<p>As someone that was an engineer at CMU and absolutely loved it (and was able to go there for cheaper than their state school) I’d say you’ve got nothing to worry about for your first two questions. I’m not very familiar with the curriculum or research interests of professors at UT, so I can’t comment on that, though.</p>
<p>Each of the three schools has a very different vibe to it, though the education you’ll be able to get at each is superb. The only thing I would say to your son is to look into Materials Science & Engineering if he’s more interested in the science side of ChemE. About half my MSE friends came into CMU planning on doing ChemE but switched when they realized it wasn’t what they wanted.</p>