<p>Hi guys. I am a high school senior who intends to major in Chemical Engineering and I just got accepted to Cornell Engineering, University of Minnesota (Honors Program) Engineering, and UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry. In terms of smaller schools, I also got accepted to Carnegie Mellon and Rice University.</p>
<p>I want to have a strong enough foundation so that I would be able to pursue graduate studies and a research career. For now, financial aid is not a concern. So, are there any ChemE alumni or just regular students familiar with these program out there who would care to comment about the strengths and weaknesses of these schools? Or just post their opinion(s) nevertheless?</p>
<p>From what I gathered so far, it seems that the programs between all of these schools are relatively equal and top notch. Thus, if someone could offer what the student body is like and how they felt about it, I would greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Berkeley ChemE alum here. Students are very smart and focused. They do tend to break out in study groups (sometimes along ethnic lines) and stick together. Professors and grad students are first rate. The College of Chemistry is small and more intimate environment in a larger research setting. There are 5 buildings clustered together to make the College of Chemistry mini campus.</p>
<p>Football and sporting events played on campus. Huge amount of cheap restaurants and cafes serving up diverse cuisine in the “Gourmet Ghetto”. City of Berkeley is student oriented and pedestrian friendly. San Francisco Bay Area is accessible via BART trains…including both major airports. Weather, culture and scenery are a tough combo to beat. Berkeley’s chemical engineering department ranks near the top for undergrad programs.</p>
<p>How big is the College of Chemistry? Are the professors approachable outside of class? Do the faculty (at least the advisors) take interest in student progress? Is the college undergraduate focused? How does it compare to other colleges in terms of faculty helping out students fulfill their dreams? Did you feel that they helped you achieve your goals? What type of intellectual atmosphere does the university offer?</p>
<p>In addition, how do the funding issues affect UC Berkeley?</p>
<p>Thanks… Did you go to the College of Chemistry or know people from there? If so, what did they like/dislike about it?</p>
<p>UCBChemEGrad should be able to tell you more about it.</p>
<p>There are also College of Chemistry students in the Berkeley forum.</p>
<p>I found most professors approachable. Key is to go to office hours early in the semester and make yourself known. Don’t expect individual attention the day before midterms. The college of course is focused on research, but it is small enough to allow attention to undergrads…you have to take initiative to seek help and opportunities though. </p>
<p>I imagine this situation is similar to your other choices. </p>
<p>The environment was intellectually stimulating. </p>
<p>Funding has not impacted academic quality. Passage of Prop 30 has stabilized funding. Berkeley has increased back office efficiencies to save money.</p>
<p>Thanks so much… That clears up a lot of the murkiness, if that makes sense. </p>
<p>Do you have to heavily fight/pester for research positions? You see, I usually just send out emails to professors at local colleges, and a third of them reply with yes or no. Is it similar at Berkeley? Or do you have to figuratively fight for research positions?</p>
<p>I’d go for Berkeley since it has the best engineering programs among the three and the other two are not exactly small schools.</p>
<p>An e-mail likely won’t cut it. You’re going to need to attend office hours and find out about each professors research opportunities. I wouldn’t say you need to fight for them but you have to demonstrate academic chops and some gumption to get them. </p>
<p>Easier to make yourself known early and go to office hours when there isn’t a test. Most profs are bored during office hours the first few weeks.</p>
<p>I see… That makes sense, especially since it’s college of chemistry. </p>
<p>How about Cornell? It’s an Ivy, so will it get any more respect than Berkeley when it comes to grad school admissions? In fact, that was one of the reasons I was considering University of Minnesota because of its name in ChemE…</p>
<p>Cornell is great, but it won’t have any more respect compared to Berkeley or Minnesota if your intent is engineering. Engineering employers are very egalitarian in hiring and don’t pay a premium for better schools. Berkeley, Cornell and Minnesota are all comparable chemical engineering programs. </p>
<p>Which option would be cheaper for you? </p>
<p>The big difference is environment at each school. Cornell is small town rural, Minnesota is centered in one of the largest Midwest cities, Berkeley is a college city across the Bay from San Francisco. If costs are similar, choose the environment you’d like best. The educations will be similar.</p>
<p>So, basically, there is not much difference between the names of these schools when it comes to Graduate school admissions? </p>
<p>Cuz my idea was to go to a well-regarded program and go to a top-notch grad school like MIT, Berkeley, Caltech or Minnesota… And by preparing for grad school, I would automatically be ready to enter the workforce if I so choose.</p>
<p>Correct! No difference when comes to grad admissions. I had one or two grad student TAs from Minnesota while I was at Berkeley. Don’t recall Cornell grad students but I bet there were a few as well.</p>
<p>However, there is the idea that it is desirable to attend a different school for graduate school than for undergraduate. Berkeley’s chemical engineering department does believe in that idea (and believes that most other top chemical engineering departments believe in that idea).</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley, Dept of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering](<a href=“http://cheme.berkeley.edu/grad_info/faq.php]UC”>http://cheme.berkeley.edu/grad_info/faq.php)</p>
<p>So, would it be a better idea to attend Cornell for undergrad and seek these colleges for graduate studies?</p>
<p>This is only if I seriously cannot make up my mind even after I factor in the types of classmates, environment, etc.</p>