<p>I had suggested 3+2 programs to my son and his comment was “So I can pay 5 years of tuition and get two Bachelor’s Degrees OR I can get a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in engineering by taking the engineering path? No-brainer!”
I can see the appeal of the 3-2 programs as you come out better rounded by having more time to take non-engineering courses. But there are some serious down-sides too such as the extra expense and sometimes kids can’t get into the affiliated engineering program because there aren’t a lot of spots. My biggest issue with it is that if you go to an engineering school, you start taking introductory engineering courses right away. You may decide that you don’t want to study engineering at all! When would you have the change to figure that out in a 3-2 program where you study liberal arts for the first 3 years?
As I said, there have been plenty of interesting debates already. Please read them and decide what is right for you :-)</p>