<p>Hey guys, I'm in a bit of a tough spot right now. As you guys know, the deadline for making college decisions is may 1st which is rapidly approaching. The two schools that I wanted to get into, I got into (which isn't as nice as it seems). Now with the deadline nearly a week away, I don't know what to do. I love chemistry and I excel at it in school so I want to do something with chemistry in college. My parents want me to go to lehigh because of the chemical engineering program there and the fact that engineers are in demand. While I do agree that the engineering program at lehigh is great, I love Boston College. The location is great and its a very good school. I would go there but I don't want to graduate with a chemistry degree and have to go to grad school to get a job. Are there any majors in the chemistry field that I can graduate with at BC and get a good job or should I just go to lehigh even though the location isn't nearly as good?</p>
<p>Side note: I am going to take a physics class at a local community college but I haven't taken any physics classes in HS</p>
<p>As for job placement, it is perfectly OK to ask the Career Centers on both campuses about that. It is not true that you have to continue on to grad school to get a job if you have a degree in Chemistry.</p>
<p>if you want ChemE, then your choice is easy since BC does not offer “E”. If you want just Chem, BC has an excellent chem department. Plus, Boston has a ton of high tech and pharma firms who love to hire local students for internships and jobs.</p>
<p>I had to make a very similar decision last year. I was bouncing around a few schools, but Lehigh and BC were some of the two most likely. I was admitted to Lehigh’s Integrated Business and Engineering Honors program and BC’s Carroll School of Management.</p>
<p>Now, since it sounds like you’re only really considering majoring in Chem/ChemE, things are a tad different for you. I’m Finance/Computer Science. But for me, I know that Boston sounded much more appealing than Bethlehem. There’s really so much to do in Boston, so many colleges in the area, it’s probably the ultimate “college city”. Also, I know Lehigh has some tradition in sports, at least football (Lehigh v. Lafayette game), but BC sports are much more well known and popular. Football hasn’t been great lately, but hockey is on fire. I did worry that BC had no Greek life, which made me wonder about the fun of the social scene, and Lehigh is notorious for its parties/Greek life, but I don’t think I’m missing out one bit by being at BC. The sense of community, that you’re a part of something bigger (not even in a religious sense), has left me with no regrets in coming to BC.</p>
<p>As for the difference between Chem and ChemE, I can’t speak much for it. But I do know that at BC, professors and alumni go out of their way to help you succeed. There’s research to be done here, and plenty of people willing to work with you. As bluebayou said, Boston is a hub for tech/start ups, and many do have some sort of scientific spin/could probably use Chem/other hard science majors. </p>
<p>So if you’re really set on ChemE, go with Lehigh. It’s a great school for engineering, and you’ll do well. But if engineering isn’t something you’re 100% sold on, BC offers a tremendous overall experience that will challenge you academically, connect you with amazing people, and let you learn a lot about yourself.</p>
<p>If you have any further questions, shoot me a private message.</p>
<p>BC definitely outweighs lehigh in terms of location. I loved the feel of the place way more than lehigh, but it seems like I have more options at lehigh. The people that I’ve asked say that chemE=job whereas chem=grad school. There is also the factor that I have never touched physics. I’m going to try to take the ap physics equivalent at a local community college but out of all the engineering professors and students that I’ve talked to, they were concerned to say the least that I had never taken even a slight peak at physics. </p>
<p>A summer class would do me good, but it doesn’t compare to the kids that are graduating with 2 years of AP physics. ON top of that I hear that chemE is one of the HARDEST majors out there. If I can’t handle physics, I definitely wont be able to handle the rest of my classes. If this is my fate, I would end up dropping chemE for chemistry and I would wish I was at Boston :(</p>
<p>Both, but in my case both universities had schools of business. Make sure you’re also considering the financial burdens of attending either. Like I said, if you’re sure about engineering, go Lehigh. Even if it’s not ChemE, if you want any engineering, Lehigh is the choice to make as BC has no school of engineering. If you’re shaky, I think BC would have more options if you were to switch out of Chem into a different major. (More options meaning more major options with greater quality/prestige.)</p>
<p>I could’ve seen myself at Lehigh had the money been significantly better than what BC was offering. For me, BC had a better known business school and I could still major in Comp Sci. I don’t regret my decision.</p>