<p>So I got accepted in SUNY -Buffalo, Iowa State University , Arizona State University and and University of Houston for Chemical Engineering Fall 2014. Could you guys help me choose which has the best opportunities and which would land me a great job with a great salary.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!!!</p>
<p>Texas is a job factory. Houston is the capital of petrochemical production. Interested in pharmaceuticals? Then try the Delaware Valley (i.e. Delaware and Drexel).</p>
<p>Houston is the center of the oil refining universe in the US, so they probably have some good programs with the industry down there.</p>
<p>What is cost of attendance at each BEFORE loans?</p>
<p>You’ll get a good job coming out of any of these programs. Salaries won’t vary much unless you choose one industry over another. What will each school cost your family?</p>
<p>I am not worried about paying for colleges, just worried about my future job and all. So I think I will go with Iowa State University for engineering. What do you guys think? </p>
<p>You SHOULD be worried about cost. Show your financial aid letter to your parents: can they pay the expected costs out of pockets? Will you be expected to take on loans (you’re only allowed $5,500 as a freshman), to have a job?</p>
<p>Why do you like Iowa State? Is it closer to your family? Cheaper? What does it have you especially like (it’s not better than the others and its professional opportunities aren’t better than the others either).</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 Yes they will be paying everything.
I am choosing beacuse of it’s engineering ranking and also it has a good CHEM Engineering rank. I am an international student so family will be very far. See, I am an International student and don’t know much about the colleges. That’s why I was asking you guys. What is your opinion?? what should I choose?</p>
<p>Odds are that you’ll have to look for a job back home (not in the US), so the question becomes: which university is most respected in your country?
What rankings are you using?
(Many rankings are for graduate programs and do not apply to undergraduates)
In terms of the US job market, Houston may have the most job prospects.
Iowa State and ASU probably would provide you with good “college experiences” - ASu is much larger so it can be overwhelming, it has a reputation for partying (although anyone in ChemE who parties often will drop out quickly) and the weather is pretty good. Iowa State is not quite close knit but has a more manageable size and a good college town and while there are parties that’s not what the university is primarily known for at the undergraduate level. SUNY Buffalo is one of the top public universities in the State of New York. It’s about 8 hours from New York City and it’s VERY snowy and cold. Buffalo is not as nice of a city as either Ames or Tempe/Phoenix.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 is it really hard for international students to get jobs in US? What if I stand in the top 10% of the class will it still be difficult to get a job? The thing is I really love your country</p>
<p>The immigration laws are being changed, especially for technical fields, but as of now it’s almost impossible for international students with a BS/BA to get a job in the US after they graduate. Either they continue to a graduate program or they go home to work.
Applications for H1Bs (work visas) go up in May and are often finished by the time you get your Bachelor’s - and your employer can’t apply for the visa if you don’t have your degree yet. At best, if you find an employer willing to sponsor you for an H1B (and that costs them a lot of money so you better have skills no one else has), you have to save some OPT time for June to October when the H1B starts.
Most people who get H1Bs have Masters or very specific skills that are in high-demand (engineering does count). In short, don’t plan to work in the US after your degree, save at least 4 months of OPT time (CPT = internship time during your degree), and be exceptional in the program your choose.
In terms of job market I’d go with Houston, and with Iowa State for the ‘experience’ (since UHouston is very commuter.) post your queries on the International Students forum and on each university’s specific forum.</p>
<p>Thank you @MYOS1634 for the info. This was really helpful</p>
<p>Wow, @MYOS1634, is it really that impossible? Although I have no intention of remaining in the US after graduating (unless I choose to go to graduate school), from my seniors and friends I have heard that it is indeed possible to get jobs with just a BA/BS. They attend top LACs (Bates, Hamilton, Swarthmore etc) and two attend top unis (Columbia and Yale), and paint a rather… favorable picture. Of course they refer strictly to jobs in finance and engineering, and come from top schools, but still…</p>
<p>Engineering and CS are an in-demand and finance firms often don’t care about the cost of the H1B if they think the candidate is going to make them ten or fifty times the amount. But even for engineers it’s not easy to go from OPT to H1B. Your friends may not have been job-hunting yet - when they indicate they need a H1B, some of their offers may vanish. And of course there may no longer be H1Bs by the time the potential employers can ask for one. Many simply stay on for graduate study since it makes the delay with H1B easier.</p>