<p>I'm an admitted student -not sure if I'll be going or not- and I was curious about the physics department.</p>
<p>It seems like it's heavily focused on Astronomy, which is great, but how well does the department prepare students in other topics like electromagnetism? Is there much research in other fields? (website seems vague/outdated) </p>
<p>Also, I was wondering about the engineering 3-2 program with WashU and UM. How does that change your course load? Does Mac make you sacrifice electives for the sake of engineering like SO many others? </p>
<p>I guess I'm looking for an insiders perspective. Any input would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>sj - I’d contact one of the Physics professors directly, probably the chair as he is not an astronomer. It is a small department, which makes the academic experience almost like a 4 year tutorial, with excellent research opportunities. </p>
<p>The 3-2 progam is not that popular; graduate school is a much more frequent choice. But again, I’d e-mail the school directly and ask about it. They’ll give you a straight answer. </p>
<p>Knowing how various curricula are set up, I think that a 3-2 program at a small liberal arts school will almost always allow you more electives that a straight engineering program at a university. Not sure what the comparison would be with a small liberal arts school that has an engineering major.</p>