<p>Like most students, I'm stuck on which college to choose by the May 1 deadline. I live in California and do not want to go to either of the state schools (Cal and UCLA) I was accepted to. I was thinking of pursing engineering, but neither Amherst, nor Notre Dame, is known for engineering. </p>
<p>AMHERST: Should I choose to go to Amherst, I think I would try and major in Biology and purse a medical degree. However, this would mean more school required for me. Also, I have no idea whether a BA in Biology is a good thing. Amherst is located in a small town located within 2 hours of a major city (Boston, MA). Amherst is a much smaller school than Notre Dame and I'm not sure how this would affect me.</p>
<p>NOTRE DAME: Notre Dame is not very well known for its engineering; it's ranked near the 50's if I'm not mistaken. However, I heard that Notre Dame has a strong alumni base and treats their students well. South Bend, IN is not that big of a town either, but it is much bigger than Amherst. It is located within 2 hours of Chicago.</p>
<p>Although I'm leaning towards engineering, I'm not 100% sure what I will want to be in the future. I also don't know some information about either school (academic rigor, student life, etc.) How will the Liberal Arts college vs. University affect me?</p>
<p>What are your guys' opinion on this? Any input would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>If you are leaning towards engineering, why would you major in biology at Amherst? I’m trying to understand the two different paths you want to pursue.</p>
<p>If you have an interest in engineering, why in the world would you even consider a school that doesn’t offer it? (For that matter, why did you even apply?) And it sounds like you know next to nothing about the two schools you are deciding between. None of this is making much sense.</p>
<p>I agree! If you are considering engineering you need to go to a school that has it and start taking classes in it! If you don’t like it, then you switch majors to biology. It makes no sense to even apply to a school that doesn’t have all the majors you are considering. </p>
<p>Notre Dame is a great school and there is nothing wrong with their engineering school. You don’t need to get a degree from MIT or Stanford to get an engineering job or go to grad school.</p>
<p>I agree that if you’re considering engineering you should go to a school with engineering. If you don’t want to go to Cal for engineering (or UCLA), then Notre Dame is the way to go. </p>
<p>Even if you’re majoring in engineering, you can still go to medical school if you take the necessary premed classes; I know several people who did that. It’s harder to switch to engineering from biology if your school doesn’t offer engineering classes.</p>
<p>Okay, I see what you guys are trying to tell me. One question, how is the workload at both schools? Engineering courses at Notre Dame? Biology at Amherst? Is it different from any top school?</p>
<p>You can do 3-2 engineering at Amherst. It takes 5 years though, but sometimes you can be funded for the 5th year like a grad student. This is an option for math, chemistry and physics majors. Because of the five college exchange at Amherst, you can at take a few engineering course at UMass-Amherst or Smith. Sometimes prospective 3-2 engineers do 4-2 which is a BA, generally in physics followed, followed by an MS in certain types of engineering like EE or material science.</p>
<p>Talk through the budget with your parents. They may be up for a 3-2 program, they might not be. For most fields of engineering, what matters is ABET accreditation, not the name of the university you attend. You won’t get paid more just because you have an Amherst+ diploma.</p>
<p>If you can get into Amherst, you should be able to get into some better Engineering degrees. Even in MA you could get into Northeastern or BU or Tufts.</p>
<p>So what you guys are saying is that doing a 3-2 (Amherst has a 2-1-1-1 with Dartmouth) would be better than let’s say, attending a 4-year research institution?</p>
<p>What about costs? Are there significant differences between your 2 major options?</p>
<p>If you went to Amherst, you could take advantage of the 5 college consortium to sample a couple of engineering courses at UMass. If you take to it, you then could pursue the 3-2 (/ 2-1-1-1) options. </p>
<p>Nobody here is in a position to tell you the 3-2 (/ similar) option is or is not better for you than the 4-year alternatives. We can only offer opinions and suggestions based on the information you provide. 3-2 adds the expense of an additional year(s), and more time … but it’s still a lot cheaper and faster than med school.</p>
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<p>The OP already has been accepted to Berkeley, which has some of the strongest engineering programs in the country.</p>