<p>I want to stay near Illinois and go into chemical engineering. These are the schools I have so far for possibilities:
- 3+2 program between Benedictine University and Illinois Institute of Technology
- just Illinois Institute of Technology
- UIUC
- Northwestern University
- Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
- University of Wisconsin Madison
- Missouri University of Science and Technology
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Michigan - Ann Harbor</p>
<p>So these are my top picks so far, which ones would you recommend? Money is an issue so colleges that offer scholarships would be much more likely. I also want to be able to know my professors and not just be another student or number. Thanks ahead of time for any help, recommendations, etc.</p>
<p>I would suggest also looking at Minnesota. It is a VERY good ChE program, and regularly ranks above every school on your list (though rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, of course).</p>
<p>I went to UIUC and loved it. I had all the personally relationships I wanted, but just had to be proactive about getting them since there are so many people. Still, I wouldn’t trade my undergrad experience for anything else (I was an ME, not a ChE).</p>
<p>I can tell you have I have many friends that went to Missouri S&T (I am from St. Louis originally) and it is an excellent school, but it isn’t for everyone. It is small and personally, so you would like that part. However, it is around 80% male, and the town of Rolla is pretty lame, to say the least. Still, I have lots of friends that love it there. Definitely visit it before committing.</p>
<p>Personally, I would steer clear of Notre Dame. I am sure I will get flamed for this, but out of the people I have met and worked with from their engineering department, none of them really impressed me as far as being good engineers goes. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t produce good engineers, but in my own experience, they are not on par with the other area schools. Someone else here will probably crucify me for that statement. Commence flaming…</p>
<p>Other than that, they are all good schools. Pick the one at which you feel most comfortable.</p>
<p>Sorry to dissapoint, but there’s no harbor at UMich :)</p>
<p>Your list seems good. How unwilling are you to leave the region, though? You might want to consider Purdue. Not sure if they have great chem engineering, but they have solid overall engineering. Maybe WUSTL, Carnegie Mellon, and Case as well. I’m not sure WUSTL has good engineering, but it is strong in a lot of disciplines. </p>
<p>And which would you rather have: a school with great engineering but lackluster other academics (and likewise great engineering research but lesser student body academic quality among other things), or a solid all around school (with lesser engineering opportunities but a more academically qualified student body)?</p>
<p>I think I would rather have a school strong in engineering while not as great in other things. I guess it mostly depends on how I like the school in general though.</p>
<p>HA, I know that there is no harbor…</p>
<p>I looked at Purdue, but then I thought why go there when I would rather go to somewhere like UIUC. I guess the only reason I’ve looked at schools outside Illinois is because how they’re ranked in engineering.</p>
<p>So, you should use the same thought process with other schools. Would you really go to some of the original schools you listed if you got into UIUC? I know getting into UIUC isn’t a sure bet, especially for engineering, but you could get in with priority admissions.</p>