<p>Semi-personal experience — a friend of mine did the 3/2 program with Columbia, for Computer Science. (His major at Reed was Philosophy.) It’s a great deal if that’s what you want, but very few students end up doing it for a number of reasons. Chiefly, many majors at Reed are really built towards preparation for your thesis, and students find that they don’t want to leave immediately before their thesis would start. (Besides, it’s tough to forsake the social side of not sharing senior year with your peers.)</p>
<p>Nonetheless, details: Caltech’s 3/2 program is highly selective and I don’t personally know anyone who applied for it. I do know two people who are Reed grads who are doing Physics PhDs at Caltech, though.</p>
<p>I think Columbia’s 3/2 requires a 3.3 GPA from your 3 years at Reed, so (perhaps unlike your peers) you’ll actually need to keep a close eye on your grades. There is also a substantial list of required courses that Columbia expects of you, which can be difficult (but not impossible) to fit in around Reed’s own distribution requirements.</p>
<p>Regardless, keep in mind that a Bachelor’s in physics, followed by a Master’s in engineering, is another option which resembles the 3/2 in many ways. </p>