Does prestige matter for ChemE grad school?

Hi, I am a rising sophomore in a state university majoring chemical engineering. I got good scholarships, and there is an accelerated masters program in my university that allows us to get a master’s degree within one year after the undergraduate. I am planning on getting the bachelor’s degree in three years, and if I join the accelerated program, my scholarship for the fourth year will go toward the extra year for masters, and I will basically pay almost no tuition for the master’s degree. However, I always wanted to go to prestigious schools for master’s, and I was wondering if going to more prestigious school is worth it. My school is in top 50 for engineering. Does going to top schools affect the salary or chance to get hired by large companies? Thank you

Unless you get funding, and masters typically don’t (doctoral degrees typically are), then you’ll pay WAY more. At that point the prestige bump, if there is any, will be highly outweighed by the additional cost.

It sounds like an excellent way to use your 4th year of college. There should be no impact on your ability to get a first job.