<p>Rising senior here, I was yet another pre-med hopeful until I realized that I really just wanted the science aspect of medicine without having to deal with the trials/huge debt of med school, disagreeable patients, etc. I'm not averse to hard work at all, but some of the stories of what med students go through are just crazy. I decided I'd probably rather go with my original prospective career goal and try for engineering, specifically chemical since chem has historically been my favorite science. Noticing that Texas has a highly-renowned engineering school with a top 10 chem engineering department, my interest in it has definitely picked up. Furthermore, looking at BLS statistics, it appears that the state of Texas is by far the state with the most opportunities for chemical engineers (2-3x more than any other state). I'm a Virginia resident, and I know we have Virginia Tech for engineering. My main question is whether a degree from UT-Austin would provide a significant leg-up in employment opportunities for chem eng, especially in those areas prevalent with chemical engineering opportunities. I know the cost is quite a cut above in-state for Va. Tech, although I could qualify for a waiver potentially (4.0/4.4 U/W GPA, 34 ACT). But I know those are rare so I won't bank on it. Note that I also plan on working for a MS or PhD, so if this isn't a significant advantage over a bachelor's let me know as well.</p>
<p>It would not be worth the extra money over Vtech imho</p>
<p>Irrelevant but nice English man. Quite a rarity on here on teh interwebz.</p>
<p>I came from Oregon to UT to study chemical engineering, partially because of the high academic rankings but also because of the job opportunities in Texas. I think it’s definitely worth it for me (even though I got an OOS tuition waiver, I would consider paying full tuition). I’m not sure what the CHE opportunities are in Virginia though.</p>
<p>@wolframalphamale appreciate the feedback, Va tech doesn’t seem terrible but I’m just not sure how well it places in jobs around the country and not just Virginia</p>
<p>@frever hahah thanks, I find it highly ironic when people who are asking for chances to elite schools can’t even use proper grammar</p>
<p>@soadquake I’m not sure either how VA is, but I doubt that it’s very good since we’re military focused around where I live. I am pretty interested in being somehow associated with the oil industry without being on the oil rigs themselves, and I know that the oil companies employ chemical engineers. That’s where I’m thinking that Texas would provide a definite advantage even if I didn’t major in petroleum engineering. Also, what were your stats that got you the tuition waiver?</p>
<p>I had a 2400 SAT and 4.0 GPA, but don’t take that as the standard for OOS tuition waivers, haha. Engineering has a bunch of waivers, and not everyone has the same stats as me!</p>
<p>soadquake is being modest - wow, a 2400 SAT score! It is VERY hard to get an OOS tuition waiver. When I checked a couple of years ago, I was told there were only 7 or 8 TOTAL for Cockrell, and that is for ALL classes, not just freshmen.</p>
<p>We decided it was worth OOS tuition for one year for our son to go to UT for BME, but we got him in-state residency starting this year (his second). They’ve just tightened up the residency rules, though, so that wouldn’t have worked for him if was entering UT as a freshman now.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the leg up in employment for chemical engineering but the UT Computer Science kids that came to our school said that a lot of them are employed at top companies like Google, Apple, etc… before their junior year. I know some family friends in CS with similar situations (National Instruments). This MIGHT relate to UT Austin, however, I can’t be sure.</p>
<p>Well if you’re interested in the oil and gas industry, many of our CHE students get jobs and internships at companies like Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, etc. I’m pretty sure all of these companies prefer in-state students over students from other universities (even “prestigious” schools like Berkeley, MIT, etc.)</p>