<p>Binghamton is currently my top college choice. Although I am undecided in a major, engineering does interest me and could be a possible major in the future. However, to begin a major in engineering, one must apply for BU's separate engineering school. To transfer from the arts and sciences college to the engineering school, one must wait until the beginning of the next semester to apply. Also (and this could be incorrect), I've heard that one must actually wait until the beginning of the next YEAR to apply, since that is when all the courses start, and one cannot start a class in the middle of a year. In any case, it seems that I will have to spend a significant amount of extra time and money if I decide to major in engineering without deciding my major as soon as I start college.</p>
<p>I really don't want to commit to a major the second I start college, but it's difficult to move in and out of the engineering school. Are the facts I stated above correct? Is it at all possible to graduate with an engineering degree in four years without declaring a major the first semester? And also, if I decide against Engineering, is a degree from BU's arts and sciences college any more reputable than one from, say, University at Buffalo?</p>
<p>I need to make my decision in less than two weeks, so I am indeed in an enigma. Thank you all for reading!</p>
<p>From what i have heard, finishing an engineering degree takes a full 4 years at just about any school. Switching into or out of any engineering program will make graduating in 4 years very difficult. Unfortunatly i do not know anything about applying into bing engineering, but i do know they only offer general engineering degrees, so keep that in mind. </p>
<p>Arts and sciences: bing>buffalo
Engineering: buffalo > bing</p>
<p>But anyway, it is very common for schools to require engineering students to commit at the start or else it is hard to finish. </p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. If I take general engineering at Harpur and then transfer to Watson, is it possible that my previous engineering experience would be taken into any consideration at all?</p>
<p>You really have to commit by sophomore year in order to graduate in 4 years. The engineering dean MAY waive the intro to engineering freshman courses if you apply end of freshman year, but no guarantee. If your grades are good and you have taken the science and math courses you should be in good shape, though not quite sure what “previous engineering experience” you are referencing.</p>
<p>You can always sign up for engineering, take an intro course or two and see what you think. Find out if you could easily switch into the liberal arts school if you decide you don’t want engineering. It is not unusual for some students to drop engineering as a major. Engineering has a lot of courses you need to take in a sequential order so most students start out on an engineering track.</p>
<p>Is Stony Brook not an option here ? They are great for everything including engineering, sciences, Business etc. Their engineering program is equivalent to Buffalo’s.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, everyone! @Magnetron, when I say “previous engineering experience,” I don’t mean I’ve ever had any yet. I mean, if I take a general engineering course at the arts and sciences school, will that count at all toward a Watson engineering degree if I decide to switch to that school eventually?</p>
<p>@Happy1, that sounds like a good idea, actually. However, I’ve already signed up for the arts and sciences school, and I won’t get the opportunity to switch to Watson until after a semester (or more, see above).</p>
<p>@XtremePower, yes, Stony Brook is an option as well I suppose; however, it seems to be just as difficult to switch to an engineering major as in Binghamton.</p>