Students should be aware that admission to these schools is not automatic, and financial aid is not guaranteed. Bowdoin students who have gone to Columbia and Caltech in the 3-2 program have been very pleased with their programs. Columbia also has a 4-2 plan, allowing students to complete their senior year at Bowdoin before pursuing a bachelor of science or master's degree. Although this is our only formal 4-2 program, many Bowdoin physics majors, after four years at Bowdoin, go on to pursue graduate programs and earn advanced degrees in engineering fields. Similarly, students may apply as transfer students, usually during the junior year, to any approved school of engineering in the country and set up their own 3-2 programs.
Students negotiate their transfer of credits.
In fact, a Bowdoin student who has completed the course requirements may apply to any school that offers a 3-2 program, even if Bowdoin does not have an agreement with that school. There is no guarantee of admittance. Recently a physics major was accepted in the Stanford 3-2 program, for example, where he did very well. Others have transferred to Worcester Polytechnical Institute. Another possibility for students to explore various fields in engineering is Bowdoin's study away program, in which a student spends the junior year away to take engineering courses.