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I'd like to provide what I think as negative on LACs for engineering; the "engineering" major is a "general" one (in which you take a little bit of everything (sampling) across many engineering disciplines
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<p>This certainly true. The whole point of a liberal arts curriculum is that is is NOT vocational training, but rather a broad based survey with a focus on the learning process, communication, etc.</p>
<p>I would say that the graduates of Swat's engineering program tend to fall into two categories: they either go on graduate school for advanced degrees in a specialized field of engineering or they end up in an entrepreneurial career -- tech start-ups, software companies, Wall Street IT systems, etc.</p>
<p>Over the long run, the general background and education in problem solving is probably very advantageous, given that engineering challenges and jobs change so dramatically over a career. However, I agree that, if you are looking for 4 years of vocational training leading immediately into the entry-level engineering workplace, the more specialized B.E. degrees may serve better.</p>
<p>Just depends how you view the role of a four-year undergrad education. The big hesitation I have with the dedicated tech schools is what happens if an 18 year gets a semester into the deal and finds out he or she despises engineering? Part of college is sampling different things to make informed choices. I would be a little concerned about a school that doesn't offer much in the way of sampling or choices should the student opt to veer in a different direction.</p>
<p>I actually think there is much too much focus on "how's this department?" and declaring majors by 17 year old high school students. How can anyone really know, based merely on high school, what they want to do for the rest of their lives?</p>