the typical student. And they do end up with two degrees, one from Tulane and one from either Vandy or JHU, which is a nice accomplishment.</p>
<p>You don’t have to sign up at the very start of entering Tulane, but in order to fulfill all the requirements you couldn’t wait too long, either. But it shouldn’t be much of an issue the first year if one is taking the typical courses of a physics major. For that matter, if one is an engineering physics major but unsure if they want to spend 4 years at Tulane or take advantage of this program, I don’t see any particular barriers to deciding even after 2 years. Here is a typical schedule one would follow: <a href=“https://tulane.edu/sse/pep/academics/undergraduate/physics-dual-degree-engineering-program/dual-degree-sample-schedule.cfm”>https://tulane.edu/sse/pep/academics/undergraduate/physics-dual-degree-engineering-program/dual-degree-sample-schedule.cfm</a> It seems pretty identical to what would be taken even if this program didn’t exist. The big trick is to make sure that all the Tulane unique requirements are fulfilled by the end of year 3, such as the 2 service learning semesters. Well, not really a big trick, a pretty small one in fact. One has to take those courses anyway, this just means you slot them before senior year, which most do anyway. Dr. Reed will make sure the student is on track form an engineering perspective, and there is a Newcomb-Tulane College advisor to make sure the rest is kosher as well.</p>
<p>Hope that helped. I think it is an excellent program.</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I think I’m qualified to answer this question. You can opt-in to pursue the program at any point during your three years at TU but it is recommended to indicate your interest earlier to be sure you’re on track. You must, however, major in Physics to be eligible. Here’s my story:</p>
<p>I recently (and unexpectedly) graduated with a BS in physics and math after having pursued this program during my time at Tulane. I learned about it while selecting colleges in high school and thought it was a great opportunity to maximize my academic opportunities in undergrad. In fact, I meticulously drafted a five-year plan for quadruple majoring at Tulane and JHU in physics, math, electrical engineering, and computer science. I loosely followed the plan during my three years at Tulane and also had opportunities to research, participate in conferences/REUs, work internships, get involved in clubs and community service, and take electives outside of the four majors. Everything went well - I regularly communicated with my advisors in math, physics, TU academic advising, and even the professors and deans at JHU. Everyone told me that I was on track and that the transition would be no more than the formality of submitting a transfer application at the third-year mark. I did as I was told and informed the appropriate people at both TU and JHU, who congratulated me and told me how excited they were to see the inaugural TU group matriculate to Hopkins – and then we were denied. Every single one of us.</p>
<p>No one at TU could explain why that had occurred and could not help me, nor any of the other 3+2 JHU applicants. It was the end of April and we were desperate, seeing that deadlines for graduate school have already passed and most competitive employers have already concluded their rounds of college recruiting. I sought help from my 3+2 program advisor, who I had met with every semester for three years, who reassured me at every meeting that to his knowledge, I was on track. He had no idea, and referred me to the dean. The dean was furious, and reached out to JHU’s dean, who also couldn’t provide an explanation. A few days later, May came around. Final projects and exams swamped us and the professors. We rushed to fill our paperwork for graduating and before we knew it, we were sitting in front of the Dalai Lama (who delivered our commencement speech), crossing the stage, and were “done” with college. Jobless, confused, and with double STEM majors in three years. To add to the confusion, our names were proudly marked with asterisks denoting our 3+2 distinction in the commencement ceremonies handout. </p>
<p>From what I have learned, no one has successfully matriculated to JHU through this program. There was one student who was supposedly admitted in a previous year but denied the offer to attend graduate school instead. Also to my understanding, the rejection was due to a conflict with the admissions committee at JHU. One odd point that I did notice was that a formal document I previously found online, which stated terms that JHU would provide TU a one-year in advance notice if it ever were to withdraw from participating in the dual degree program, was nowhere to be found immediately after we received our admission decisions. The requirements for the program were also modified soon after. </p>
<p>Luckily, there is a somewhat happy ending to the story – for me at least. Because I personally elected to pick up the second major in math at TU, I was able to graduate at the three year mark. Some of the others extended their stay at TU to complete their degree in physics and probably will not get the engineering degree that they hoped to in undergrad. (Engineering physics at TU, however, is very similar to physics so it wouldn’t be too hard to switch over to that last minute.) It took me a while to find my footing after graduating since I missed grad school applications and college recruiting season, but I was pretty fortunate to eventually receive interviews and offers from big names in oil, finance, and technology (Google, Dropbox, JPM, Goldman, Shell, IBM, Booze, you name it…) and a few well-regarded graduate schools. Looking back, I still feel cheated and deceived by the program because I deliberately chose TU over other great schools to pursue the 3+2 – but overall Tulane was still an incredible experience and provided a great education. </p>
<p>If you have any questions feel free to PM me or post here. Or if, god forbid, you end up in a similar situation, I’d be happy to talk to you since I have come to realize some better options for adapting to (or even hedging for) the situation. Best wishes to your college career! </p>
<p>@tugrad13 - I am very impressed you remain so positive after such an apparently distressing experience. I am thrilled you managed to nail such great interviews and I assume you have landed somewhere pleasing to you.</p>
<p>To all - I have contacted Dean Altiero requesting an update to this situation and hopefully I will have something to report back soon. He has always been extremely gracious and rapid with his replies in the past.</p>
<p>Fallenchemist: My son is now Junior, GPA 3.75 and is applying 3+2 (Physics Tulane and ME at Vanderbilt). I am also curious if we will have problems. He has had recommendation from the program coordinator of Tulane and Dean of Engineering at Vandy. All documents/requirements have been completed and if he is accepted then he should start Vandy in Aug 2014. What’s his chance of NOT being accepted based on the previous post?..or what can be done to ensure the acceptance?..perhaps you can talk to Dean Altiero?..Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>@tugrad13 - thanks so much for your post. This definitely shines a new light on the real opportunities with this program.
@kidsrfun - if you can update us on your son’s experience, I would really appreciate it.</p>
<p>VHFather: Yes, I will post/update in here. So, now we are just waiting for the acceptance or rejection letter from Vandy.</p>
<p>@Kidsrfun - I have not heard back from Dean Altiero yet, but of course he could be traveling. As soon as I hear anything I will post again. As told, the story is indeed alarming. But let’s see what else might be going on here.</p>
<p>OK, I heard back from Dean Altiero. He confirmed what tugrad13 said, and added some details. I will just post what he said:</p>
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<p>So what I was remembering, obviously not quite correctly, was that people I had heard from in the past had been accepted to both programs (hence my assumption they were well prepared). I didn’t realize they had decided not to attend. But I was obviously wrong about there not being any surprises!</p>
<p>So it seems to me at this point it isn’t really a program in the sense we thought, but an option one can apply for. I would imagine that this whole thing will be rethought and hopefully made more definite.</p>
<p>Thank you for the info.</p>
<p>Thank you for the info.</p>
<p>@Kidsrfun: Any update on your son and his acceptance to Vandy? </p>
<p>shoner: Yesterday, my Son called me and said he has been accepted by Vandy and they have given him the same Financial Aid/grants like Tulane. Sorry I have to change my name since my email acct is no longer in use. Anyhow, I believe if your son/daughter wants to do this 3+2, it is doable and just follow the requirements, etc. More importantly, when applying to Vandy, you will be treated like any Transfer Students and the decision will be sent around April 15 onwards.</p>
<p>@Kidsarefun - Congrats to your son, best of luck to him at Vandy.</p>