Got accepted into Bucknell with good aid so I’m fairly certain i’ll be attending. I have a question though.
I chose history as my major when I applied to Bucknell but now that I think of it it’s not something I wish to pursue. Is it easy to switch majors within Arts and Sciences to maybe Comp Sci or Biochemistry or something else? I have IGCSE and A level background in both so that wouldn’t be an issue hopefully.
And what about switching into College of Engineering for Comp Engineering?
How’s the procedure and is it likely that I can switch majors?
Priority to switch into a specific Engineering discipline is first given to current engineering majors, followed by those d in Engineering who entered as " engineering undecided’ . Bythe 2nd semester of your 1st year, you are expected to declare which engineering discipline you will follow. So even those currently in the engineering program may not get their first choice, since Bucknell manage the professors and class sizes accordingly. The college of engineering is much smaller than the rest of the colleges, so I would not say it’s guaranteed you can switch. I would contact admissions and confirm.
My D was accepted with one major (outside of engineering) but, by April of her senior year of high school, decided she wanted engineering. At Admitted Students day, she spoke with a dean in engineering and he said she could start with the engineering curriculum in the fall of her freshman year and, as long as her grades were acceptable (can’t recall if a specific GPA was given or not but, if so, not unrealistic), she could switch her major to any engineering discipline other than biomedical because that one was impacted. All worked out for her although she ended up having to formally apply that November and, despite good grades, was told there could be capacity issues and winter break was a bit of a nail biter but she did get accepted. She’s now a senior (incredible 4 years) so things could be different so check with the department of engineering but, hopefully, you will be able to switch to engineering if you’d like.
As of last year, engineering 101 was only offered in the fall so I would try to find out sooner rather than later…if you wait until fall to ask and you’re given a green light, you’ll be behind if you can’t take the first class until fall of your sophmore year. Good luck!
It is definitely not a sure thing by any means that you can switch from Arts and Sciences into the Engineering program. They will allow you to take the first semester engineering curriculum and then try to transfer in, but whether you can will depend highly on your grades, how many others want to switch in, and whether they have open slots in the particular type of engineering you want. My child did try to make this switch, and it didn’t work out for him . . .there were few in his class who were able to transfer in. All that being said, my child absolutely loves Bucknell . . .so maybe things worked out for the best.
My S asked the question of a professor right after a presentation on the engineering program during a visit two years ago (I believe it was during candidates day). The prof said although it isn’t impossible, it is very difficult if you are in a competitive program with only a certain number of seats. S was accepted into the School of Management, but was also interested in engineering. They said both were very competitive, and, as stated earlier in this thread, your grades, etc. would be reviewed IF they had any openings, but nothing was guaranteed. S ultimately wound up going to Lehigh where it is much easier to switch between colleges.