ChBE at UA (vs. GT)?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>Hi, all!
I’ve been accepted to both UA and Georgia Tech, and plan to major in chemical and biological engineering at either one of them. I’m a PSP semifinalist for GT, but also a national merit semifinalist, and have therefore been given a very generous offer from UA. I’ve visited both campuses, although briefly, and I liked UA’s campus and tour slightly more than GT’s. </p>

<p>My question is, would I be better off going to UA, with the almost guaranteed full ride and beautiful campus and new science and engineering buildings, or GT, with the higher rankings and probably overall stronger engineering program. Are there any current or former UA engineering students (ChBE preferred) who could tell me how good the program and education is, and how much of an impact the new Sci&Eng buildings and more research facilities and labs has on this. </p>

<p>Any help would be very appreciated, thank you very much!</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>My son is a ChBE student at Bama. Right now he’s sleeping…LOL…I’ll ask him when he wakes up (which better be soon!! )</p>

<p>I can tell you that the new facilities have made a tremendous impact on the engineering programs at Bama. Brand new labs and classrooms has enabled Bama to attract very good profs from all over the country.</p>

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<p>GT is a top 15 program while UA is a top 100 program, so all other things being equal you would be better off with a ChE degree from Georgia Tech than one from UA - no question about that. What does “PSP” at GT award?</p>

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<p>[Georgia</a> Institute of Technology :: President’s Scholarship Program :: Home](<a href=“http://www.psp.gatech.edu/]Georgia”>http://www.psp.gatech.edu/)</p>

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<p>Of course there are other things to consider as well.</p>

<p>If you get the Presidential scholarship at GT, then great. Otherwise I don’t think it’s worth the OOS costs to go there.</p>

<p>When we toured GT, we weren’t happy with the dorms and other facilities (ugh!).</p>

<p>Plus, the girls at GT are…well…uh…you get the hint.</p>

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<p>^ hahah there are plenty of other girls in atlanta</p>

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<p>Of course, but typically college boys mainly are meeting girls from their own campus. Every girl that my boys have dated (except one) has been at the same college as they are attending. The one exception is a girl that my son knew from his high school.</p>

<p>Anyway…in the end, unless money is not an issue, finances may make the final decision.</p>

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<p>The presidential scholars program at GT looks pretty paltry, to be frank, you’re not even guaranteed a full-ride. But this is a simple case of economics - the demand for a GT education outweighs GT’s demand for prestigious students, whereas UA’s demand for prestigious students outweighs the prestigious student’s demand for UA.</p>

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<p>jakeonaut, do you want to just get a bachelor’s degree and pursue a career in industry, or do you want get an advanced degree and go into R&D or maybe academia?</p>

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<p>

i just had to requote that :)</p>

<p>OP, if money isnt an issue, go with your heart…it’s up to you…</p>

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<p>Thanks to everyone for their advices and etc! Thanks very much, and it seems I forgot to mention I live in GA so would get the Hope scholarship to pay for Tech. Really the main issue in concern is how good an education at UA would be despite their relatively lower rankings… trickier. </p>

<p>mom2collegekids, if you could find out from your son how much he enjoys the ChBE program at UA or more about the new buildings and facilities in general I would be much obliged though!</p>

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<p>The facilities are excellent. That was the goal of Senator Shelby when he helped make the Shelby building and the new Science and Engineering Complex possible. </p>

<p>Here’s a brochure that mentions some new faculty additions: <a href=“http://che.eng.ua.edu/brochure.pdf[/url]”>http://che.eng.ua.edu/brochure.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>My son is getting an excellent education. He works very hard and has a 4.0. </p>

<p>You do know that you’d get an additional $2500 per year from Engineering, right? (in addition to the NMF scholarship). </p>

<p>Have you applied to Bama and have you submitted the scholarship app???</p>

<p>Jake…are you applying to CBH? you should!!!</p>

<p>*I live in GA so would get the Hope scholarship to pay for Tech. *</p>

<p>??? I think HOPE only pays for tuition, right?</p>

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<p>Just walked past the new science and engineering buildings and phase three which is under construction. You really should come take another look before deciding. That part of campus will transform a good school into a great one</p>

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<p>Well, you learn the same things…curricula within a discipline are pretty standardized across colleges. I don’t think that’s really an issue you should be concerned with. Rankings are more based on perception of quality and prestige.</p>

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<p>The new Science and Engineering Complex is indeed nice, but understand that the space is mainly geared towards research and office space. Of course, that’s pretty awesome if you’re wanting to get into research while you’re an undergrad.</p>

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<p>That increase in research capability is what enables schools to gain prestige. At least at big state universities.</p>

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<p>True, Atl. The OP should not be too concerned with the so-called quality of education here. The classes and the curricula are all the same.</p>

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<p>*The new Science and Engineering Complex is indeed nice, but understand that the space is mainly geared towards research and office space. Of course, that’s pretty awesome if you’re wanting to get into research while you’re an undergrad. *</p>

<p>feeno…we love you, but you have this amazing way of taking a positive and making it sound like a negative. LOL</p>

<p>Anyway…yes, the new SEC has research labs in the buildings, but there are also classroom labs and lecturing going on there as well. </p>

<p>And, yes, for a school to rise in prestige and rankings (and to get the BIG grants), you have to have first class research faciliites!</p>

<p>When Phase III completes (sometime soon ), the Shelby and the SEC will essentially consist of one structure that is really 5 connected buildings, a second structure that is really 4 connected buildings, and a third structure that is really 2-3 connected buildings.
<a href=“http://img.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/v133/feenotype/Misc%20UA%20photos/bilde-1.jpg[/url]”>http://img.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/v133/feenotype/Misc%20UA%20photos/bilde-1.jpg&lt;/a&gt; (in blue)</p>

<p>I’m not sure of the total square footage for the 3 phases (or even the square footage for each phase)…anyone know?</p>

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<p>Source: [Fall</a> 2010, Volume 90, No. 4 | National Alumni Association](<a href=“http://alumni.ua.edu/magazine/fall-2010-volume-90-no-4]Fall”>http://alumni.ua.edu/magazine/fall-2010-volume-90-no-4)</p>

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<p>Thanks Malanai…I will bookmark that !</p>