<p>My son will be applying to Penn State (and Schreyer Honors College) in the fall. He is torn between Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. He is interested in Nanotech, Energy, and maybe Biomedical. He will probably want a master's degree later on, but not sure about PhD.</p>
<p>AT PSU, ChemE is in the College of Engineering, but MatSE is in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. I imagine the two environments might be quite different, and switching majors might not be a trivial task. Besides, my son is the type who tends to stay the course unless he is extremely miserable, so I don't expect him to change majors down the road -- all the more reasons to try to get it right from the get-go.</p>
<p>Would anyone care to comment on these two majors/departments/colleges? Any thoughts on their general atmosphere, student interaction, teaching, faculty, facilities, departmental growth, internship, research opportunity, recruiting, industry outlook, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Last but not least, which major tends to give more merit scholarships? We do not qualify for need-based aids.</p>
<p>His stats - ACT 34; GPA 3.94 UW; Most rigorous STEM curriculum; 6 APs so far; 4 APs and college courses next year; well-regarded public school; no school rank. His ECs are good but not spectacular. We are in-state. No hooks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip! We already visited but everything is good so still can’t decide As for Biomedical Engineering, he doesn’t want to jump right in now.</p>
<p>Anyone else likes to chime in? I’m particularly interested in the merit scholarships. I read that some students got scholarships from the College of Engineering. So, for freshmen, the money is from the college not the department? Has anyone got scholarships from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (or MATSE)?</p>
<p>My D received a $1500 scholarship from the college of earth and mineral sciences. It was first listed as a Dean’s Freshman and then on the FA form as a WILSON honors scholarship. That and the $5500 freshman loan was all she received. But, we didn’t expect anything need based.</p>
<p>An acquaintance went to a Schreyer event and overheard an administrator said that most (?) Schreyer kids received merit aids from their colleges on top of the $4,000 Schreyer scholarship. This was during a conversion about STEM-related majors.</p>
<p>NanoAid,
The first year curriculum for most engineering majors is the same. Your DS doesn’t have to make that decision for a year, and he can do it with the help of an advisor and some consultation with his peers.</p>
<p>^ True, but he does have to specify a major in his application. Since these two majors are in two different colleges, there might be implications in merit scholarships, SLO (special living options), etc. For example, I assume the MATSE kids can request the SLO in Irving but not in McKee.</p>
<p>The University of Illinois, Purdue, Notre Dame and many other universities offer week-long “engineering camps”. He can sample may of the engineering disciplines and converse with his peers, professors, undergrads, etc. in a relaxed manner for a week. It sounds like he would get a lot of benefit from that.</p>
<p>The engineering camp is a great idea. My son has indeed signed up for one. Unfortunately, PSU Engineering does not seem to offer any summer program for high school students. At this point, we already had some ideas about the two disciplines. We just wanted to learn more about the two departments/colleges specifically at Penn State. Things like, which department is awash with money? Ha Ha!</p>
<p>I do not know if you are still looking into this now, but I don’t really think either is awash with money. However, I was interested in ChemE at PSU but switched to MatSE at PSU and I really enjoy being in the EMS College over the College of Engineering. The MatSE Department has probably the best facilities on campus after the Millennium Science Center was completed this year and it seems to me that MatSE is really being pushed to the “forefront” of Penn State’s Engineering. Also, not to mention PSU’s MatSE Department is ranked in the top ten nationally. Another thing, the MatSE faculty is terribly friendly and outgoing to recruit students and it is really just an incredibly motivating environment. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>^ Yes, we are still looking into this with great interests. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences in MatSE! How would you describe the internship and undergrad research there? Do you live in the SLO for EMS? Would you recommend it?</p>
<p>Being in EMS, do you still have a lot of interactions with the College of Engineering, like taking classes, joining clubs and attending talks? What are the typical minors MatSE students tend to pursue, if any?</p>
As for Biomedical Engineering, he doesn’t want to jump right in now.</p>