3-2 Engineering Programs

3FG or Rick will probably have the answer  but I am sure you have to be a qualified student and enrolled at the institution you are playing at. I am not sure what happens if you are enrolled at two colleges. Early in the process I looked into a couple of 3-2 options for my son and I called the NCAA and they were very helpful in answering my questions, I would call them and give them the specifics.

jhelbing - I dont' know the answer but BOF's suggestion is a good one.  Call the NCAA with your specific situation or scenario. 

Another thing to think about is will your son have enough time to practice, workout, travel, play baseball his 4th and 5th years if part of a 3+2 engineering program.  My understanding of most college engineering programs is they are very structured and team oriented.  When we looked into this 3+2 , all the engineering classes were at the backend (4th and 5th years) of the program.  In other words, it is going to very concentrated (all engineering classes) with no ramp time.   That would be a red flag for me in terms of time management.  Good luck.

We looked into the 3 + 2 a little bit - and one thing we learned is that students at most schools are not automatically enrolled in the "+2" portion.  They need to apply to the second school where there may only be limited slots available.

Thanks - I will follow up with suggestions. The 3-2 programs are by far not our first choice  - my son would prefer to straight into Eng as a freshman and we are targeting D2/d3 schools where that may work. His targeted major of bio-medical engineering is very focused and there are not a lot of D2/D3 schools that offer  - we are researching all of them presently (around 22 or so and many of them he will not be able to get into academically or financially)

Thought I would throw it out there to see what anyone has experience with - does not sound ideal for athletes of any sport. I am sure most coaches are not in favor of recruiting anyone who may only be there for 3(or 2 years).

These types of programs often have such specific criteria regarding the particular schools involved in the 3-2 program, that it is often best to contact the athletic compliance office at the school/schools you're considering.  There are NCAA rules regarding Academic Exchange Programs, and other unique academic situations, but I have found it best to talk directly to the schools about these, since they will ultimately be the ones that have to certify the player's eligibility and can talk with the academic folks on their campus about the nuances of the program.

I'm gonna come at this from a different angle.  (We looked at a couple of these too).

I am an engineer and have managed a research organization for nearly 20 years.  We have never hired anyone from a 3+2 program that I can recall.  We do hire BS grads IF they will promise to go to grad school (on our dime).  A 3+2 program is a little hard to interpret as to the strength of the overall program and so we just haven't done it.

Our hires are almost always near the top of their class at a 4 or 5 (co-op) year engineering program.  And we do hire from all over the U.S. and not just from elite schools (MIT, Stanford, etc... although we do hire from those too).  So take that however you want - it may not apply to organizations that hire more from the middle of a graduating class - I just don't know?

Hope that helps.

Justbaseball brings up a good point. 3-2 program graduates typically come out with a dual degree, business/engineering, which fit some employers but probably not highly technical ones. Bio-Engineering is an extremely technical field and many graduates go on to get Masters and PHD's in the field. Certainly they will need program and business managers, but I would check with potential employers to double check. My son looked into several, the most notable was CMS. All that said you are pretty much guaranteed a high paying job coming out of Harvey Mudd's program with any kind of degree. 

Best of luck in your search. 

I have known several 3-2 engineering students at several d3's. In most cases they changed their major before completing the 3rd year and finished out Baseball and College at the first school in the 3-2 situation. 

The only one that I know that moved on to the 2 portion. ended up being a 4-2. Do not know the details and do not know if he ever finished his engineering degree at the second school, but he went to the school for a 4th year to finish up his bball eligibility, because he was not going to be able to play at his engineering school.  Whether it was due to work load or because the coach was not interested or other reasons, I do not know.

I've known quite a few over the years who were on a 5-2 program (or some extended variation of their own making, thereof); but, none of them were engineers.

The 3-2 programs are a means for Liberal Arts Colleges to attract more STEM students. As we all know, that extra year of college can be extremely expensive, particularly if the scholorship funds do not carry over into the 2-year engineering program. From an engineering perspective the student would most likely be better off enrolling in a good 4 year program at an engineering school (or department within a university) and take 5 years to finish. This would provide a lot of wiggle room in terms of course selection, particulary during the spring baseball season. I really don't see any benefit to the 3+2 programs unless it's his dream school and baseball program.

Eh...   I think you're right about why the programs are there, but leaving aside the baseball issue, I think it may be okay for some kids. For example, my 2015 was thinking briefly of applying for a 3+2 that starts at William & Mary and leads to guaranteed admission at Columbia if a certain GPA is maintained.  For a kid who wants an economics degree as well as the engineering degree, and wouldn't get into Columbia as a freshman, 3+2 has some appeal.

But JustBaseball's observation above is a concern, and anyway, I don't think he's going to go that way.  We'll see.