<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I am going to be attending GWU starting Fall of 2012 and I was wondering if anyone knew if it was possible to get an Engineering degree in 3 years? Is this a good idea? I really want to not stay in undergrad so i can go on to grad school. </p>
<p>Has anyone done this and how? Would you suggest it?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>One of my friends is doing it. I do not think it is a good idea, though.</p>
<p>He basically came in with 40+ credits from AP tests. If you don’t have around 30 credits from APs, I don’t think it is possible/useful. You could, of course, take summer classes. But that would destroy the whole purpose of engineering. You need a lot of work experience/internships before you graduate. Summer is the perfect time for them.</p>
<p>Certainly it’s been done before, but you’ll need a TON of transfer college credit from HS. IMHO, I wouldn’t advise it. Time can be better spent in undergrad doing research and/or graduate level classes to stretch out those 3 years to 4 years, of which you might also be able to use for graduate school.</p>
<p>Considering you’re currently a HS senior, I wouldn’t even worry about grad school right now. Many things can change between now and when you start looking to apply to grad school.</p>
<p>You’ll need either a large amount of credit going in (AP only gets so far since AP physics is not that well accepted, so actual college courses would likely be most helpful) and/or take course overloads each semester.</p>
<p>S entered his engineering program with 60 credits. He COULD have graduated in 3 or 3.5 years but we encouraged him to take some “fun” courses and take the full 4. He is happy he did. He did an internship after soph & JR years that helped him get a great full-time job in Feb in SR year.</p>
<p>We have a friend whose S is getting a bachelors in chemical engineering and finance as well as a masters in finance all in 4 years. He has had a lot of interesting internships along the way, two in engineering and two in finance. He is very driven & opted to exempt out of several courses freshman year and really push himself. He takes about 24 credits/term!</p>
<p>Personally, I think it’s a good idea to make sure you have a solid foundation and don’t overwhelm yourself in your 1st term & year of engineering. We know many who have burned out & dropped the major because it was just too grueling. That’s one of the reasons we urged S to just repeat coursework he had taken in HS when he started college. It seems to have worked for him.</p>
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If you’re on a (good) scholarship, I’d recommend you stay the full four years. You’ll have more time to get work/research experience as an undergraduate, for one, and - perhaps more interesting - you’ll have more time to take graduate-level courses as an undergraduate. This will allow you to both explore your research interests and make a stronger application to better graduate schools. You didn’t say what engineering you’re doing, but let’s take GWU’s Electrical & Computer Engineering program as an example. [GW</a> Bulletin 2011-2012](<a href=“Electrical and Computer Engineering | The George Washington University”>Electrical and Computer Engineering | The George Washington University) There’s an unfathomable number of graduate courses in the bulletin; if you’re a good student, odds are you would be allowed to take many or all of those as an undergraduate. Taking these kinds of courses as an undergraduate is a winning proposition for graduate school.</p>
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<p>On the other hand, repeating course work that one knows well* means foregoing the chance to take additional free electives that would otherwise be enabled by skipping courses like freshman calculus. Such free electives could be in or out of major, including graduate level courses that may be available.</p>
<p>Look at it this way: would you rather pay tuition and spend time to retake freshman calculus that you already know well*, or take an extra upper division or graduate level course later?</p>
<p>*This assumes a strong knowledge of the material, such as 5 scores on AP tests, A grades in college courses taken in high school, self-checking against old final exams from the school now attending, etc., not a “just passing” performance like 3 scores on AP tests, C grades in college courses taken in high school, etc…</p>
<p>I know someone who did but they took full class loads during the summer</p>
<p>Nearly all the kids who were in engineering with S also did great on their APs & re-took the same courses in college, so kids who weren’t as well prepared would have been at a severe disadvantage. For them, it is a comfortable way to ease into the engineering program. Those who wanted to get exempted from retaking the courses would have had to challenge the placement–most opted not to.</p>
<p>It is true that if exempted out, he probably could have had more time to take more courses of interest, but neither he nor his peers voiced any regrets about the reviews.</p>
<p>My dad took only 2 years & 3 summers to get his JD & MBA. He does NOT recommend such a compressed course of study. He did it after serving in the military.</p>
<p>I know another kid who got his masters & bachelor’s in engineering in 4 years. At USC, they have a program where students can get the dual degrees in 5 years.</p>