[chakerb]

I went through program like this (french-speaking country). My concern after doing those two years are:

1- You learn a lot of useless subjects!! I'm a software engineer now but I studied organic chemistry for two freaking years!! And I don't plan to use that knowledge (most of which I totally forgot) anywhere in the future. Something that I wouldn't have picked if I was studying CS in the US.

2- You're using the same filter for everyone, and people can have different type of intelligence which can go unnoticed via such program.

3- You don't get to chose the thing you love if you don't rank well! Actually you may end up with something that you hate, because that's what's left! And you only know this after you spent two years of your life!

4- It's mostly about hard work and luck!!

5- You get out with almost only theoretical skills in the first two years. A good thing if you're looking to continue in the research track afterword but a bit of disadvantage (compared to people who used those two years to master the required skill for the job market).

[ngc248]

In my university, the first two semesters were spent in studying subjects from all the engineering disciplines like mechanical engg, civil engg, chemistry, physics, maths, CS, EC etc and I though it was a very good thing too since you get to know the basics of most engg disciplines. If it was just you own discipline from the start it woulda been pretty boring.