<p>I am relatively unsure about what I want to do the rest of my life. I am strongly considering engineering, specifically chem E, and then going to work for Big Oil; however, I am also thinking about eventually getting into management consultancy. Schools I am considering are Uiuc, GT, Umich, Duke, Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Let's say I get into all of these. Which one would be the best for me? Top choices are currently Uiuc and duke. </p>
<p>Could I get into management consultancy with a degree from uiuc?</p>
<p>Would I be wasting my money if I paid 50k a year for duke, only to get a job in big oil, which I could have gotten by paying 20k a-year, instate for uiuc?</p>
<p>Also what is the future of big oil?</p>
<p>Should I go to duke because it will give me more options?</p>
<p>Big oil has peaked. Go into alternative energy. </p>
<p>Yes, you can get into management consultancy with a UIUC degree. It depends on your work ethic and personality.</p>
<p>And your decision depends on which school you like better. Although the 120K difference would probably make me feel uncomfortable. I get queasy thinking about it.</p>
<p>The opportunites for jobs in the petroleum industry are great and will be even better in the next few years as more and more of the remaining baby boomers retire. The opportunities for engineers will be high. Oil companies do hire out of Umich and UIUC but top candidates from any school will probalby be in demand. Also consider the traditional oil patch schools.</p>
<p>If you want to work in the petroleum industry, you should also consider applying to Texas. The College of Engineering is pretty generous to out-of-state students (they give a ton of OOS engineering students in-state tuition), and your connections will be second to none. </p>
<p>For your current situation, UIUC is awesome for engineering, where IIRC, Duke’s only strong engineering program is its biomedical. I would probably go to UIUC.</p>
<p>Peaked by posting record profits for years in a row now?</p>
<p>I second myrmidon’s recommendation of applying to Texas schools if possible. I have a friend that graduated from there with a degree in geology and is currently working doing exploratory drilling out on boats. The work’s hard, but he loves it and gets paid great.</p>
<p>Hasn’t the oil industry peaked? Isn’t it a shaky option to venture into a industry that depends on a resource that is becoming increasingly scarce? or would it open up more demand for exploration/drilling etc? (Another prospective engineering candidate wondering…)</p>
<p>Otherwise: Personally, the fact that you go between petroleum engineering and managerial consultant makes me think you were spot on with your first statement–you don’t know what you want to do. I would look at your options, go visit them, apply, see what you get into, and decide from there. </p>
<p>I feel like you could become a management consultant no matter the school you went, you could even become one after trying out engineering. I feel that you would have to become experienced in the ways of your industry (if you are going the route of consulting engineering firms at least) and if not you still need some experience working before becoming a consultant. If engineering doesn’t work out you could always go back to grad school and continue on the path of managerial consulting, if that’s what you still want to do.</p>
<p>So what I would do if I were you: Pick whatever school will get you a decent job without making you bankrupt–>try out engineering–>happy? then stay here. Not happy?–>Go to grad school with the money you saved from picking a less costly university and get a masters of business or something related–>go to work as a consultant.</p>
<p>My qualm is that, by going to one of these prestigious privates, I would keep the door open for both engineering and management consultancy. By going to uiuc, I may limit myself significantly in terms of connections, ability to get into grad school, and other factors that would prevent me from going to a top grad school or getting into a top management consultancy firm.</p>
<p>Prestigious undergraduate schools are good and all, but as long as you do well and your school is fairly good, you can get into a good grad school (from what I have read). The key is doing well on the GRE, GMAT, having a good GPA, etc. If you go into debt simply doing undergrad at ND or Duke, then the options for graduate school are not only limited by acceptances but by the additional cost of MORE school.</p>
<p>The thing about MBA programs is that, from what I have heard, you really should have some level of job experience beforehand. You can apply straight out of undergrad, Harvard and Stanford even recommend it if you are so inclined, but I feel it’s a bit of a faux pas (or at least I would get experience before applying, solely so I can make sure business is what I want).</p>
<p>I am considering the step from engineering, eventually to an MBA to advance my prospects beyond “head engineer” or whatever title I might end at, so yes, I like that idea.</p>
<p>I think you also need to consider the prestige panic (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/232661-prestige-panic.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/232661-prestige-panic.html</a> and <a href=“http://www.newsweek.com/id/46422[/url]”>http://www.newsweek.com/id/46422</a>) that you have your head wrapped around. I have friends who went to Yale and MIT, and those who go to the local college back home. The ones back home talk just as much about grad school/med school as the ones at MIT and Yale and I am sure they can do it because they know ahead of time that’s where they are going so they are setting themselves up to succeed by being prepared. Sure, if you go to a cheaper college and slack off you won’t do as well as if you go to Duke, but if you try and have you sights set you should be able to get where you are going. The problem with a place like CC is that there are a LOT of kids here who are shooting for Ivies from the get-go and would accept nothing less. If you aren’t asian, have 2300 on your SAT’s and class president then you are doomed to failure because you won’t get into Harvard for undergrad. Prestige panic.</p>
<p>UIUC got 20% of that big grant that Berkeley got from British Petroleum for biofuels development. In other words, UI is getting $100 million. Berkeley got $400 million. They competed for it against MIT, Cambridge U., and several others. </p>
<p>If you want some interesting internship or research opps, go to UIUC (or Berkeley) for Chem. E.</p>
<p>Please do visit a college before you enroll there… If the college feels wrong, you’re not going to be happy there… I don’t think anybody’s said anything with regard to being a happy student versus being a prestigious student, and that’s kind of my soapbox to climb up on, so make sure that you also figure out where you <em>want</em> to go, taking into consideration the strength of the program…</p>
<p>What if Vandy or Cornell are my first choices, but Uiuc has better chem E?</p>
<p>Let’s just throw money out the window for discussion purposes.</p>
<p>Besides, I am not even positive I want to study chemE. What if I change my mind? Vandy, Cornell, Duke, and ND, seem better for vitrually everything else.</p>
<p>I enjoy both chemistry and math, but I am also a history god.</p>
<p>Also, if I have my sights set on a great Graduate Biz school, will a uiuc degree hinder me versus a cornell, vandy, or duke degree ( assuming, of course, I get into these schools, which I may not)?</p>
<p>To get into a top notch MBA program, you are almost required to have a good set of work experience. This can be from engineering, finance, whatever. The school you go to can help you get recruited and set up an interview, but after that point, its all about you. I have a few friends that go to UIUC, and they’ve told me that they get recuiting from some of the big consulting firms, banks, and a few Chicago-based hedge funds. The more you work, the less your undergraduate institution matters. Top MBA programs won’t reject you because they see your resume that think that UIUC (on the contrary; its one of the top state schools in the country).</p>
<p>Obviously, Duke will have more recruiting (but also much more competition). An engineering degree opens a lot more doors. Duke is a solid undergraduate school, but IIRC, its engineering isn’t on the level of UCB, Cornell, or UIUC (unless you’re talking about biomedical, where its #2, behind JHU). </p>
<p>You might also want to consider Rice. They have great recruiting from banks and consulting firms, a great engineering school, and a very solid liberal arts program. In addition, they are in Houston, the energy capital of the world.</p>