<p>I've started to notice that several colleges offer 3+2 programs, and they seem like a great idea, but wonder about the details. Of course, I imagine every school has it's own specifics but thought some of you might have some good insights and thoughts on what to look for in a program and what the benefits/ drawbacks might be.</p>
<p>My thinking is that with a 3+2 program you would be right on course to earn a masters, with a more defined path as far as what courses are needed, but would following that path then restrict you to that masters program, even if you decided later that you'd rather apply to a masters program somewhere else?</p>
<p>I'd love to hear more about these programs from those of you you have looked into them.</p>
<p>Completion of a 3+2 program typically results in two bachelor’s degrees, not a master’s degree, after five years.</p>
<p>The “3” school is usually a LAC that does not natively offer engineering. Engineering prerequisites need to be taken (e.g. math and physics). Major choice at the “3” school may or may not be restricted.</p>
<p>The “2” school is offers engineering; students have to transfer to it. Transfer is not necessarily guaranteed (e.g. may have to apply with competitive admission). Financial aid at the “2” school may not be known upon freshman entry at the “3” school.</p>
Benefits for pre-engineering students tend to be that the intro classes are much smaller and more personal than at a large engineering program. You get the benefits of a small school for those first 3 years.</p>
<p>Drawbacks - some schools don’t offer scholarships to transfer students. LAC may not have all the required intro classes for pre-engineers, requiring additional make up work at the transfer school. </p>
<p>If you don’t graduate from the LAC, they may ignore you ever after (which may or may not be a drawback, if you aren’t considered an alumni.) Not everyone gets the second Bachelor’s degree after transferring.</p>
<p>One of the drawbacks is definitely the economics/financial impact - if you get a financial aid package at your LAC that covers most or all of your education, that does not necessarily cover you at your engineering school. You’ll have to pay tuition and fees at your engineering school, and you may be treated like a transfer student (although some engineering schools may have separate processes for 3-2 students).</p>
<p>I think even at engineering schools, the major often takes students 5 years anyway, so the length is not necessarily a significant disadvantage.</p>
<p>All of the disadvantages already mentioned, plus . . .</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard from science faculty at several LAC’s that offer 3-2 programs, most students who start the program never finish it. Reason? It sounds good in theory, but the reality of having to complete the LAC’s 4-year program in 3 years, while completing all the prerequisites for the engineering component, makes it a pretty daunting undertaking. Also, the overwhelming majority of students realize they don’t really want to miss their senior year.</p>
<p>Dartmouth offers a 2-1-1-1 program, in which students do their first two years at their LAC, take their junior year at Dartmouth (like a junior year abroad), return to the LAC for senior year, and then go back to Dartmouth to finish the engineering degree. Sounds difficult, with all the moving back and forth, but allows students to complete their four years at the LAC with their classmates. You can check the Dartmouth website to find out which LAC’s they partner with. (Vassar is one. Don’t know the others.)</p>
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<p>Most of the engineering schools I’ve researched offer a 4-year degree.</p>
<p>^I think juillet was referring to the fact that a lot of engineering students take more than 4 years, regardless of the intended length of the program. It’s a tough haul.</p>
<p>You don’t necessarily have to complete a 4 year program in 3 years in a 3-2 program, though. Most 3/2 programs I know of offer the student the option (or require them) to not declare a major in the LAC, or if they do, they don’t finish it. My LAC had a very popular and successful dual-degree engineering program, partly because of our proximity to Georgia Tech (we had agreements with other schools, but the majority of students opted to go to Tech) and there was the option to not declare a major. Basically, you would just take general education requirements and your pre-engineering courses, which could easily be completed in three years. If you did want to complete a major at the college, it had to be specific science majors (chemistry, physics, computer science or math). You wouldn’t complete all of the major requirements at my LAC - some of your engineering credits would count towards the BS or BA at the LAC, so you would get the BA after four years.</p>
<p>A good number of my friends were 3-2 program majors either at my LAC or the one across the street, and the majority of them did finish the program and went on to their engineering schools. Fulfilling their dream of becoming an engineer was more important to them than being on their original campus for their fourth year. (And in the case of those who chose Georgia Tech as their campus, they were able to participate in the social life of the senior year if they wanted to! Others just got involved in the social life of their other engineering schools, which included another HBCU on the list in addition to Dartmouth, Auburn, RPI, Michigan, Columbia, Florida, and Notre Dame).</p>
<p>I suppose it would depend on the student themselves, the schools their LAC has a 3-2 agreement with, and the campus life there.</p>
<p>Such a restriction on majors seems to be a disadvantage. A student may be looking at a 3+2 program in order to complete two majors, one engineering and one unrelated (humanities or social studies). Such a double major would be very difficult to fit together in a typical four year plan (especially when many engineering schools are public universities that do not like students taking more credits or semesters than needed to graduate with a single major), but could be more readily fit into the five years of a 3+2 program.</p>
<p>A 3+2 program that allowed any major at the “3” school would be more attractive to a student who wants the second bachelor’s degree to be in a humanities or social studies subject.</p>