<p>I want to go into Chemical Engineering, and will have scholarships covering at least tuition at both Texas A&M and University of OK. At OU, I would enter as a sophomore, at TAMU as a freshman. Both accept all my credits, but TAMU requires 2 semesters of Intro to Eng before taking any upper classes. OU will let me take the one Intro to Eng concurrently with the sophomore level Chem E classes, so I could finish the BS/MS in 4 years. The OU scholarship covers a 5th year if needed to finish up any final classes.</p>
<p>The question: is a BS from TAMU better than an MS from OU? The "Aggie Network" is really played up for recruiting/internships/job placement. It is also high in rankings. Both have good opportunities for undergraduate research. I'm interested in research while at school, but I would rather go into industry than the PhD/professor route.</p>
<p>If this were Petroleum Engineering, then it would be a wash. But for ChemE, A&M is a clear leader with major ties to the O&G Industry in Houston. The Aggie network is HUGE. I’m a graduating ChemE at A&M, and one of my job offers was exclusively from networking at TAMU AIChE meetings. What industry do you want to go into? Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell all have HQ’s/defacto HQ’s in Houston- less than 2 hours away from College Station. In the EPC industry, Fluor, KBR, Worley, Bechtel have strong ties to A&M also. The average salary for the class of 2013 (may grads) was just over 76K.
Also, TAMU ChemE students have the opportunity to study abroad at A&M’s sister campus in Qatar.
I’m not sure how useful a masters in ChemE is in industry. If you’re more into research and academia, then it would make sense.
Would you have to take out loans for either? Whats the net COA for both schools?</p>
<p>andy09, no loans for either, and COA will be a wash. TAMU requires a 3.5 GPA to maintain the scholarships and OU requires a 3.25. I’ve heard GPA horror stories about engineering. Even the NM scholarship guy at TAMU said lots of engineering students lose their scholarships because of GPA.</p>
<p>Yes, a 3.5 IS hard to maintain. You get one or two hard profs, and you’re sunk. But I would choose A&M over OU (and that’s saying something, coming from a Texas Ex!).</p>
<p>I’m just a hardcore TAMU fan, shame they didn’t offer me scholarships or I would be there right now. If they gave you the chance you should take advantage of this great opportunity</p>