Meet full need schools will generally meet full need for transfers too, and you are right the formula varies from school to school and sometimes from first years to transfers within a school. But there’s a big caveat on the FA for 3:2 programs, you do need to get out in front of that if that continues to be on the radar.
Non meet full need schools tend to have worse FA for transfers as compared to first years.
Also, admissions wise, some schools that are need blind for first years are need aware for transfers.
The point is that you won’t know for certain until you know. You could find yourself in the same boat again.
I second this! An extra year is not a huge problem. The other option would be an MS or a PhD in Engineering after 4 years at Pomona. You will know in a couple of years how much you enjoy physics and engineering and if the careers you seek will be more achievable with a grad degree in engineering, or if a 3-2 makes sense instead.
Yup, will only be applying to schools that meet full need if I decide to transfer. Preferably w/o loans or work-study (ik HMC includes loans so I’ll be looking at other options too).
Makes sense, just remember the meet full need schools are predominantly reaches.
One thing to consider if you think the 5th year might happen in a 3:2 or 2:1:1:1 program, you could consider banking the $27k (over years 1-4) in student loans to help pay for the 5th year (in case FA is in fact lower for that year.)
AND, they’ll look at first year college grades. The transfer plan is in no way a certain thing.
I second you have to check school by school. Many meets need for all don’t have engineering.
This is just one example of an engineering meets need school where you aren’t assured.
“Although the financial aid budget at Tufts is substantial, it is a finite resource that is available on a limited basis to entering transfer students.” Schools are looking to enhance their rep while others use transfers for $$.
Don’t forget, image, rank and more are built on first year, not transfer students. Others, like Notre Dame, no merit for transfer.
Yes there are some schools that will meet your need but for engineering maybe not as many as you think. Definitely some but not a ton per se.
But it sounds like you can’t afford $20k plus a year so an engineering school now wouldn’t have worked anyway.
If Pomona is a fallback, it’s a nice cushion.
Good luck.
OP, Congrats on being admitted to one of the best colleges in the US.
3/2 takes a beating here, but i actually think that you’re in an enviable spot, provided that the fifth year would be affordable :
In sum, if you stick with the 3/2 plan, try to fall in love (now) with both Caltech and WashU. They are both great… but very different. So kind of steel yourself against the possibility that you don’t get into both.
If both are dumb enough to reject you, well, you’re still at Pomona.
And if you change your mind entirely, and choose another academic and vocational path, well, you have the resources of Pomona and the C’s upon which to call and rely. They’ll help you figure it out.
You are in an enviable position, whether you decide to stick with Engineering or not. Good seeds sprout where they land.
Pomona students can’t do off-campus majors because virtually everything is already available as a Pomona major. Pitzer/CMC/Scripps students can’t do HMC engineering as an off-campus major, either.
However, non-HMC students can take Mudd’s introductory engineering class, ENGR004 HM - Introduction to Engineering Design and Manufacturing, as well as the Human Centered Design classes taught at The Hive.
Another option would be to look for a study abroad or domestic exchange program where you could supplement with coursework Pomona doesn’t have. It isn’t as if you can cobble together a complete engineering education this way, but you could prepare for an engineering grad program.
It doesn’t seem as if you’re 100% sure about MechE. It would be a shame to give up Pomona and then change your mind about engineering after all. But it’s also true that getting a full-blown engineering degree to happen, within budget, is going to be a project, starting at Pomona.
Are/were you a National Merit Semifinalist by any chance? If so, it’s possible you could still grab the full ride at Tulsa and do engineering there.
The OP has to establish a three year collegiate record that will get them into those schools. It’s not a fait accompli just because the school partners with them. Admission is competitive.
On top of that, students, particularly those going to Caltech have to adapt to a system that their peers have had two years to get used to. Drinking from a firehose is one thing. Starting that beverage with third year classes sounds brutal.
Just because I happen to have looked at this before–WUSTL is pretty transparent about their 3+2 engineering admissions requirements, down to specific requirements for specific majors:
https://engineering.wustl.edu/academics/dual-degree-program/admissions.html
In addition to doing the required courses (and it is a comprehensive list including what might be called gen ed requirements) and getting the required grades, you also need to make sure you are working with the “Dual Degree liaison officer” at your first college who will need to certify you.
However, the good news is they say in their FAQs:
https://engineering.wustl.edu/academics/dual-degree-program/FAQs.html
Is admission guaranteed?
All applicants are admitted as long as the candidate:
- is currently attending one of our affiliations schools
- completes all of the course requirements for admission and achieves a 3.25 GPA or above (overall and math/science)
- is endorsed by their current institution certifying aptitude for engineering study and the completion of a bachelor’s level, non-engineering degree at the current institution no later than receipt of the engineering degree from WashU
The only reason a student would not be accepted after meeting the above requirements is if they had an anomaly on their record such as a felony or a severe academic integrity violation, for example.
As I understand it, this is one of the nice things about going to an affiliated school for WUSTL’s program, that it isn’t capacity limited and so as long as you can jump through all the hoops (and to be sure there are a lot of them) you will not then also need to worry about whether they will have enough space to admit you.
Math (applied) can lead to a number of career directions (finance, operations research, data science, some types of computing, high school teaching, etc.) with non-poor pay levels. Physics or astronomy graduates may be considered for some math heavy jobs (e.g. computing or finance), although work in actual physics or astronomy is less common, and someone aiming for such jobs to begin with may choose a different major (e.g. CS for computing, math / statistics / economics for finance).
Plus, physics and math majors can run in engineering circles too. One of my patients ran one of the biggest NASA programs at JPL and taught at Caltech. He had degrees in math and physics, but no engineering. Granted, he had PhDs in both. I’m not sure the OP is up for that grind.