3-2 year Enineering Physic Double Major

Hello, I’m just looking for some advice about college. Let me start off by explaning my situation. I didn’t really try in highschool because I didn’t realize that my education was important. I was naturally smart and slacked through highschool. I messed up but I am trying to move past that and I just got into a program for a local instate college where I study 3 years of physics at the small school then I can transfer to any ABET engineering school. In the meantime I am taking AP AB calc to help prepare for college. im really trying to change who I am and I’m ready to do that in college. When I get to college I’m going to do everything in my power to be a straight A student. I recently found for some inspiration and started day dreaming about where I could go in life. My question is what are the odds I could get into a really nice engineering program when I transfer. I know the state college is the biggest reciepient of the transfer students and it’s a really nice program but now I’m day dreaming about going to MIT or something incredible and just wanted to know exactly how ridiculous I sound given my situation. Is it possible? Am I insane? Sorry for the rant and thanks for looking at my thread

Do they have guaranteed acceptance to the back end of the 3-2 program if you hit a certain GPA? With which schools?

MIT doesn’t participate in 3-2 programs.

WashU, Columbia, USC, CWRU, and RPI (among others) do.

Several publics also have articulation agreements with their state CC’s.
For instance, UIUC’s Engineering Pathways provides a guaranteed path if you hit the GPA target.

While I did not see anything that said “guaranteed” it’s my understanding that everyone who meets the minimum requirements they establish at the smaller univeristy that you are essentially just a transfer student. Would it be helpful if you knew what schools and I wasn’t being so vague? Thanks for you help

Do they have a formal 3-2 partnership with a uni or several?
I imagine that the engineering schools that have formal 3-2 partnerships are more willing to take 3-2 students.

Well the program was originally with UMD and you directly into James Clark engineering school…in the last couple years UMD dropped the program but then a group of school went to ABET and now there is some kind of recognition from ABET.Since UMD is an ABET accredited school they are still in the program and people continue to go to James Clark engineering school.James Clark is a really nice program and that’s where a lot of engineers in Maryland go. I’m not exactly sure how much of it is gaureenteed.

why spend 5 years getting your degree? Engineering schools accept transfers from community college students and it is usually possible to spend 2 years at the CC and then 2 more at your transfer college. Depending on what state you live in, some 4-years may actually guarantee admission if you meet program requirements. I don’t see what the extra year at the physics school buys you, even if you aren’t in a program before State with a guarantee. And it the physics program at a public, or an expensive private?

So this is filled with warning flags I’ve seen time and again over the years.

All the changes and pain are down the road, today you can keep on doing just what you have. People are always planning on quitting smoking, starting an exercise program, etc. at some point just a few months away. Why not do “everything in your power” these next 2 months in HS to learn the material and amaze your teachers? To see if you really can sustain this effort and motivation? Do that and your claims of a turnaround in college are much more believable.

Second, this dream of golden schools echoes the posts that say "I messed up in HS but if I do really good at my CC can I transfer to an IVY? " (its important to put “IVY” in all caps for some reason). These people are kidding themselves. And so, I fear, are you. Even for a strong HS student admission to MIT is a real stretch. Unless you have been heavily involved in ECs already, with some leadership and achievement to boot, a few years of good grades in college is laudable but not going to get you into MIT.

And I wonder, why this dream? To me the kids that are dreaming of IVY are signalling they’re not ready to do the hard work it takes to succeed in college without the prospect of what they think is a golden future with that IVY degree. Had you spent a little time looking into engineering you’d see that the field is remarkably flat, you don’t need “something incredible”. Engineers from just about any ABET acredited school start at similar salaries and have equal chances of future success.

If you go that route:

  1. be very sure that you understand what is needed to transfer (coursework, GPA minimum etc.), if there are any guaranteed transfer agreements, what % of students in that program end up transferring into an engineering program and where to they go etc.
  2. and be sure you can have the finances available to complete the program, see if any scholarships will carry over to the transfer school etc.