Hey, guys. I was thinking of enrolling in Haverford to be a physics major. However, I want to be an engineer. So my initial plan was to take part in the 3+2 program with Caltech and finish my degree there. However, I just found out that Caltech doesn’t give aid to international 3+2 students. So I was wondering if it would possible to start out as a physics major at Haverford and then transfer to a different school to finish my degree in engineering after a year or two. Say Cornell or Rochester or even Penn. I assumed that I would be able to fulfill the engineering requirements through the quaker consortium. I need help, please.
Is the 4 + 1 program with Penn still available?
yes
But penn doesnt offer aid to 4/1 program students either
Are you entering college this fall (i.e., class of 2021)? If not, you might want to consider a school with a dedicated engineering program instead. As for the 3+2 program at Caltech, it is a wonderful opportunity to get two high-quality degrees, but only for students who have the exceptionally high aptitude for math typical of the average Caltech student. If your math SAT scores are not north of 780 and you did not score 5’s on the AP BC Calculus and AP Physics exams, you will likely have a difficult time keeping up; if you are not competitive for direct admission at Caltech, you might want to reconsider. There are some outstanding engineering programs throughout the country that would likely meet all your needs, including financial aid. Haverford is a wonderful school, but it might not be the best route for you to pursue your goals. The physics department is exceptional and would provide you with some hands-on research opportunities unavailable at most undergraduate schools. Haverford students who do the 4+1 program at UPenn tend to do very well as engineers. Best of luck on whatever path you choose.
@Fejiro You can major in physics then go for a masters degree in engineering with funding.
Do not worry about 3-2. At Haverford College you can cross register at Swarthmore College for engineering classes and you can cross register at Penn. It will be hard work, but simply take your physics major, and take engineering while at Haverford. Then, get a masters in materials engineering, electrical engineering or mechanical engineering. Most engineering programs will take physics majors. The problems are very similar. You will be fine. If you want to study CS, thats another option, and advisable to take a lot of math and CS. Bryn Mawr College is also open and fantastic in mathematics.
I agree with @o2bdownsouth just forget about Caltech. Its very far away and its so difficult, I would not go that route. Take all the classes you can get in the Philadelphia area with the cross registration process. Then take a masters in engineering. You will be fine.
Penn is better than Swarthmore for engineering and Penn is on a train line to the east of Haverford. Good luck. It can be hard to schedule, but do your best and you will be on your way to becoming an engineer. In fact, Google prefers physics majors to CS majors today. physics is the new engineering major. Physics is harder and forces you to learn problem solving at a deeper level. Engineering degrees are a dime a dozen, unless they are from MIT, Caltech, GT,
where they force the student to take a lot of physics! Good luck.
@Coloradomama @o2dbownsouth and @megan12 thank you so much for your help
Apparently though Penn will not let Haverford students take engineering classes, so check that, only Arts and Sciences classes. You can take engineering classes at Swarthmore , and any classes you want at Bryn Mawr. Its harder to get over to Swarthmore though, you may need a car, but I think there are some buses. There is a train into U of Penn, but check all the rules about cross registration. There is another school down the block, Villanova U. I do not know if you can take classes at Villanova, but check into that too.
@Coloradomama I think you may have that backwards. There is a 4 + 1 engineering program with Penn: https://www.haverford.edu/engineering/41-program-university-pennsylvania. There is also a 4 + 1 Bioethics program. I don’t believe they’re allowed to take Humanities, but I could be wrong. Either way, taking classes at Swarthmore and Penn are difficult because of scheduling issues and transportation time.
@megan12 I am referring to Quaker Consortium Cross Registration, not a 5 year program. This is set up so a physics major can get some engineering classes to qualify for a masters degree in physics. Most materials science programs do not demand an undergrad in engineering, but some might prefer it. So Haverford students can cross register at these schools under these sets of rules:
https://www.haverford.edu/registrar/quaker-consortium
While Penn may limit to Arts and Sciences, its plausible the physics student could get permission to take some engineering classes on a cross registration basis. This gives the student a physics degree, plus knowledge with the extra classes. . At Swarthmore, follow the rules above to figure out what the physics student can sign up for.
So, basically create your own minor in engineering and thats more than enough to qualify for a masters degree at another school later if OP wants to get a masters in Engineering. Many careers in engineering need a masters degree but having the bachelors in physics does not harm at all, and may even be helpful, depending on the career path. Semiconductors, the physics bachelors helps, any optics engineering career, physics helps, magnetic storage, physics helps a lot.
Many masters in engineering programs are really hunting for students, so a bachelors in physics from a top school like Haverford College will do nicely. Physics classes may be very applied in some cases, if the student takes labs, they are learning electronics, and if they add a few CS classes, they may be ready for any engineering training program, even without a masters in engineering. Basically many physics majors with bachelors degrees become engineers, as the skills are the same, problem solving. Much of engineering changes rapidly, so a physics student can easily learn it on the job. Given the number of software related jobs today, basically all physics students may qualify for any of those, depending on the exact electives and interest of the student. Actual physics jobs are way lower in number, but it does not matter, the skills between electrical engineering, and physics are very overlapped.
If you look at the website of large physics programs like Arizona State, you will see that the department guides most physics majors towards engineering careers. Only a few will go on for a PhD in physics, but that is another path, if a research career is desired.
Finally a physics major can become a high school teacher. There is a vast shortage of physics teachers across the USA.
sorry typo, that should say a student may qualify for a masters degree in ENGINEERING at a different school, if they earn a bachelors degree in physics, with enough labs and a" minor" in engineering gained at say Swarthmore College. It does not have to be a true “minor” It just needs to be a few classes to show the employer that the student has some relevant knowledge, in say electrical engineering. There is a lot of overlap between the types of problems that electrical engineers a physicists solve. Also, every company has its own training methods for engineers. See The Edison Program at General Electric, for instance.