<p>I just finished my freshman year at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, and I'm returning there next year, but I was wondering if I should transfer to an engineering school after sophomore year.</p>
<p>I like W & M because of the GREAT professors and down-to-earth people, but I have realized over the past year that I am extremely interested in ENGINEERING. I have taken up to Multivariable Calculus (Calc III) for math and the two intro classes (mechanics and thermodynamics/EM) for physics and I am also taking chemistry and more math and physics classes next year. I have about a 3.6 GPA overall. </p>
<p>Since I feel that I would really like to do engineering (instead of a physics and government double major which I initially planned to study), is there any compelling argument to transfer after sophomore year to an engineering school versus going into engineering in graduate school?</p>
<p>I am thinking of a few schools for engineering including NC State University (at which I would pay in-state tuition and at which I have a number of friends), Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech, all which I think I would have a fair shot at transferring to. I am most interested in Civil Engineering.</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>why not see if you can get into the 3:2 program at W&M? Also you should investigate whether it's worth getting an undergrad degree and then taking up Civil Engineering in grad school; you might have to take years of make-up classes before you even start the official grad program.</p>
<p>Thank you mikemac, it seems that you know a good deal about W & M. I have looked into the 3:2 program at W & M and asked my adviser. Basically you have to get almost a physics (or science) major in 3 years and then the 3:2 program is limited to only three engineering schools for the 2 years of engineering: Rensselaer Polytechnic, Washington University in St. Louis, and Columbia University. They all support civil engineering programs and are great schools. However, I was told that although it is called 3:2 plan, it usually turns out to be a 4 years at W & M.</p>
<p>I understand that this is a strong option and I can definitely get into the 3:2 plan (you have to have a B average or higher), but I don't know if I want to be limited to those three schools. They are great schools, but fairly far away. I was thinking about NC State University, which is close to my home in Chapel Hill, NC. Would I be at any disadvantage after undergraduate, in terms of job opportunities, to transfer there (NCSU) instead of other schools like Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, or the three schools that are part of W & M's 3:2 plan (RPI, WashU, and Columbia)? I have heard engineering at NC State is a solid program. </p>
<p>*I do not need to hear about rankings, as I already have looked at them (NC State is 29th in undergraduate engineering).</p>