<p>I've been accepted at an Ivy which I really love.. at the same time, I've also got into a top LAC which offers me a combined plan with columbia. I really wanted to go to columbia but got rejected ED.</p>
<p>While i love the other ivy, it does not have IEOR (operations research/ financial engineering)</p>
<p>So, i'm just wondering if its worth dropping the ivy i've got into for this plan. (if it was just for the LAC, i wouldn't even think twice.. its only because of columbia that I'm in this dilemma)</p>
<p>If I were you I’d stick to the Ivy you got into because its going to be a much more holistic experience to spend your time at one school. Assuming you want to go into some sort of quantitative finance, you don’t need a financial engineering major to do it. An econ major with a math focus will suffice - so a 3/2 program isn’t going to give you a huge advantage. If you got into a place you love that you can stay 4 years, it doesn’t seem worth it to have a broken up college experience and pay for 5 years. Particularly because that other school is an Ivy - its going to get you where any 3/2 program will. All the Ivies are feeders into quantitative roles in finance.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies slipper and swimmer.</p>
<p>@Slipper - I was thinking about the same thing… and, as long as industrial/financial engineering wouldnt affect job prospects greatly, I’m okay with it.</p>
<p>@swimmer - Hmm… i might… but I like Brown more - so , i’m either thinking of giving up industrial engineering and going to brown or going for the combined plan…</p>
<p>I’d advise you to do Brown. I think you’d have a better experience than Amherst/Williams and then Columbia. But Columbia does have a great IEOR department, so I guess it depends how much you value that major.</p>
<p>You know…I was going to go with Slipper on this one, then I read the program and it does sound kind of intriguing if you can complete it and undergrad in five years. In any event, it sounds like you’ll be studying your a$$ets off no matter where you go. :/</p>
<p>@Empty Canvas - I dont think the program is closed. In any case, I’ll be doing econ at the LAC, so columbia wouldnt have any say in that… I’ll be doing IEOR at columbia…</p>
<p>@Johnwesley… Hmm… thanks (i’m still confused haha)</p>
<p>You have to be careful with the 3-2 program. I’m currently going through it now. I’m in my last semester at my lac and let me say it takes a **** ton of planning and you absolutely cannot afford to take any wasted classes or classes that don’t count towards either the 3-2 program or your major at your lac. </p>
<p>It may be even more difficult for you as an econ major at your lac because there may not be a lot of overlap between the requirements for your degree from your lac and columbia’s requirements for admissions. </p>
<p>I applied to columbia for computer engineering through the 3-2. Should be hearing back soon. </p>
<p>In your case since you got into brown I would just go there. The reason I ended up doing the 3-2 program is because I slacked in high school and knew that I could have gone to a much better school than where I ended up. I really cracked down in college after I spent my freshmen year learning how to study, and have gotten above a 3.5 gpa every semester since the beginning of my freshmen year.</p>
<p>Also, I forgot to mention that I don’t agree with slipper about the broken up college experience. After 3 years at my lac I’m ready to graduate. Don’t get me wrong I love going to school here, but its time to move on. In fact, one of the main reasons a lot of my friends cited for going abroad this semester is the fact that they couldn’t handle another semester here. </p>
<p>I also think that since all my friends are abroad this semester its going to make leaving easier.</p>
<p>Thanks A LOT for your post. I really wanted to hear from someone who was actually taking the combined plan.
Even I am leaning towards brown now…</p>
<p>Hope you get into columbia (though its 100% acceptance)</p>
<p>Hey I’m doing this combined program too. But to be frank, taking a heavy load of courses isn’t that fun at all. However, I couldn’t get into CU otherwise. I know what I want and I figured out the way to do it. If I were you I wouldn’t do so as I’m the kind of person who doesn’t want to spend 5 years at college for two bachelor’s degrees. One from an ivy is sufficient.</p>