<p>i'm a junior seriously starting my search. my criteria is pretty loose so far. less than 10 schools seems reasonable?
decently seasonal/cool/cold (one of the three).
city or good college town.
medium, medium-large size.
private with good financial aid.
ChemE program with opportunities for alternative energy/enviromental work.
i'm unfortunately blinded by prestige a little bit.
maybe some good NMF/NMS tuition options (i have USC and UMass so far).</p>
<p>let me know if my list contradicts any of these (chances are my weather/locations are all over the place).</p>
<p>temporary list: Princeton (i'm hoping SCEA boosts chances. but if this year isn't evident of that, i might take it off to put more time into my other apps)
Cornell
Penn
Northwestern
Notre Dame
USC
UMass (in-state safety)</p>
<p>thank you!</p>
<p>If Minnesota’s relatively low OOS cost (about $29,000 per year) is affordable, add it to the list, as it is highly regarded for chemical engineering.</p>
<p>Several other state schools like Delaware, Wisconsin, Texas, etc. are well regarded for chemical engineering, but OOS cost can be high with not much financial aid.</p>
<p>i’m not sure about OOS publics for that reason. also, i feel like they’d be too large, but i also feel that i’ve read somewhere that honors colleges can be cut off from the rest of campus (but i’m not sure how the whole honors college stuff works). i appreciate the suggestions though.</p>
<p>anybody else have any ideas? i was thinking about johns hopkins, but are the majority of ChemE students there pre-med focused? or, do they avoid it to keep their GPAs safe for med. school?</p>
<p>private with good financial aid.
ChemE program with opportunities for alternative energy/enviromental work.
i’m unfortunately blinded by prestige a little bit.
maybe some good NMF/NMS tuition options (i have USC and UMass so far).</p>
<p>Do you know if you’ll QUALIFY for good aid? </p>
<p>Do you know if your family will pay the amount that the school expects them to pay?<br>
A rough estimate is about 23% of gross income. </p>
<p>What NMF scholarship does UMass offer?</p>
<p>*i was thinking about johns hopkins, but are the majority of ChemE students there pre-med focused? or, do they avoid it to keep their GPAs safe for med. school? *</p>
<p>Yes, pre-meds do have to keep their GPAs safe for med school so if you’re going to go that route, don’t go where the GPAs of ChemE majors are rarely high.</p>
<p>If you’re pre-med, go where you won’t run up debt for undergrad and where you’ll have a strong GPA. My son is ChemE and pre-med. He’s at a state flagship and works very hard for his As. Pre-med pre-reqs and engineering are hard at any decent school. </p>
<p>UCB is right about publics and FA. There are some that would give you merit, but maybe not the ones mentioned…altho UDel might. </p>
<p>i’ve read somewhere that honors colleges can be cut off from the rest of campus (but i’m not sure how the whole honors college stuff works).</p>
<p>Well, honors colleges can often provide a “smaller college feel” within a big school. I don’t know if I would say that the students are “cut off” from the rest of campus. It’s not like honors students never see the rest of the student body. Honors students often have their own honors dorms and honors classes, but they often are using the same academic buildings for their classes…especially for STEM majors. For instance, the 9am Honors Gen Chem class may be held in the same room as the 11am regular Gen Chem class. However, the LAC-like Honors seminar classes may be held in the Honors academic building.</p>
<p>thanks for the good response mom2collegekids!
based on income (which i’d rather not share, but consider me middle class), i assume i would get some decent-to-good aid from colleges with good endowment. i’ll have to figure out the numbers sooner or later based on that percent estimate. that’s useful information.</p>
<p>by the way, after some further research, UMass offers this to NMS winners (not NM(S)F i assume)
National Merit Scholarships</p>
<p>These scholarships cover the full cost of tuition, fees, and standard room and board. A limited number of scholarships are offered per entering class, based on a competitive review of the freshman National Merit Scholars who have applied to the university. These scholarships may not be combined with tuition waivers, since the scholarship already covers the full cost of tuition, fees, and standard room and board.</p>
<p>also, i’m not interested in pre-med. i’m more interested in the other applications of cheme, which it seems that there are many for, such as alternative energy. i was under the impression that since johns hopkins has such a prestigious medical program, i wouldn’t be able to find anyone with similar interests as me. this might be a silly assumption.</p>
<p>how’s this revised list: princeton, cornell, upenn, northwestern, notre dame, michigan, johns hopkins, umass?</p>
<p>actually, i’m torn about usc incase i get nmf. i guess we’ll have to wait and see first though</p>
<p>Why Michigan but not less expensive Minnesota?</p>
<p>I would go the notredame/MIT/Caltech EA route… not princeton Scea</p>
<p>Unless you’re instate for UMich take it off your list. They don’t give good FA to oos students.</p>
<p>Why not Vanderbilt? My nephew is ChemE there and really likes it.</p>
<p>What state are you in? </p>
<p>You’ll get your PSAT score in Dec/Jan so depending on what state you’re in, you may know then if you’ll likely make NMSF if your score is either much higher than this year’s cutoff or a 223 (which has been the highest cutoff). </p>
<p>If your parents can pay their EFC put UMinn on your list. However, I don’t know if UMinn gives much for OOS aid or merit. I think it does give some NMF money, so that could be good for you. </p>
<p>based on income (which i’d rather not share, but consider me middle class), i assume i would get some decent-to-good aid from colleges with good endowment. i’ll have to figure out the numbers sooner or later based on that percent estimate. that’s useful information.</p>
<p>Just use an EFC calculator to determine your EFC. Remember that most schools don’t meet need and some schools require CSS Profile as well. Talk to your parents about how much they’ll pay. They may have a set amount in mind that they will pay and that may mean that some schools won’t work out for you. Or, they may surprise you and say that money is no object. lol :)</p>
<p>Are you instate for UMass? </p>
<p>EFC Calc<br>
[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid) </p>
<p>*i was under the impression that since johns hopkins has such a prestigious medical program, i wouldn’t be able to find anyone with similar interests as me. this might be a silly assumption. *</p>
<p>Go to the JHU forum here on CC and see what you can find out. :)</p>
<p>i didn’t know vanderbilt had a good cheme program. the only thing is, i have an affinity for the cold so i’d like to stay new england/midwest. you might be asking “why usc then?” but i don’t have quite a good answer yet. if i don’t get nmf then it won’t be an option.</p>
<p>i am instate for umass.</p>
<p>as for michigan over minnesota, i guess it was prestige mostly. i did like the look of the campus though and school spirit is big there.</p>
<p>as for MIT ea over princeton scea, i was thinking princeton scea might be less selective (by a small margin) and i liked the feel of princeton when i stopped by on a road trip but that’s not really a big deal. i’ll rethink it. i guess if i didn’t think i was MIT material than i shouldn’t be princeton material either; it’s quite the dilemma. i also like to think i’d have more to do at princeton if engineering wasn’t for me. i only need one huge reach so i’ll have to choose between both.</p>
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<p>Both are considered very good (among the top schools) for chemical engineering, so the prestige difference in your major will not be significant between them (or compared to the top other schools for chemical engineering in your list), but Minnesota is likely to be much less expensive than Michigan.</p>
<p>
If you are set on ChE, I’d take Wisconsin over Michigan … great college town and better ChE program. Michigan is expensive for OOS … unless you qualify for Shipman or similar size merit scholarships.</p>
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<p>curious, what is the reason behind this statement?</p>
<p>how is the university of rochester? that looks an ok alternative to michigan, etc. because it’s cold, and it’s a private that, i’m pretty sure, offers good merit aid, such as nmf.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Clemson. Good for matches/safeties.</p>
<p>Minnesota may waive or give you half off for OOS tuition, which is 5 grand and if you become NMF give you 10 grand. [University-Wide</a> Scholarships](<a href=“http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/costsaid/schol_campus.html]University-Wide”>University-Wide Academic Scholarships | Office of Admissions)</p>
<p>Take a look at Clemson! Let me know if you have any questions!</p>
<p>decently seasonal/cool/cold (one of the three) -“At Clemson we experience all four seasons. Since we are in the South, we have a short winter and an extended spring and summer.” </p>
<p>city or good college town - Clemson is pretty much the town, the town revolves arount the university so it is the definition of a college town</p>
<p>medium, medium-large size. - 15,000 undergraduates</p>
<p>ChemE program with opportunities for alternative energy/enviromental work - engineering is fantastic at Clemson. It is our most popular major.</p>
<p>would it be dumb to apply to both princeton and stanford?</p>