After much thought and consideration, I have finally narrowed down my college choices to the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State and the University of Minnesota. I am going to major in chemical engineering. I know that instantly most people are going to say that I should go to University of Minnesota but I am really torn down the middle with these two.
I visited Barrett and really enjoyed my time there. You can’t argue with the amazing whether all winter long, although it does get pretty hot in the summers (but I will probably be back in Alaska during that time anyways), the dorms and dining hall are amazing, there are beautiful girls all over campus, the engineering department seems like it has a lot of good things going for it, it has lively sports teams, and with such a small one mile by one mile campus accompanied by the honors living area it should be really easy to make friends. However, I am worried about how easy it will be to land a great job at graduation. When looking at what companies recruited from Arizona State a lot of them seemed to be local. I am currently working at ConocoPhillips Alaska as a high school intern and really like the corporate environment there. I ideally would like to land a high-paying job and be able to move up the corporate ladder in a successful company and become a wealthy and successful individual. I am not sure if Barrett would provide this opportunity or not so input on that would be greatly appreciated.
I hope to visit the University of Minnesota at the end of March. From what I have read about it and heard from other people that attend school there is that it is a very large and spread out campus and that many people have had a hard time making friends there. Also, the school spirit seems to be lacking towards their sports and I just feel that overall the social scene is relatively low. I do know however, that the University of Minnesota has an outstanding chemical engineering department that is ranked third in the nation right below MIT and Cal Tech, but there are also many liberal education requirements that I would be forced to take. The weather is also brutally cold in the winter, and I probably wont be there in the summer when the weather gets nice again. There are however, like fourteen Fortune 500 companies in Minneapolis that would probably be good employment opportunities that would help with my desire to become a successful and wealthy engineer.
Both of these schools cost relatively the same amount. Arizona State offered me a $13,000 scholarship and I applied for more within the school, and the University of Minnesota granted me in-state costs. I am also in the process of applying for scholarships within private organizations.
So basically, Arizona seems to have more of a social life with good opportunities within the Honors College, and the University of Minnesota seems to have little to offer socially but fantastic employment opportunities with an Ivy League level education. Should I go with Barrett Honors College at Arizona State, or the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities?
At each school, consider whether you need to maintain a high college GPA in order to:
- Renew your scholarship.
- Enter your desired major.
That will be easy to manage at both schools.
there’s something to be said for 315 days of sunshine per year, especially if you’re from Alaska. Enjoy your college years. You’re not going to have a problem getting a job in ChemE if you graduate from Arizona State. And you can always go to Minnesota for graduate school if you have a hankering for a couple years of cold, windy, and miserable.
All apologies to the people of Minnesota. I’m sure it’s a dry, windy, and miserable cold.
Haha thanks for the input. Any advice from anyone else?
Sure would help to visit MN. For Eng you’ll be entirely on the main part of campus - the East Bank. MN does love it’s sports teams and does have great student spirit. Kids are very friendly and welcoming. The campus is a mile from downtowns shopping, restaurants and clubs. The new light rail through campus gets you there quick and easy.
Most importantly, Chem Eng at MN is their very top program and its a strong overall school. The numerous Fortune 500 local companies help a lot with internships and job opportunities.
But, yeah go to ASU as all the blonde Swedes, Norwegian MN girls are nothing to look at.
My oldest went to ASU (Barrett) and second to U of MN Twin Cities, studying engineering like you. Both were National Merit Scholars and got a nice deal from each school. If we had it to do over again, I think #2 would have gone to ASU --just seems to hit one issue after another at MN, though the peer group experience has been good. Barrett always seemed to go to bat for their students–they helped my oldest apply to law school and one of her friends with a Fulbright application (which she got). We did decide the MN weather wasn’t as bad as its reputation though.
I was in the same boat last year, although I am from Minnesota. I was a National Merit Scholar, and I had been offered a full tuition scholarship to both Barrett at ASU and to the U of M (I was also admitted into the honors program at the U). I was almost positive that I was going to go to the University of Minnesota until I went to visit Barrett. Of course, it was warm, there were so many advisors/staff/people available to help you, and it seemed like a college full of bright, ambitious kids. Not to mention, the great scholarship, awesome dorms, and above-par dining hall didn’t hurt either. I chose to go to Barrett, where I currently am, but I will be transferring to the University of Minnesota next year. The weather here is beautiful and Barrett is very nice, its just not what I thought. There are some pretty smart kids, but the college isn’t as prestigious as I had thought. I know a lot of kids in Barrett who got mid-twenties on their ACTs (I had been under the impression that it was much more prestigious than that) and who spend a majority of their time partying and could care less about their grades. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very smart and ambitious students here, but overall I’m not as impressed as I was when I came to visit. Also, the average student body at ASU can drive me crazy sometimes - I feel as if I’m constantly surrounded by students who care more about being tan, working out, and drinking rather than getting good grades or preparing for grad school, etc. Maybe some people would like that, but I prefer the environment at the University of Minnesota. To me there seems to be a lot more school spirit at U of M than at ASU too, if you’re concerned about that. Also, the College of Science and Engineering at the U of M offers some very good engineering programs. The winters are brutal, I can’t deny that 
But I also think that people there are very friendly, and it is sometimes hard to make friends at any large university. Both are great schools, although I obviously prefer University of Minnesota now. Hope this helps you decide!