I recently visited UIUC, and it seems to be beneficial that ChemE is in LAS (ChemE majors get access to both the LAS and Engineering College resources. As Hannah Montana said, “You get the best of both worlds!”).
My question is this: Is it detrimental to be a James Scholar under LAS instead of the College of Engineering?
I attended an LAS James Scholar reception, and the LAS Honors Program is going through major changes in requirements, opportunity availability, etc. The changes seemed excellent as a whole (more research opportunities, more studying abroad, etc), but I am unsure as to how they’d affect ChemE students.
The Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Advisors said they were still trying to figure out what changes will be put into place for ChemE James scholars, and that was a bit concerning to me. I know the GPA to stay a James Scholar in LAS is higher than that for Engineering James Scholars, which seems a bit unfair. Hopefully, I have no problems keeping a high GPA, though!
Does anyone have any ideas about the future prospects of the LAS James Scholar Program for a ChemE major?