<p>So I just got into Cal for Chemical Engineering, but I'm in sort of a dilemma. I realize Berkeley has a #2 ranking in Chem Engineering and UCLA is around #20-30. </p>
<p>What does the ranking really mean? Is there such a big difference between #2 and #30? </p>
<p>Berkeley engineering has a reputation of being notoriously hard, and since ChemE is one of the harder engineering majors, I'm really worried about the competition and how hard it will be.</p>
<p>UCLA's environment and campus is amazing. I know I will probably have a better time in LA but I don't know if it's worth turning down Berkeley. </p>
<p>I'm not super smart so I think UCLA will be better for me, but since I got into Cal, it's hard to simply turn it down, when I know I can graduate with a Berkeley engineering degree and get a job much more easily than if I graduate with a UCLA degree. Is this true?</p>
<p>I think the disparate rankings should be enough for you to go to Cal, hands-down There will be competition at whichever college you choose…Cal and LA are both prestigious schools. Cal’s engineering is not only very difficult to get into, but for the sake of education and job opportunities…it’s really not worth turning down UNLESS you truly will be unhappy at Cal :/</p>
<p>I chose environment over rankings - I’m happy where I ended up. Take a visit to both schools, ideally when they’re in session and sit in on a class or two. Also keep in mind whether you want to end up in the Bay Area or SoCal right out of undergrad, since most opportunities will be local.</p>
<p>You have to do what you feel most comfortable with in the end. I’m an Art History major which is definitely not as hard as chemical engineering, but I decided to go to UCLA instead of Cal also. I don’t regret it, although it was a difficult decision to make.</p>
<p>I found a lot of the competition was in the math and science classes vs. the engineering courses. Do you have a lot of AP credits? </p>
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Being humble and saying you’re not super smart is the right attitude to have…you’re smarter than you think. Chemical engineering is going to be tough, but you’ll be rewarded for it with a good paying job and the satisfaction knowing you graduated from one of the toughest schools and toughest majors… </p>
<p>In my experience, I found Berkeley engineering to be more widely recruited. However, a chemical engineering degree from UCLA will NOT limit your employment opportunities. Engineers are always in demand.</p>
Your decision is easy. UCLA. If you don’t then you’ll end up regretting it, waking up each morning and dreaming of all the things you would have been doing if you were in LA. And I’d say exactly the same thing (follow your dreams) if you preferred Cal, or Davis, etc. One thing that make this easier to say is that engineering education is standardized by ABET. Unlike English or History or many other majors where what you learn is at the whim of the college you attend, the classes you’ll take to get an engineering degree are pretty much the same at every ABET school. Schools differ in rigor and the type of student they enroll; employers might have a preference for those attending a college in a higher tier (broadly viewed). But anybody in industry is going to put UCLA and Cal into the same broad tier for undergrad education.</p>
<p>I have to laugh when I read comments like “I think the disparate rankings should be enough for you to go to Cal, hands-down”. Of course posters like that can’t tell you how the rankings were done – what factors were used, how much weight was given to each factor,etc. Nor can they tell you what difference it will make in your experience to go to a higher-ranked school. Nonetheless they are certain – just go to the higher ranked school even if it differs by a few places in the rankings, it is certain to be better for every possible student under every possible circumstance.</p>
<p>Mikemac - I say that only because I have read about Cal’s reputation for engineering so many times, and the many job opportunities in that area. The rankings are extremely different, so I personally find that enough reason to solve a dilemma…I would support UCLA if that’s where the OP genuinely wanted to be, but he is asking between the two colleges. I look at rankings, whereas you don’t, and you probably have your reasons. But please don’t assume I care only about the rankings and prestige. If I did, I would not be in my own college dilemma :/</p>
<p>P.s. This is one of the ways I find out things I don’t necessarily know (because I basically give advice like I would to my friends, based on what I’ve heard, which isn’t always right). Are you saying that rankings shouldn’t be considered, don’t make a huge difference, or that campus should come before rankings?</p>
<p>Like everyone who has already posted, go to where ever you feel right. No point in going to a more “prestigious” school or program if you feel like crap and don’t do well. No one’s going to point and say “This person has a degree from X, let’s give her a 100k job,” or “Hey, this person chose Y over X, what a dumbass.”</p>
sure, I feel your pain. When someone writes “UCLA’s environment and campus is amazing. I know I will probably have a better time in LA” I find myself scratching my head and asking myself where the poster genuinely wants to be… It’s just so hard to tell!!!</p>
<p>^The one question there is why they think they’ll be happier in LA. If they’ve visited both campuses and are familiar with the geography, fine. But if they’ve never been to LA and have some image of the glitz and glamor of Hollywood or Beverly Hills, and they’ve “heard” that UCLA is so much more social with much more beautiful people and everything, they might want to get a more realistic picture.</p>
<p>Happiness is an important consideration that is probably tossed aside too often, but it’s also important to consider it rationally.</p>
<p>I’ve visited both. I went to LA in February but only stayed there for about 2 hours. From what I’ve seen however, LA is great. However, I went to Berkeley about 3 times but I’ve only walked through the campus thoroughly 5 years ago, so I don’t remember much. I’m going to go visit again next week, but all my peers are telling me it’s not as great as LA</p>
<p>^ When you visit Berkeley, be sure to thoroughly check out the College of Chemistry mini-campus (Latimer, Lewis, Gilman, Hildebrand, and Tan Halls). This is where you’ll be spending a lot of time as a chemical engineering major. Go to the 3rd floor of Gilman hall and look for the plaque outside a small office that states plutonium was discovered there…the place is steeped in history.</p>
<p>Californium and Berkelium were also named for UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>College of Chemistry has some of the most top-notch researchers in the country. A student will still have better chem research opportunities at Cal (whether or not the research is “groundbreaking”).</p>
<p>I would like to hear from someone who graduated with a chemE degree from UCLA and currently has a job. How long did it take you to get that job? and were you recruited?</p>
There will be competition at whichever college you choose…Cal and LA are both prestigious schools. Cal’s engineering is not only very difficult to get into, but for the sake of education and job opportunities…it’s really not worth turning down UNLESS you truly will be unhappy at Cal :/</p>
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I say that only because I have read about Cal’s reputation for engineering so many times, and the many job opportunities in that area. The rankings are extremely different, so I personally find that enough reason to solve a dilemma…I would support UCLA if that’s where the OP genuinely wanted to be, but he is asking between the two colleges. I look at rankings, whereas you don’t, and you probably have your reasons. But please don’t assume I care only about the rankings and prestige. If I did, I would not be in my own college dilemma :/</p>