Dartmouth vs Middlebury vs Bowdoin

monydad
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 03:33:49 +0000

17:

“Now, if you started out as a math or physics major, then OK, you maybe did take a bunch of math and science courses, so in that case it would likely be feasible to explore EE or even switch majors.”

That was all I was getting at in #16. And also the reverse, you could switch to a physics major in the liberal arts college from engineering.

“But if you are a typical LAC student, and you didn’t commit to a math/science-intensive schedule as a freshman, then switching to engineering later and still finishing in four years is probably not going to work.”

True. But somebody who might want to switch to engineering is likely not a “typical” LAC student. He/she is likely a fledgling physical sciences major. And those majors have sets of recommended courses starting freshman year.
The set of recommended courses for a physics major, when/ where I attended, was very analogous to what the engineering students were required to take.

Now if you are a fledgling philosophy major and then decide to switch to engineering you likely will not have taken anything like the required sequences. But that’s not generally the case, IMO.

re: #19, " I would really like to explore other areas like languages and social sciences (Econ and foreign relations)":

BS engineering degrees include space for some amount of non-engineering elective courses. In fact a certain number of credits in such areas are actually required by accreditation bodies. Different programs vary somewhat in exactly how much room for electives you would have. They may be enough for you, to explore those other interests… (or not, it depends on how much you want obviously).