<p>My son is a junior in high school and has been interested in majoring in Engineering for years. We are planning to visit a number of LACs and Research Universities this year as he begins to look at programs. He does not want to attend a polytech in case he changes his mind once he starts engineering. We are planning to visit Swarthmore, Lehigh, Bucknell, Carnegie Mellon, Trinity, Dartmouth and Yale (I know that's kind of an odd variety, but he wants a variety....) But here's my actual question.... he's also started wondering about majoring in Physics and attending an LAC so that he can take a breadth of coursework to be certain of what he really likes. I'm assuming if he decides to pursue Engineering, he could apply to grad schools with his physics major. Is that correct? What is the disadvantage of going the Physics route if he decides he wants to pursue Engineering? Will he have a harder time getting into grad schools? (I'm assuming he will need to go for 1-2 years longer than an Engineering major.)</p>
<p>" I’m assuming if he decides to pursue Engineering, he could apply to grad schools with his physics major. Is that correct? " - The usual path would be engineering BS followed by grad school. </p>
<p>What kind of physics interests your son? If he likes mechanics, he may prefer engineering. Physics majors these days seem to involve a lot of particle physics (electrons etc).</p>
<p>I have a BS in physics and an MS in EE. An undergrad physics degree is excellent prep for any graduate engineering degree. You have to take a few undergrad courses to catch up, but it’s not that big a deal. Some LAC schools offer 3/2 engineering programs where you go 3 years at the LAC, followed by 2 years at an engineering school, and end up with two BS degrees, one in physics and one in engineering. That sounds like something that might interest your son.</p>