<p>3-2 is not conceptually much different from going to community college and then transferring to a state university (like University of Michigan) to complete a bachelor’s degree. The differences:</p>
<ul>
<li>The “3” LAC is much more expensive than the community college.</li>
<li>The “2” school is likely to be more expensive than an in-state state university.</li>
<li>It does take an additional year (although some community colleges are overenrolled so that it may take an extra year there anyway).</li>
<li>The LAC may be less likely to have sophomore level engineering courses (materials, electronics, statics, etc.) than a community college with a pre-transfer curriculum aligned with the state university, which may require more “catch up” after transferring for the 3-2 case.</li>
<li>You do get an extra bachelor’s degree from the LAC in the process.</li>
<li>You do get a chance to take junior/senior level courses at the LAC before transferring.</li>
<li>You do not have to transfer if you decide to change major to something natively available at the LAC.</li>
</ul>