<p>DS is trying to decide where to enroll for Chemical Engineering. He received the McKissick and the Joseph Gibbons Chemical Engineering Scholarship at SC. Also, Capstone not Honors. Spoke with a prof who recommended he live in Bates West in the Engineering LLC rather than Capstone. Have heard there is a lot of partying in Capstone. That would not be helpful for a Chem E major. In State at Maryland. Accepted to Virtus LLC for engineers. Dean's Scholarship At MD. Presidential and Engineering Scholarship at Alabama and Honors College. Ohio University gave him more than full tuition in scholarships. Miami of Ohio gave him 2/3 tuition and Honors. Any thoughts? </p>
<p>I am from Ohio - went to Miami - have a daughter at South Carolina (Honors but not engineering but has engineering friends) and have close family friends with kids at Alabama. I know nothing about Maryland.
So, having said that - I would take Miami off the list. Miami really isn’t a “science” school. My daughter was going between Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy and didn’t even look at Miami. Alabama is your best financial bet probably and their engineering gets better every year - it is a respectable program in the South. I will say that my daughters friends that are engineering majors at South Carolina almost all have interns this summer (after their freshman year) but they are in honors. They got emails almost every day about interviews and internships (according to my daughter). I think one question is the vibe of the schools and where he wants to live after school. Personally I would go between Alabama and South Carolina - Bama is cheaper and he will be in the honors dorm.</p>
<p>Now I will say - there is “partying” in almost every dorm. I know there is a lot of partying in the honors dorms at Alabama. I doubt Bates West would have less partying than Capstone but I do think you have more privacy. </p>
<p>Goodluck.</p>
<p>The recommendation for Bates West over Capstone at USC may simply have to do with proximity - Bates West is pretty to close to engineering and relatively close to science buildings - although as a freshman he would have classes all over. My D (also honors) chem eng friends have had great success with internships/summer job opportunities and I know one of the student leaders of engineering fraternity who is great guy and they seem to always be busy.</p>
<p>My d is a freshman nursing major in Capstone. I was really worried about the “party” reputation going in since nursing is very competitive. From what D says it is no worse than many other dorms and pretty much depends on the floor. My d lucked out and happens to be on one of the higher level floors which seems to be quieter. She also is fortunate that there are quite a few nursing majors, pre-pharmacy,pre-physical therapy, engineering, and business majors who are trying to get into international business on her floor. These majors all require the students to keep a pretty high GPA. It seems like they may have tried to put some of these students together as there are several rooms of nursing students, She often has study sessions with the kids on her floor and as far as I know they are all doing extremely well. Capstone has them set goals each semester and I know in the fall everyone on her floor set out to achieve 4.0’s and I think she told me most (if not all did).She tells me most of her Capstone friends are very serious about their grades and work very hard. She did say that there are a few floors that have more of a “party” rep though. There are going to be people who like to party in every dorm though.I don’t think that can be avoided at most colleges.</p>
<p>I’d ask a few more questions about Ch-E at Ohio U, which is better known for its Mechanical Engineering department. Generally speaking, as a whole, engineering schools in Ohio are known for very good Ch-E departments, particularly in materials and polymers. Keep in mind that materials processing/research is one of the manufacturing technologies that the midwestern U.S. has been able to hang onto (Bridgestone Research Center in Akron, for example). If your DS thinks that those engineering sub-dicliplines would interest him, then OU full-ride may be the all around best choice. The Ch-E department is a hard major at every school. </p>
<p>Thank you all very much for your input. It was very hard for him to decide, but he has chosen the University of Maryland. </p>