My son is pursuing the dual degree engineering program between Hamilton College and Dartmouth College and he loves it. I believe the Columbia program used to be guaranteed admission, provided the student meets many specific requirements, but from what I have heard they have also switched to competitive admissions. The primary benefit of this program is that it prepares more well rounded students. If the student pursued an engineering degree directly, due to the significant number of math and science prerequisites the student is limited in how many electives/liberal arts courses they can take. By pursuing this program my son was able to broaden his horizons, take more discussion based courses and learn to communicate better. The biggest drawbacks are an additional year of education before they can begin earning money and additional cost of an extra year of college. You have to weigh whether the benefits outweigh the costs for you and your student.