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 I knew my freshmen year of high school I wanted to go into Engineering, but by May of my senior year I knew Claremont McKenna College was where I belonged. So, I threw out my hopes of Engineering, and packed my bags for California. I figured I would be able to find something I was just as passionate about while at CMC – and there was no way I could say no to all the other opportunities that CMC offers. A few days of freshman orientation filled with talking about my interests to upperclassmen and professors, led me to Professor James Higdon’s office. Once Professor Higdon started talking about the 3-2 Engineering program, I knew that CMC really was my dream school.
The 3-2 Program allows students to attend CMC for 3 years pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Management-Engineering. You have to fulfill all the regular general education requirements and take a mix of math, science, and economics courses. Once completed, you are technically ready to graduate from CMC. But it gets better. You then get to go to another school for two years to get a Bachelor of Science in whatever engineering specialty you choose. Our sister school is Columbia University in New York, so most students will head east after three years in the sun. However, you can apply to any engineering school to continue the program.
A lot of students on CMC’s campus say that I am crazy when I tell them I am doing the 3-2 program and many cannot understand why I am doing it. You have to finish all of your major requirements in three years instead of four. You have to leave the paradise of CMC a year early, missing out on senior activities, etc. But despite these statements, you get the opportunity of a life-time: three years in Los Angeles, two years in the hustle and bustle of New York City, two Bachelor’s degrees, a range of course work that enables you to become a very well rounded student, and two very different college experiences. Yes, the 3-2 program is demanding academically – some students have to overload, and you are always taking challenging classes. But this is not to say that I have not enjoyed my three years at CMC – I took all the required classes, I swam on the Varsity Swim Team, placed at the Division 3 Nationals for Swim, had a job at Career Services, had a social life and I could not be happier.
Filling out the applications to other colleges was a challenge – but I now have applications in to Columbia University, University of Southern California, and Stanford University. They are all great schools, so no matter where I choose to continue the 3-2 program next year, I know I will be in a good place. It will be hard to leave Claremont, and I will miss senior year traditions such as spending Thesis Day in the fountain with my class of 2011, but I will never regret my decision to come to CMC and to do the 3-2 program.
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