<p>I need help deciding! I'm from pennsylvania and i've been accepted for chemical engineering to pitt, penn state, and delaware. I recieved $12,400 in a grant from Delaware so the pricing would be similar.
How do the programs compare? school atmospheres? etc.?
Thank you!!</p>
<p>It depends on what your post graduate plans may be. If you are planning to go to work after BS then I would pick Penn State over Delaware, don’t know enough about Pitt.
School atmosphere between Penn and Delaware would be similar. Post grad hiring/alumni base is much stronger at Penn for engineers. My D graduated 2012 engineering still unemployed as several of her classmates, most of the computer engineers have gotten work, the others no.</p>
<p>I’m a ChemE grad from a school not on your list, so I have no bias towards any of the three schools. Execpt for the fact that I’m writing checks to UD for another three years…</p>
<p>My perception is that UD’s ChemE program is highly respected in the industry based on the difficulty of getting accepted to the program and ties to DuPont. I don’t hear or perceive the same level of respect for the other two programs. That doesn’t mean that they’re not top notch. It’s just that (in my humble opinion) ChemE at UD has a good bit of brand-name recognition.</p>
<p>As far as atmosphere, that’s really your call. My daughter decided against PSU in the first 15 minutes of her campus tour due to the size and liked the UD campus population much better. Many of my friends and co-workers went to Pitt and PSU and are rabid supporters of their schools.</p>
<p>Good luck with your choice and get ready for a challenging four years!</p>
<p>The comments by samiamy and Fauster are good things to keep in mind. All three schools are nationally ranked major research universities that are commonly listed as “Public Ivies”. IMHO if you apply yourself the quality of education you can get is probably similar at all three. That leaves one with the non-academic similarities/differences between UD and the PA schools and the degree to which these things would play in making one’s decision. Pitt is urban, PSU is relatively rural, while UD is suburban. Obviously if you want to continue to attend school with your fellow Pennsylvanians then the PA schools would be your choice (Pitt is about 80% in-state and PSU about 75% in-state). UD is unique among flagship state universities in that 2/3rds of the students are from OOS (which gives UD a slightly greater flare of being a private university compared to most all state universities where the overwhelming majority of students are in-state). All three have very active social activities with active Greek communities. UD is about half the size of the PA schools. UD is a medium sized school with about 15,000 undergrads (though because of the way it is laid out it tends to have a much smaller feel to it). I don’t know about Pitt but the dorm situation is probably much better at UD than at PSU (unless you like possibly living in triples or in dorm lounges). Most all the classrooms at UD are within reasonable walking distances from the dorms. Obviously if you are big into “Rah-Rah” Division 1 FBS sports then the PA schools would be more attractive. Sports are still big at UD but at a Division 1 FCS level. One thing that most people would feel is attractive about UD is that Main Street in Newark runs essentially thru the middle of campus. It is full of restaurants, shops and the university bookstore. Many students socialize (and even study) in many of the restaurants (which cater to UD students) and the bookstore (which has its own cafe). I hope this info is helpful to you. Good luck in making your decision. Congrats on your being accepted to such fine universities for Chem E. You really can’t go wrong no matter which school you decide to attend as long as you apply yourself (which is probably the most important factor in obtaining a quality education).</p>
<p>In general, Penn State’s and Pitt’s engineering programs probably have a slight edge over UD in terms of reputation, except specifically UD’s ChemE which is highly regarded. One thing to be aware of at PSU: You are accepted into the College of Engineering but must apply to your major at the end of your sophomore year. Some of the engineering majors, including ChemE, are number contolled, so you are not assured of getting into that major unless you acheive a certain minimum GPA. You might want to get the details before committing. Penn State does have the largest alumni base and was cited by the Washington Post as being the number one choice of corporate recruiters</p>