I’m a senior in high school and my top two college choices are Barnard/Columbia and USC(I have been admitted to both). I plan on becoming an engineer which is why I say Barnard and Columbia as I would do a 3-2 dual degree program and get both a BA and BS in five years. I’m from DC and know New York like the back of my hand(well not completely). I haven’t spent time in LA but at the same time I’m not afraid of taking risks. I’m not trying to backdoor into Columbia through Barnard, as I didn’t even apply and fell in love with Barnard when I visited. Although my family can afford to send me where I choose I have been given a scholarship to USC that would cover 80% of my tuition. I want to go abroad which may be easier to do with a fifth year at Barnard, but I love having some great sports teams and school spirit. Totally different schools with different experiences, I know, but I just want some raw opinions. Thanks!
If you really want to be an engineer, that would happen for you best, and most certainly, at USC IMO.
I assume you’ve been admitted to a four-year engineering program there.
In typical 3-2 programs, you get no exposure to engineering till the third year, then you have to cram the whole engineering curriculum into the next two years. It isn’t enough time and you get a truncated curriculum. Then back to LAC for the fifth year. . An extra year’s expense, for an outcome that provides less engineering training and exposure. In this case, proximity of the schools would allow you to alter that sequence of events to take some engineering courses during sophomore year, which would be desireable., But I don’t know if they’d let you do that anyway.
Admission to SEAS depends on meeting its grade requirements in the science/math courses taken at Barnard, so that’s not guaranteed upfront at the time you’d be coming in to Barnard as a freshman.
FWIW, your “backdoor” efforts will not go unnoticed, or uncommented on, by a subset of your SEAS classmates.IMO. You’d best be able to hold your own, academically, among that pool of very brilliant students…
If you don’t want to be an engineer, and want to become number cruncher on Wall street instead, the 3-2 SEAS plan is clearly better for that. IIRC only about 1/3 of SEAs grads actually become engineers.
If you want to be a liberal arts major Barnard is fine;
If you want to wind up in SoCal USC is better, Vica versa for NYC.
“…I love having some great sports teams and school spirit.”
Not strong features of Columbia/Barnard, FWIW.