<p>So I'm looking to see what schools that have good ChemE undergrad programs, but are also in my league. I am a rising senior in high school. 3.85 UW GPA and a 4.2 W GPA. taking hardest classes school has to offer... AP Chem, AP US history, AP physics, etc. Student leadership council, student enhancement committee, varsity crew rower, symphonic orchestra cellist, eagle scout, ect. I am really interested in ChemE and am very sure that i want to pursue a degree in ChemE. I am interested in a school that is fairly small, anything under 10-15k students. Also in my league, none of this MIT, Cornell, Princeton stuff. I want something that i have a good shot at getting into. anything and everything is helpful...! Heard good things about GA tech and RPI... Any info on how good they are in ChemE comparing to other schools in my range? thanks!</p>
<p>cjrower, why would you not consider yourself in the league of MIT, Cornell or Princeton for ChE?</p>
<p>** USNews 2010 Undergrad Engineering Rankings for PhD Granting Schools </p>
<p>Undergraduate Engineering Specialties: Chemical**</p>
<p>1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
2 University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA
3 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
4 University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI
5 Stanford University Stanford, CA
6 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX
7 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
7 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
9 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
10 University of Delaware Newark, DE
11 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
12 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
13 Purdue University–West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN
14 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
15 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
16 Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA
17 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
18 University of California–Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
19 North Carolina State University–Raleigh Raleigh, NC
20 Iowa State University Ames, IA
20 Texas A&M University–College Station College Station, TX
20 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
23 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
23 University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA
23 University of Washington Seattle, WA
23 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA</p>
<p>====</p>
<p>note: bold = schools that are not Ivy, Stanford, MIT or CalTech and have less thank 10,000 undergrads.
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<p>Because I don’t think that my grades and intelligence are quite up to what MIT and others are looking for. I’m no valedictorian, and I am not even close to it. If i have the wrong idea of those school please correct me. If MIT or other colleges on its level are not only looking for those in top 10% in their classes, or the biggest geniuses in the US, or aren’t the most expensive places to go then by all means share what you know. thanks for maybe turning my previous ideas around.</p>
<p>cjrrower your GPA is at about the average for these schools. We don’t know your SAT score, however.</p>
<p>In addition, you do realize that no matter where you go, the ChE major will probably among the toughest major in that school, don’t you?</p>
<p>I am taking the SAT soon. I got a 29 on ACT though. isn’t exactly the 32 33 averages you see going there but maybe it doesn’t count to much? And I am fully prepared for ChemE to be hell on earth. all my Honors Chem and AP chem i always had the highest or close to the highest grade. its easy to study hours on end for something you enjoy as much as I enjoyed chem.</p>
<p>I think you need to ignore the US News list here, and consider one of the best undergraduate engineering schools in the country - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. They have an outstanding and storied biological and chemical engineering department that is inexplicably missing from this list. [Why</a> Not Change The World?](<a href=“http://www.eng.rpi.edu/chme/]Why”>http://www.eng.rpi.edu/chme/)</p>
<p>PS - I reread your post and see you already mentioned RPI. It is really a very high quality education, and admissions are rapidly growing in selectivity. Graduates are very popular amongst employers, locally and nationally.</p>
<ol>
<li>Rose Hulman has great Chem E program. When we took a tour of the University, we were told that it has the oldest established (or second oldest, don’t recall exactly) Chem E undergraduate program in the country. </li>
</ol>
<p>Although the following Universities may have student population greater than your requirement, these Universities’ programs may be of interest.</p>
<ol>
<li>Univ. of Minnesota has a highly reputed Chem E program taught by top notch professors in the field. In addition, their out of state tuition & fees are reasonable, roughly around $16 K/ Yr (Compared to other State schools!!). Their Chem E dept. offers a highly diversified subjects under Chem E & you can minor in the following:</li>
</ol>
<p><a href=“Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science | College of Science and Engineering”>Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science | College of Science and Engineering;
<p>Biomedical Engineering
Biomolecular Engineering
Chemistry
Drug Delivery Design and Evaluation
Environmental Engineering
Food Engineering
Materials Science
Microelectronic Materials
Polymers</p>
<ol>
<li>You may also want to consider doing a concurrent dual major with Energy engineering along with Chem E at Penn State. </li>
</ol>
<p>“The flexibility allows students in energy related programs such as agricultural and biological, chemical, electrical, environmental, mechanical, nuclear, and petroleum engineering, materials science and engineering, industrial health and safety, and business and finance to have dual or concurrent degrees, minors, or options”</p>
<p>[Energy</a> Engineering | Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering](<a href=“http://www.eme.psu.edu/energyeng/index.html]Energy”>http://www.eme.psu.edu/energyeng/index.html)
[Penn</a> State Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Introduction](<a href=“http://www.che.psu.edu/Ugrad/index.htm]Penn”>Chemical Engineering | Prospective Undergraduate Students | Penn State Engineering)</p>
<p>BTW, depending on your state of residence, you may have other options within your state schools.</p>
<p>UDelaware. My best friend with great stats is going there for ChemE</p>
<p>Also you would get some merit money and maybe honors too</p>
<p>Full disclosure: without stating the exact reason why, I…am probably biased towards GT, especially with regards to Chem E. But it’s a very good program, if not quite Wisconsin or Minnesota. Grad program rankings generally have it hovering around 11-15. And I think you have a good shot at getting in.</p>
<p>GT’s a lot larger than you want, though, and the Chem E department in particular is one of the largest in the country.</p>
<p>btw: Your ACT is low for MIT/Princeton/etc., but test scores are the easiest part of an app to improve.</p>
<p>Look at Rowan University.
It has an excellent ChemE program that was ranked #2 for schools that don’t offer doctorate degrees.</p>
<p>for those of you that suggested Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Delaware and Penn State - are you forgetting that the OP suggested a “fairly small” school in terms of student population?</p>
<p>The OP asked a question. I was answering it.</p>
<p>Of course I’m biased, but I’d recommend Berkeley for chemical engineering…especially if you’re sure you want to major in ChemE. </p>
<p>Berkeley’s chemical engineering program resides in Berkeley’s prestigious College of Chemistry, which is a smaller college in a large research university environment. Total undergrad enrollment for ChemE is 369 students - along with 186 chemistry majors and 257 biochemistry majors. The college has specialized general chemistry and organic chemistry courses for cheme and chemistry majors. Of course, like most research universities, lower division math, physics and chemistry lecture courses will be large. (However, Berkeley waives lower division calc and physics if you get a 5 on the AP test)</p>
<p>Admission is competitive, but much less than Princeton or MIT.
Plus, you got access to the whole dynamic San Fran Bay area and Pac-10+n athletics - I’d definitely look at Berkeley.</p>
<p>Cal also has an awesome men’s crew team - if you were interested in continuing that. Men’s Varsity 8 won the national championship and they’re looking for new members: <a href=“http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-crew/cal-m-crew-body.html[/url]”>http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-crew/cal-m-crew-body.html</a></p>
<p>
ChemE typically has a small department. For example, there are about 65-70 ChemE students in Wisconsin each year. You might want to also consider big schools like Wisconsin or UC-Berkeley.</p>
<p>GoBlue, yes that is a good point</p>
<p>thanks for all the advice. I live in Tennessee if that helps your ideas. I don’t have a problem traveling far but in general I am not really looking out west. anything eastern half of US is good with me</p>
<p>^ Rice University - smaller school, good chemical engineering program, more generous with financial aid</p>