<p>Does anyone know anything about these? Which colleges have good ones? I know Oberlin has a partnership with 3 other schools, but that's the only program I know of. Are they good for people who have a broad variety of interests and want to study many things?</p>
<p>Columbia's is the most well known. They have partnerships with about 100 LA schools for the 3/2 program. Other schools that have them include Caltech, WashU, dartmouth, RPI, WPI, Stanford (this is all I can think of----there are more though) . </p>
<p>They are good for kids who want more than just a pure engineering degree and who also want to study in the arts in order to be more well rounded individuals. Also, if you can't get into an elite school right out of HS, then this offers you an opportunity that you would not have otherwise had.</p>
<p>While the engineering schools listed above have broad requirements, each specific school that is partenered with them will have variations as far as what they require in order to complete the front end of the program.</p>
<p>The program normally results in a BA and BS and, for a school like Columbia, admission is guaranteed provided that you meet certain requirements. Also, unlike some of the other schools I mentioned above, Columbia will meet full financial need while schools like dartmouth will NOT do this for the first of the the two years. 3 / 2 programs at schools like Caltech are not guaranteed and the standards for getting in are MUCH tougher than for a school like Columbia which has a large 3 / 2 program with over 100 kids in it.</p>
<p>I believe Emory and Georgia Tech has a 3/2 Biomedical Engineering program. Can't say I know much about it though.</p>
<p>Pepperdine has a 3/2 with USC.</p>
<p>so does your residence change or something or do you commute</p>
<p>it seems like 3-2 programs take away from the college experience by taking you out early and mixing you ina different environment</p>
<p>can anyone say what it's like to do this first hand?</p>
<p>You'd have to change residence. For example, many east coast LAC's have agreements with Caltech -- can't really commute!</p>
<p>"it seems like 3-2 programs take away from the college experience by taking you out early and mixing you ina different environment"</p>
<p>can anyone say what it's like to do this first hand?
elliott34 is offline"</p>
<p>I know about 5 kids who have done it at my school. You will normally be going to the other school with a couple other kids from your school which you will probably be good friends with because you will have taken many of the same classes. Also, at my school, you get to participate in all of the your classes graduation ceremonies and programs. You still get 3 years at your first school so you will still get many of the same experiences you would have gotten if you went their for 4 years.</p>
<p>For most of my time here I have been poo-pooing 3-2 programs, as I don't think they work very well in practice.</p>
<p>However with my daughter's recent college hunt I have come across one that should work quite well. Only catch is, you have to be female. That is the 3-2 program between Barnard College and Columbia.</p>
<p>Barnard is literally across the street from Columbia,and the student socialize together anyway. So to pursue this 3-2 you wouldn't have to change your location or leave your friends. You can stay informed about the engineering side of things right along, though contact with your friends across the street.</p>
<p>Should work.</p>
<p>I think that Bucknell has one.</p>
<p>does anyone have any information about Stanford's 3-2 program because I can't find anything on their website.</p>
<p>Also, how hard are the top programs (ie stanford, columbia, cal tech, etc) to get into?</p>
<p>I've heard that Dartmouth has a 2-1-1-1 option. In other words, you spend freshman and sophomore years at a LAC, then junior year at Dartmouth studying engineering, return to your LAC for senior year (and graduation with a BA), then one more year at Dartmouth (for the BS in engineering).</p>
<p>Seems like this would be a more viable option than the common 3-2 program. In the 3-2, you leave your LAC after junior year, never to return, which is very difficult in practice. In contrast, 2-1-1-1 leverages the "junior year abroad" tradition, which is common at LACs. You go away for a year, but you still come back and finish up with your class.</p>
<p>Virtually all top LACs offer 3-2 programs, but in many cases they are hardly ever used (less than one person per class). A 2-1-1-1 option might increase participation.</p>
<p>Corbett,
That is a very interesting concept. I'm guessing it will be well received.</p>
<p>A couple of Williams students have done the 3-2 program with Columbia in recent years. There is a first-hand perspective [url=<a href="http://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php/3-2%5Dhere%5B/url">http://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php/3-2]here[/url</a>]. </p>
<p>Note the comment that: "Leaving your friends and support structure from your first 3 years of college is EXTREMELY difficult." Williams 3-2 students are apparently not even allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies with their own class. They have to finish both years at Columbia, then graduate with the next Williams class.</p>
<p>california_love8, i'm not sure Stanford HAS a 3-2 program, at least with another school. After all, they have very strong programs in pretty much every field...you could double major, of course...</p>