<p>Alright, so i have changed my interests in certain majors multiple times, but i've decided to major in some kind of engineering. Now, what field of engineering do i want to pursue? i don't know. I heard that i don't have to make this decision until my sophomore year in college, but i would like to go into college knowing what i want to major in. I'm mostly looking at chemical engineering, but there are a few reasons why i am still undecided and not certain of being a chemE. I am really strong in math, and moderate with my sciences. I do really well in school if i am motivated, which is why i am so good at math because i know what that i want to become an engineer. Now, i am not your perfect little student with straight A's, because i am not motivated in some subjects. I'm not amazing at chemistry, but i would really love to be a chemical engineer, and i get discouraged when i see other students doing better then me in that subject, and they don't even want to become a chemE. I want to become great in chemistry but i get so sidetracked by other subjects like english and history because i get essays and projects thrown at me all the time, then i totally forget to understand chemistry and finish my labs on time. I'm really frightened that colleges will not accept me if i go for chemical engineering, but that is what i want to do, Somehow, i have to prove myself by the end of the year. ANY INPUT, SUGGESTIONS, OR ENCOURAGEMENT WILL BE APPRECIATED!!!!!!!</p>
<p>My college selections so far:
RPI
Penn State University Park
Cornell (reach)
I need more suggestions, and a suggestion for a safety. Colleges in New York or surrounding states.</p>
<p>Also, i feel that if i do go to college for chemical engineering, i will be the worst in the class because i know extremely smart people usually go for chemical engineering.</p>
<p>ChE is a lot less chemistry than most people think. It’s still chemistry-intensive, but I’ve known very successful chemical engineers couldn’t explain chirality or SP3 hybridization with a gun to their head. </p>
<p>The big thing about ChE is that it’s much more difficult than most majors. If you don’t love it, you’ll drop out - so make sure you love it.</p>
<p>For schools in that area,</p>
<p>WPI
Penn State
Drexel
Columbia
Delaware
Maryland
Villanova
Lehigh</p>
<p>thank you. but how do i know i love it? and if i have to find out that in college how am i going to change my major?
now, you said a lot less chemistry than most people think. so what else do you do?
what types of jobs is there for a ChemE? meaning like, do you work in chemical plants or laboratories</p>
<p>thermodynamics (concentrating on chemical equilibria)
fluid flow mechanics (concentrating on subsonic channelized flow)
heat transfer (heat exchangers)
mass transfer and separation processes (you’ll learn all about packed columns and distillation columns)
reaction engineering and reactor design (not a cake-walk)
transport phenomena (your worst nightmare)
design (usually a collection of varying subjects you’ll learn about better on the job)</p>
<p>20 years later and I still have nightmares about that course. The final exam in that class was worse than my comprehensive exams, and I was good at Transport, too.</p>
<p>Not to mention that ChE’s took p-chem and quantum mechanics at my school.</p>
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<p>I can’t really explain it. I new at age 12 that I wanted to be a chemical engineer, and that’s the only reason I stuck through it. Then I changed my mind and went to graduate school in something else. So maybe I’m not the best person to ask. </p>
<p>I will tell you that my program started out with 200 students at freshman orientation and graduated less than 40. It’s a very high drop out rate.</p>
<p>Maybe this will ease your mind a little. My daughter is an “Undeclared Engineering” major at RPI- she’s a freshman. Right now she is trying to decide between ChemE and Biomed Engineering. When she was choosing schools she thought she wanted Chem E and really wasn’t considering Biomed Eng. Many of Engineering school spiels we sat through talked about actually preferring that their students NOT declare the type of engineering they want to focus on in their first year partially for the reason you stated. You just don’t really know. They find that they students get in there, and they try something and really like it, and change to that field, try something else, and want to switch again, etc.</p>
<p>The first year is very, very similar in most engineer curriculums so you aren’t going to have a problem regardless of the specialty. So rather than stress about choosing a “maybe” I don’t think there is an engineering school out there that has a problem with an undecided engineering major - definitely not in the first year. You’ll most likely be surprised once you are in there how much you will be “drawn” towards something or maybe even find out that what you thought you wanted isn’t what you wanted after all. There are some Engineering majors in my daughters group that have already switched out of their specialties quickly finding out those very things.</p>
<p>thank you soo much kgrmom
RPI is actually my top choice right now, and i really hope to get into there.
is there anything i could do to increase my chances of getting into there?
also, i was wondering if RPI is good at meeting financial aid needs? that is a real issue right now because my dad wants me to go to MVCC for 2 years which is a community college, but i really want to go away to RPI for four years. Hears the catch, if i go away to a 4-year college, my dad is saying he will have to sell my camp so he can pay for my college (blackmail). If he does that i will feel like ****, and not want to go to RPI.</p>
<p>RPI has increased their financial aid budget for the upcoming class according to the correspondences we have received. From our own experience I can tell you that we went back to the financial aid office 3 times asking for more and each time they did increase what they offered- so, they started out low but ended up in line with what the other colleges were offering. For the incoming classes, I couldn’t say-- I would hope it would increase. I would recommend a couple of things though-</p>
<p>– Check out their website if you haven’t already. It is pretty extensive and they have alot on their regarding financial aid.</p>
<p>– Have your parents get that FAFSA form completed, the sooner the better. That is what starts to drive the financial aid the schools offer.</p>
<p>Regarding getting into RPI. They have had a record number of applicants over the past couple of years. Engineering is the type of major that not all courses are going to be as easily transferrable from a community college. My daughter took Calculus at the local community college here and in spite of that Intro Calc at RPI was by no means an easy class. In fact, she hasn’t had an easy class yet and she had a very high average in high school. You will work hard there Visit if you can- the environment is not for everyone.</p>
<p>kgrmom, I have been accepted in some universities for chem.engg. I am a female. I applied to big and small. After reading and researching in CC and other web sites, I now seem to like smaller schools where individual attention would be better. I am yet to receive a reply from RPI.But I have been accepted into Purdue, WPI, Rose Hulman(indianapolis), N.eastern.</p>
<p>I did AP, Physics and am now doing Calculus AB, and AP chem. I work hard. But everybody in CC say that C.Eng is hard. Some say Biomedical engg. is also very hard. What exactly are the reasons? It would be helpful if you could give me some information please.
Thanks</p>
<p>ChemE is hard, no doubt about it. The material is just not as conceptual as other majors may be. Everything does build on the previous courses. If you don’t understand what calculus, or what a dot product is, or delta function you will quickly be left behind. Understanding is key. If you are someone who crams or does a brain dump after every test you will not fair well.</p>
<p>Tell me what looks easy: </p>
<p>Chemistry, PChem, OChem, Classical Chemsity + labs, two years of courses
Physics (through quantum mechanics) + labs, about a year of courses
Calculus, Linear Algebra, Vector Analysis, Partial Differential Equations, about 2 years of courses
Heat Transfer
Fluid Mechanics
Trasport Phenom.
Catalysis/Reaction Engineering
Controller Design (pretty elementary as far as controls go)
Design of Chemical Processes
Mass Transfer
Plant Design and Economics
Statistics</p>
<p>And those are just what you have to take, several at a time. Add in electives and some sort of life. Work load can be rather demanding, and then trying to wrap your mind around the ideas can take time… which you may or may not have. Heck, I’m still working on some of it, 10 years later.</p>
<p>I’m not very qualified to answer the “why” as I am the mom Best to listen to those like Japher. All I can speak to is comments I hear from my daughter which is that Chem E and Biomed E are known to be a couple of the more difficult majors. Engineering majors in general are difficult. Kids that are in the engineering majors are hitting the books A LOT- not a lot room for what you would consider fluff classes. In the first year my daughter has had 1, and that is this semester and that is writing- and even that one involves some major papers on a weekly basis. In addition to that she has Physics, Calc II, Cell Bio, Eng Processes and Navy Science. In semester 1 it was Chemistry, Calc I, Intro to Eng Analysis(mostly Physics), CAD and Navy Science. As you can see- it is very technical right from the beginning. </p>
<p>I’m even going to pass along a couple of Japher’s comments to her. She’ll probably find them encouraging as it can take it’s toll there after a while. Good thing it’s spring break time :)</p>
<p>That list looks a bit obscene. Maybe at one of the more rigorous engineering schools you’ll have to take those courses, but at more “normal” engineering schools you’ll take less math, physics, and chemistry.</p>
<p>To be ABET accredited as an engineering school, there are certain course requirements. So, in general, a ChE at School A and a ChE at School B will take pretty much the same courses. The names might change, and some classes might be combined or split, but in general, it’s the same. What will be different between the two schools is how rigorously the classes are taught.</p>
<p>Well, I went to an ABET-accredited school, and I never took linear algebra, vector analysis, partial differential equations, or quantum physics.</p>
