<p>I'm in between doing ChemE at the above-mentioned schools. Here are their anticipated total costs per year (after scholarships):</p>
<p>UF: 20k</p>
<p>UIUC: 47k</p>
<p>Berkeley: 49k</p>
<p>Berkeley is my first choice, but people keep on urging me to go to UF. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Also, a couple of questions:
1. Is it easy to do research with a prof?
2. How are job opportunities for ppl who want to go far from Florida (Texas or Cali)?
3. Is ChemE extremely difficult at UF compared to schools like UIUC and Berkeley? I've heard that UF is a bit easier, but is that true?
4. Does UF place in good grad schools? I'm looking at Berkeley and Stanford for grad if I go to UF. Are those feasible if I do well?</p>
<p>Guru…as we’ve told you in your other posts, almost none of the top recruiters at UF are headquartered in Florida, so, yes, the job placement is national in scope. Further, top grad school placements are common with a high GPA, GRE’s and undergraduate research.</p>
<p>This may sound counter-intuitive, but I think UCB is your best choice only if, frankly, you don’t end up doing very well in your undergraduate studies. If you end up with a mediocre GPA, grad school gets ruled out, and you continue to want to pursue your dream of working for a BioTech firm in the San Francisco area, then, yes, UCB would give your best chance to achieve that. But at that point it is likely that you will have to recalibrate your life’s ambitions regardless because you will likely find yourself only qualified for jobs you don’t really aspire to anyway. If you really see yourself as highly driven and grad school is in your future, go to UF and save your money.</p>