<p>what are the advantages and disadvantages of going for a 3 + 2 engineering program at a liberal arts college? is it better than doing the normal 4 year engineering program?</p>
<p>3+2 is like using an expensive liberal arts college in place of a cheap community college with the goal of transferring to some other university to complete a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>^ ucabalumnus has an excellent point!</p>
<ol>
<li>How quickly can you adjust your life again at one of these top universities, i,e. Columbia, for example?</li>
<li>Financial aids are most likely, again, need-based.</li>
<li>You may lose interest in science and engineering during your time at the liberal college. </li>
<li>You are only given two years to complete your engineering degree. No delay.</li>
</ol>
<p>Wasting money on two schools are not worth it. Doing two BA,BS usually is a waste of time because they don’t necessarily make you a more competitive person. I’d say go straight to a state university, and attend an engineering program.</p>
<p>3+2 may not be the way to go, but that does not mean you cannot get an engineering education from a liberal arts college. A handful of LACs offer an accredited degree (Swarthmore and Smith for example.)</p>
<p>So does Harvey Mudd. See [ABET</a> | Accrediting College Programs in Applied Science, Computing, Engineering and Technology](<a href=“http://www.abet.org%5DABET”>http://www.abet.org) to find ABET-accredited engineering degree programs.</p>
<p>But the point still stands – if you want to study toward an engineering degree, it is generally more advantageous to go to a school with a “native” engineering degree program. If you want to go the transfer route, the community college route is usually much less expensive (and it is even possible that freshman and sophomore level engineering courses like statics, materials, and electronics are more available at community colleges than at liberal arts colleges without “native” engineering degree programs).</p>
<p>The biggest problem you have with a 3+2 education is the lack of opportunity for internship/co-ops while working on the “3”.</p>