is chemical engineering undergrad degree same from top colleges?

<p>if i got a chem e undergrad degree from lets say university of minnesota, university of michigan ann arbor, or university of illinois- urbana campaign( sorry for the horrible spelling.....)</p>

<p>compare those with chem e undergrad degree from lets say the super top high ranked: uc berkeley, MIT, CalTech, or stanford.</p>

<p>is there going to be a difference in terms of education and salery potential? from what i heard: "a chem e degree is just a chem e degree in terms of undergrad." as long as the colleges are on the top 25 of the list that is.</p>

<p>what do you guys think? is it true?</p>

<p>No difference in salary or opportunities. Engineering employers are very egalitarian with pay.</p>

<p>Those are 3 great engineering schools, especially in chem e. No difference. Go to the one that’s cheapest.</p>

<p>bclintonk which 3 schools?</p>

<p>and UCB chem e: is it really true? then whats the difference between a chem e undergrad from u of minnesota vs stanford or MIT? in terms of job opportunity and salery and promotion that is.</p>

<p>Engineering recruiting for new graduates and interns does tend to have a local bias. I.e. employers will recruit at local universities because it is convenient. Generally, the further away the university is from the employer, the higher its reputation in the desired subject needs to be to attract a traveling recruiter. Of course, not seeing recruiters does not prevent a student from applying to an employer, but the student first has to find out that the employer exists. Students local to an employer may also be at an advantage, since the employer won’t have to fly them out to interview.</p>

<p>well then is it worth it to go to cali for school but then i dont want to live in cali? because the cost of living is soooooo high! i will be so much better off living in minnesota or smaller state. although cali’s chem engineers probably get paid more, but its not enough to break even with the cost of living there.( correct me if i am wrong) what do you guys think? correct me if i am wrong.</p>

<p>^ You’re right. I could go to work in another part of the country (i.e. Texas or Midwest) and make the same amount I am now (or even more) and have cheaper living expenses. The only thing keeping me here in California are is that it’s home to me and I’d miss is my family, the weather, and the natural diversity.</p>

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If career goal is to be an engineer working for industry, not much. MIT and Stanford grads will have more opportunity to work for startups, top consulting or financial firms primarily due to connections and the volume of upper cream talent that makes them a recruiting target.</p>

<p>At Berkeley, I had quite a few grad student TAs from Minnesota. Minnesota ChemE is a great program.</p>

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<p>I was referring to the 3 schools you mentioned in the first line of your post. Michigan and Illinois have top-10 engineering schools, and Minnesota top-25. In chemical engineering in particular, Minnesota is ranked #3 (tied with Caltech and ahead of Stanford) by US News. Illinois is #11 and Michigan #13. Wisconsin-Madison is right up there, too, at #6.</p>

<p>The NRC rankings are similar. They have Minnesota at #6 (ahead of Stanford at #8), Michigan at #9, Illinois at #11, and Wisconsin at #13.</p>

<p>But don’t get hung up on the rankings. These are all top engineering schools, heavily recruited, and you’ll get an excellent education and a great job whichever you choose. Engineering is a field where the top publics are every bit competitive with the top privates.</p>

<p>I’d say one other difference is that at places like MIT, Stanford, and Caltech, a higher percentage of engineering grads go on to get PhDs, and a higher percentage end up in academia. But an undergrad chem e degree from Minnesota, Michigan, or Illinois, coupled with a strong GPA and good test scores, will get you into top grad schools, too, if you want to go that route. As is evidenced by UCBChemEGrad’s experience at UC Berkeley, where many of his TAs had their undergrad degrees from Minnesota.</p>

<p>alright that helped a lot. thanks a ton UCBchemEgrad and bclintonk!</p>