Hi everyone,
I’m a high school senior deciding which school to attend and am still seriously stuck as to which school I should attend. I was accepted to chemical engineering for all 3 of these schools, and my goal would be to study renewable/alternative energy or the environmental applications of what a chemical engineer can do.
Rice: Great student life, I think I would fit in pretty well. Also, it has good placement for grad school which is something I might consider. However, the chem e program is not as strong as the other two schools, and I have heard from students there not being very happy with this major. I also live in Houston and I think this would really restrict the opportunities I could have (I don’t want to end up Texas all my life).
UT: Great chemical engineering program, vast number of opportunities and great job placement. Also, I am in Engineering Honors. I have a lot of friends there/going there, which could work both ways- they could provide me with invaluable advice, having gone through the exact same steps I will go through, but I don’t like the idea of hanging around all my friends for the next four years. Also, the same argument is applicable for wanting to leave Texas (I also don’t really want to go into oil/gas, which I feel like many of the chem e graduates from here would end up doing). Although I haven’t visited, I think I would like the Austin culture, but the idea of a state school really turns me off sometimes (I don’t want to regret not pushing myself to do more).
Berkeley: The location is awesome, and I’d finally get to leave Texas. There are plenty of research opportunities here as well. I know prestige is overhyped, but I think it still holds some value, especially with my parents. I know the alumni network is not as strong, but I think being in California would give me a higher chance of pursuing the fields within chemical engineering that I would like to do. However, I’ve heard a lot about the competitiveness of this major at Berkeley, and considering that I am competing with many in-state students who have some small tips on doing better from friends (just as I would at UT) and extremely brilliant international students, I don’t know how my grades would fare. I’ve wanted to go to Berkeley, but after hearing about the severity of competition there, I am less certain in my ability to excel in that sort of environment where I am spending a lot of my time keeping my grades up. I’ve also talked to students (not in chem e) who have very much liked the school, but I have yet to hear from students in chemical engineering specifically.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have parents who told me not to worry about the cost of attending any of these schools. In my eyes, UT seems like the safe route which will secure me a job, but might not provide the intellectual stimulation I want. Rice seems great for its student life and grad school placement (especially if I want to continue research), but the program is not as strong and also, I want to leave Houston. Finally, Berkeley seems to be the high risk high reward school. I’d be excited to go there, but there is a good chance I might end up doing poorly or performing miserably. Do you guys have any input on where I should go? Is there anything else I should be considering, maybe from the perspective of the industry or grad school? If any of you went to these schools, I would love to ask you more questions. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!