<p>Smith’s new engineering 4-year engineering program, which has heavy emphasis in the liberal arts as well as engineering, has guaranteed graduate engineering school admission to Dartmouth, Tufts, JHU, UMichigan, Notre Dame, and Princeton to any student with a 3.5 GPA.</p>
<p>Brandeis has a 3/2 program with its own graduate business school that gives one a bachelor’s degree with a major in economics and a master’s in international finance.</p>
<p>ROMANTIK - maybe this will help to explain it a bit.- just an example of how it can work…</p>
<p><a href=“Physics and Engineering Department : Washington and Lee University”>Physics and Engineering Department : Washington and Lee University;
<p>This is the 3/2 program at Washington & Lee - for engineering - at RPI and Columbia</p>
<p>Ditto. Here are PDF links to UTexas-Austin’s dual degree program that combines Plan II Honors (liberal arts) with engineering options:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/cola/plan2/content/advising/Adv_Manual/CHME_Plan”>www.utexas.edu/cola/plan2/content/advising/Adv_Manual/CHME_Plan</a> II.pdf <a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/cola/plan2/content/advising/04-05_Adv_Manual/EE_Plan”>www.utexas.edu/cola/plan2/content/advising/04-05_Adv_Manual/EE_Plan</a> II.pdf</p>
<p>There are a number of other engineering options at UT. Some students have completed the requirements in 4 years rather than the suggested 5 years, generally due to credit for AP classes. Also, most freshmen applicants are admitted jointly into Plan II and engineering (or another college of their choice, such as business, architecture, pharmacy, etc.). Thus, they don’t have to worry about getting admitted at a later date to the college of their second major.</p>
<p>anyone has info about similar ba/ md programs ?</p>
<p>“Smith’s new engineering 4-year engineering program, which has heavy emphasis in the liberal arts as well as engineering, has guaranteed graduate engineering school admission to Dartmouth, Tufts, JHU, UMichigan, Notre Dame, and Princeton to any student with a 3.5 GPA.”</p>
<p>Can you see how unacceptable this arrangement, and the ones like it, is for someone who really might want to be an engineer? What if they don’t get a 3.5, but they still want to be an engineer? That’s a damned high GPA, and I bet plenty of students who got into those engineering schools as freshmen might not be able to achieve it. The student who could have attended a school such as Trinity College, for instance, that has engineering in the first place would feel pretty sorry about their choice after achieving only a 3.4 at Smith and consequently being excluded from the 3.2 program. Those Trinity College students can still become engineers, even if they only get a 3.4 there.Or a 2.7. Or whatever. There are no contingencies for THEM.</p>
<p>Aside from the futility of trying to cram an entire engineering education into two years, with no prior guidance or exposure to the field.</p>
<p>Atomom,</p>
<p>My knowledge of BA/MD programs is limited but I’m sure you will get some good answers at CC. I do know that Rice and WashU-St.Louis have highly ranked programs affiliated with quality medical schools, and they also offer (at least they did offer in the past and I think they still do offer) guaranteed admission to the medical school to a limited number of qualified freshman applicants.</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr College has a number of
AB/MA programs that may be completed
in 4 years. See their web site for more info.
<a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/deans/comb_AB_MA_prog.shtml[/url]”>http://www.brynmawr.edu/deans/comb_AB_MA_prog.shtml</a>
In addition, they have several 3-2 programs
with University of Pennsylvania & Cal Tech.</p>
<p>Allow me to digress to comment on
a flippant “Hidden Gem Program.”</p>
<p>As parents we want the best for
our children. Best schools, clothes
upbringing and… future husband/wife.</p>
<p>Naturally we can’t pick & choose their
spouses, but we can send them off
to schools where they have the best
opportunity to connect with someone
of our culling. </p>
<p>Did I tell you I sent my daughter off
to Bryn Mawr College? I also suggested
she work part time as a baby sitter for
some of the more affluent families in
the Bryn Mawr area. Taught her how
to differentiate between old money &
new money and… I even suggested
she study in the discipline of Anna Nicole Smith.</p>
<p>Hell, who knows, she may even get her
degree.</p>
<p>Northwestern has HPME for BS/MD, which is a 7 year competitive program in which students get both degrees in 7 years, and dont have to take the MCAT. University of Illinois-Chicago has a simelar program which is just as selective, rice-baylor has one too.</p>
<p>“Can you see how unacceptable this arrangement, and the ones like it, is for someone who really might want to be an engineer? What if they don’t get a 3.5, but they still want to be an engineer? That’s a damned high GPA, and I bet plenty of students who got into those engineering schools as freshmen might not be able to achieve it.”</p>
<p>The 3.5 only applies to the GUARANTEE. Virtually all of their grads who applied (3.5 or not) went on to grad schools in Engineering. There are no “contingencies”, only guarantees. But it is a guarantee no other college in the country is able to offer.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.smith.edu/newssmith/spring2004/engineers.php[/url]”>http://www.smith.edu/newssmith/spring2004/engineers.php</a></p>
<p>Why did you think they had no other exposure to the field?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Engin/students_profiles.php[/url]”>http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Engin/students_profiles.php</a></p>
<p>Yeah, I think Monydad has it seriously wrong. The Smith program is a real (if really new) undergraduate engineering program. So it’s theoretically the same as going to any other undergraduate program, except for two things: (a) it has no track record, and (b) it’s the only all-female engineering program in the country.</p>
<p>Given the historical underrepresentation of women in engineering at every level, I assume there is enormous competition for qualified women who apply to engineering programs. So Smith, marketing its program, says, “If going to a women’s college is attractive to you, but you worry about our lack of track record and prestige in the engineering world, we can guarantee you admission to a top graduate program if you are an A- student.”</p>
<p>In reality, I suspect that any woman completing a decent undergraduate engineering program with a B+ average who wants to do graduate engineering work probably has a great chance of getting into any number of good schools.</p>
<p>This is indeed different than what I was thinking. I stand amended.</p>
<p>“Why did you think they had no other exposure to the field?”
Because: i) the other programs I looked at previously. at other colleges, didn’'t offer any prior exposure in the field; ii) I was not familiar with this program at Smith; and iii) though you said as much, it didn’t make sense to me that Smith actually offered engineering itself, but nevertheless was offering a 3-2 program with various engineering schools. Therefore I assumed their 3-2 program was like the other 3-2 programs I reviewed. That’s why.</p>
<p>The other schools that have 3-2 programs do not themselves have an engineering program. Frankly it’s a little odd if you offer a major yourself to be crowing about your program whereby your best students can get a degree from someplace “better” in their major, instead of your own school. But be that as it may, the guarantee of admission is a boon for students who can achieve at that level.</p>
<p>For the rest( majority, I would assume), who are not guaranteed transfer, and in fact don’t get accepted to this program due to grades: they don’t have absolutely nothing, as I asssumed, however they are “stuck”, for better or worse, with the offerings in engineering at Smith, however adequate or inadequate these may be. One would have to compare departmental offerings to those at the Bucknell/Union College/ Trinity Colleges of the world to see how they stack up. If it stacks up well, then fine. Perhaps they can complement with offerings at U Mass/Amherst, if there are some?; then this would be actually fine, potentially.</p>
<p>And this is of course all one can bank on coming in, because you have no idea what your GPA outcome is going to wind up being. One can’t assume that they will qualify for the 3-2 program given the criteria.</p>
<p>Still, this is a very unique situation which is both different and better than the other typical 3-2 programs that are offered.</p>
<p>My vote for hidden gem goes to the Harvard Extension School. </p>
<p>Open admissions, bargain-priced tuition, some superb and dedicated instructors, class discussions with a wide variety of perspectives thanks to lots of nontraditional students with interesting life experiences and diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, generous policies on accepting transfer credit, access to Harvard libraries and museums. Location in a terrific city with great public transit, museums, community service opportunities, etc. </p>
<p>For self-directed learners who are willing to take initiative and make the most of their access to an amazing intellectual community, the Harvard Extension School is a fantastic hidden gem.</p>
<p>Here is an article on some of this year’s graduates and faculty: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/06.08/40-extension.html[/url]”>http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/06.08/40-extension.html</a></p>
<p>The downsides–students have to scrounge for housing in a high-cost-of-living city and scheduling study groups, etc. can be close to impossible since your classmates are often juggling jobs and families.</p>
<p>But for an outside-the-box student with the right mindset and resourcefulness and initiative and maturity and self-directedness and creativity and problem-solving skills–it’s hard to beat this. (The problem-solving skills come into play in figuring out how to deal with housing, study-group networks, scheduling, etc.)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.extension.harvard.edu/[/url]”>http://www.extension.harvard.edu/</a></p>
<p>connecticut college will give you a fully funded internship anywhere in the world, doing absolutely anything you want to do
<a href=“http://www.conncoll.edu/offices/ocs.folder/internships/index.html:[/url]”>http://www.conncoll.edu/offices/ocs.folder/internships/index.html:</a></p>
<p>Well not exactly fully funded–3000 for the internship which may cover some expenses.</p>
<p>One of my D’s classmates is attending UC San Diego next year as a freshman, and his acceptance included an offer for med school as well as undergrad.</p>
<p>George Washington University has numerous combined programs, including a BS/MD program and a BS/JD program.</p>
<p>CC has a forum on this at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=476[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=476</a></p>
<p>One of my favorite “hidden gems” in this category is Union/Albany Med.</p>
<p>Caltech also has an arrangement with UC San Diego for med school</p>
<p>I have a question regarding Harvard Extension School. After graduating, does your diploma/degree say you graduated from Harvard or from Harvard extension School?</p>