Michigan or Wisconsin? (Chemical Engineering)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

I got accepted into U Mich and UW-Madison for chemical engineering as a transfer from Miami Dade College in Florida. I have not heard back from either school in terms of financial aid, though Wisconsin offered me in-state tuition with the acceptance. I really like both schools and I can’t decide on one over the other.

Assuming financial aid is not an issue, which of the two schools is a better deal? I don’t really care about partying or sports, I’m there for the academics and the research opportunities. I’d also want the school that offers the smoothest transition for transfers as I know very little about the Midwest.

2

I really do not know much about Wisconsin, but UMich has fantastic engineering.

3

Michigan is better (ranked 11 for ChemE and 10 or less for everything else), but Wisconsin is a better value if you get in-state tuition (vs OOS at Michigan). You will need to talk to the respective transfer offices to see what credit you will get. Michigan has superior academics, better sports, and the 2nd largest research budget of all US universities. Recruitment at the CoE is outstanding.

4

I believe that Wisconsin is ranked higher for Chem Engineering than Michigan. Instate tuition is the deciding factor here. Wisconsin is an outstanding school. The biggest concern right now is the financial crisis in that state and how well Wiscy can get through it without sacrificing quality of its flagship university.

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/university/wisconsin-technology-council-cutting-uw-tech-college-funding-again-would/article_2fb59238-0708-524c-8fb4-6413b15debad.html

5

ChE courses are sequential. If you transfer in as a junior, you may have to spend an extra term to complete your ChE courses even if you come in with all the required math/science courses. So there may be an additional financial consideration.

Wisconsin offers a unique Operations and Process Lab, a mandatory summer course. This is a cool experience as you get to work in a pilot-size plant environment, and you have a choice of four locations … Madison, Ovideo, Vienna, and Hangzhou. Here’s last summer’s class photo at Ovideo - http://summerlabphotos.che.wisc.edu/group/displayphoto.php?id=182

6

After much thought, I’ve finally decided on UW-Madison. Really looking forward to it!

Thanks to everyone for sharing their comments.

7

Smart move TheDiego. Instate rates for Wisconsin made this the obvious choice!