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3-2 Engineering Programs for College?

I'm looking to go into either Chemistry or Engineering for my major in college (currently a senior in highschool and beginning my application process). I have yet to decide whether I should enter into a 3-2 program if I choose to pursue engineering. Can anyone with experience in this area give me feedback on if a 3-2 program is really worth it, or would it be better to major in physics for an engineering career. If I want the typical college experience (being involved with the campus, students, faculty ect) should I avoid a 3-2 program? Do these programs allow me enough time to participate in intramural sports as well? I'm just really looking for feedback on the positives and negatives of a 3-2 program. The colleges that I am applying to are : Carleton Oberlin Furman University (really just a college) Ohio Weslyn Denison Macalster University of Minnesota and maybe Case Western Reserve

Public Comments

1. From your interests it looks like a 3-2 would be a great idea. Your list of schools looks good for the 3 part. The nice thing about starting out as a 3-2, is if you decide you just like Chemistry (and not engineering), you can just stay 4 years and be a Chemistry major. I have not done a 3-2 myself, but I know people doing the 3 part (at Grinnell College -- a pretty good place for Chemistry, if you do not mind rural Iowa) and people on the 2 part at WashU (a great place to do the 2 part, from what I hear), and they seemed pretty happy, and seemed to have plenty of time for a typical college experience (intramurals, etc...). If you like Chemistry, definitely start out in that, since it would be good preparation for Chemical Engineering. The only negative I can think of is you would have sort of a split college experience socially. But if you feel like you would adapt fairly wll to this sort of thing, it might not be a negative for you. The main postive in my opinion (considering the senario of doing a 3 in Chem at Grinnell and a 2 in Engineering at WashU) would be that you would have small Chem (and other )classes for your first two years (20-40 students at Grinnell, as opposed to the 200-400 students at WashU). Good luck with your decision!