Georgia Tech or UCSB for chemical engineering

My son has got all of his offers and has narrowed his decision down to UCSB and Georgia Tech because they are both strong on Chemical engineering. The 2016 undergraduate chemical engineering ranking is GT #6 and UCSB #17. My son likes California a lot and hopes to live there in the future so he is more into UCSB. However GT seems to have better reputation. He is international student so the cost would be the same. So the key thing is which school would be a better choice for his future career and his next dream–a master’s degree and PhD in Stanford. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

If that’s his goal, either school provides plenty of opportunity to achieve it. I will say that it’s premature to set himself on the path to a PhD with any degree of certainty, as there’s no telling how he will actually like the subject once he starts studying it. Further, picking a specific school at this point is just silly, since graduate degrees are much more about finding the place that is the best fit for your research interests than the name on the diploma.

Thank you for your opinion. I agree that it is silly to pick a specific school at this point. Actually I know that it does not have to be Stanford. It is just that he was rejected by Stanford, which has been his dream school. But I think the name matters when it comes to grad school and a top one would definitely help his career. I agree that it is premature but so far he is very determined to have a PhD. He is a kid who enjoys and loves studying so I am quite sure it would be something he will pursue happily. I heard that in UCSB, students do not have much chance for industry experience. Does that matter when apply for grad school?
Actually there is another good offer for my son. Haverford College, where there is a 3+2 dual degree program with Caltech. It is a great college. But if he goes there, he has to study Chemistry and maybe basic engineering course for the first three years, and then apply for dual-degree program with Caltech for the next two years. So total five years for a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Engineering. My son thinks it is important to start studying Chemical Engineering from the first year. Is that true? Do you think we should consider about it? If so, how much do you think it would help to prep him with his grad school compared to UCSB/Georgia Tech?

Name only matters if the ultimate career goal is academia. Otherwise, it can matter somewhat but your connections and the strength of your research matter more. Even with academic careers your connections, specifically those you gain by working with a strong PhD advisor (rather than a strong institution) are likely the most important factor on top of publication record. Your publication record again comes back to how well the research and your advisor matched your interests in the first place and whether your advisor’s research program is a good one.

At an “elite” school, the proportion of the faculty that fit this bill will tend to be higher. That does not mean that you can’t potentially go elsewhere and get the exact same benefits (or better). In reality, the Stanfords and MITs of the world may not have a strong research program in your area of interest and then you will be worse off by going there. So in short, don’t worry about specific schools until your son has his research interests pinned down, and then choose the one with the best program and fit in that area, not the one with the sexiest name brand.

I’m not an expert in this stuff, but there is another option with Haverford. There is a 4+1 engineering with Penn where he would have a Masters from Penn in 5 years. Might be better than the 3+2, but maybe not.

https://www.haverford.edu/academics/degree-partnerships

I suppose I’ll also add that Caltech is a wonderful school but I’ve heard relatively ho hum opinions about being an undergraduate there. All of my Caltech friends have basically said that they wish they’d gone elsewhere and then gone to Caltech for graduate school. Just make sure you visit and get a really good feel for the school before actually committing to a path that leads there.

I’ll leave the discussion of 3+2 programs to the myriad threads that already exist on the topic.

Thank you! I will look it up.

That is a very helpful! Thank you!

Your opinion is very much appreciated. I will forward it to my son.

@Hester3385

For what it’s worth, there are students from both UCSB and Georgia Tech in the chemical engineering PhD program at Stanford. I consider the two schools to be in the same academic “tier” for chemical engineering, so I would pick whichever school you like better.