My visits to Ivy Leagues were incredibly impressive and 100% positive, but I guess I'm trying to sort out Ivy Leagues vs. Everyone Else in my own mind as I apply to a total of four of them (an ED Deferral from one so far). Also applying to four outstanding non-Ivy League schools and already accepted to two (one of which is an Accelerated Masters).
Chemical Engineering is going to be all-consuming regardless of school, but I’m starting to gravitate to some of the non-Ivy League options and not so all-in for those with the “best” reputations.
I don’t know. Thanks for adding anything you like on the topic if you get a chance (to include an overall undergrad experience).
Really appreciated.
Although I’ve read it here repeatedly that with engineering it doesn’t matter where you go but how well you do that matters, I strongly disagree because I as well as others in the field will not hire from some well known schools because their programs are not anywhere as rigorous as others. Some are a joke where what students are tested on during exams is what others learn in class using the same textbooks written by their Ivy professors who teach well beyond the textbooks.
With that said, there are large number of non Ivy schools that have excellent programs that are well respected. A few examples are Purdue, U of IL and UMich which some consider “lowly” state schools. It IS important to do well wherever you attend. And in case you are wondering I’m a CHYPS grad whose opinion is based on experience with various schools and their graduates. I have worked with more Purdue grads than any other U and they have all been stellar (MechE’s too!). You are lucky that you have many options for a degree which has a wide range of careers and is pretty recession proof. Hope this helps.
Edit: I chuckled when you wrote “all-consuming.” I’d call it brutal but think Architortue is even more rigorous.
GT is excellent and more on the affordable side. My daughter is a mechanical engineering major there and we are happy she chose to go there. She was accepted to Case and Miami Ohio with lots of merit so that would have been cheaper but she was also accepted to an Ivy that we thought wasn’t worth the money. She came in with many APs and takes a light load each semester. that has been a blessing and she has played intramural soccer and club lacrosse on the side as well. If you have a state school where you can use your APs do that. It is invaluable. My daughter is a sophomore but her standing at the university is really a junior thanks to the number of classes she has taken. Her GPA is 3.75 and we are happy with that. Good luck to you.
In terms of reputation in chemical engineering, MIT, Stanford, UC–Berkeley, Rose-Hulman, Georgia Tech, Caltech, UMichigan, UIUC, UTexas, Bucknell, Princeton, UW-Madison, UMinnesota and UDelaware offer some of the most recognized programs.
The colleges with the best reputation for Chemical Engineering generally aren’t Ivies. However, that doesn’t mean you should gravitate towards the “best reputation” schools either. I’d suggest thinking about what is important to you – getting a certain type of job? working/living in a particular location? avoiding large lecture classes? easy to do an accelerated or co-terminal master’s program? good prep for PhD? being in classes with stellar students? a particular subfield of chem eng? low cost? small/large? urban/rural? availability of sports, clubs, or other ECs? give course credit for your AP classes? options for various studies other than chem eng?.. or whatever else is important to you. Once you have a good idea what factors are important to you, look for colleges that best meet that criteria. They may be Ivies or they may be non-Ivies.