This is sort of a part two question so don’t be too mad haha. So, I have a list of schools offering petrol engineering thanks to another member on the forum. The only problem is that there are so few schools offering the degree and all of them are out of state. They are for the most part all very far away and very expensive due to being out of state (I live in Illinois). My question is which of the petrol schools then offers the most scholarship money and bang for your buck. For example lowest tuition with good job prospects. Not that it matters much but I know Texas has three universities all offering the degree and I think it would be really great to got to school in Texas. Do you know anything about those programs (Texas A&M , Texas Tech , University Austin)
Thanks for any help!
What is your price limit?
Texas - Permian Basin appears to be relatively inexpensive:
http://www.utpb.edu/services/business-affairs/accounting/cost-of-college/cost-of-attendance (scroll down to get to fall 2015 instead of summer 2015)
Alaska - Fairbanks, Wyoming, New Mexico Tech, and Montana Tech are also relatively lower priced for out-of-state students.
Also, job prospects in petroleum engineering are tied to oil prices. Oil prices rise and fall, and it is unlikely that anyone can predict accurately where they will be four or five years from now and in the future beyond that.
What can your family afford?
I don’t necessarily have a set limit, I’ll do what I have to do, but I was hoping around 35,000. I mean I’ll go higher if I have to but you know, the less the better.
That’s not an answer. As a student you are limited to $5500 in loans as a freshman. What are your PARENTS willing to pay?
It might make sense to broaden your parameters a bit. Maybe chemical engineering or a more generalized mining curriculum?
My father got his degree in Chem E and was a petroleum engineer for his entire career.
According to my list, I don’t think there is any school in IL offering petroleum engineering programs. Most of the PE schools are in TX. Some in PA, CA and OK.
I’m not 100% sure on my parents limit, but based off past schools they have suggested I apply to, I would estimate 25k to a little over 30k. It’s unfortunate that there is no in state school offering the major but I guess it makes sense with the schools offering it being so close to the industry itself.
@OwenAllen, those are all good programs. You may also want to consider University of Houston, which has a good Petroleum Engineering program and it may be easier to nab a scholarship to UH than to UT or A&M. Their Honors program is excellent also.
Thanks alot @Barfly I’ll definately look into it.
Strongly agree. Lots of students are only attracted by the salary and don’t look beyond that. Read this article from February.
I agree with this as well.
Since you live in Illinois, you can take advantage of the [Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP)](http://msep.mhec.org). U Kansas would cost you $13,685 per year for tuition, which is cheaper than your in-state flagship UIUC ($17,040). If you decide to pursue something other than engineering (about 40% of engineers switch to other majors), it’s stronger in other academic areas than the other PetE schools except UT Austin, Penn State, and Texas A&M – schools like UT Permian Basin are much more of a one trick pony.
[MSEP | University of Kansas](University of Kansas | Midwest Student Exchange Program)
[University of Kansas | School of Engineering | Chemical and Petroleum Engineering](https://cpe.engr.ku.edu/overview)
U North Dakota is even cheaper, $10,586 per year for tuition.
[MSEP | University of North Dakota](University of North Dakota | Midwest Student Exchange Program)
[University of North Dakota | Engineering & Mines | Petroleum Engineering](Energy and Petroleum Engineering | College of Engineering & Mines | University of North Dakota)
U Tulsa offers Pet E and gives out a lot of merit aid. If you have high stats, it’s worth an application.
From Bloomberg:
Great recommendations from @warblersrule in post #11.
Thanks everyone for all the great advice!
Another great out-of-state option for the tuition conscious students is South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Total COA for 2015 was approximately $23,000 for students whom are not citizens of South Dakota. Petroleum Systems Engineering is only a minor at SDSM&T, but major oil industry firms have been recruiting Geological Engineering and Chemical Engineering majors at Mines for years.
Here is a list of schools by state
http://www.findengineeringschools.org/Search/Majors/petroleum.htm
I recommend that you contact your target schools and ask about which petroleum firms’ recruiters visit on Career Day. As I said, petroleum industry companies recruit Chemical Engineers and Mechanical Engineers…and Chemists and Environmental Engineers.
West Virginia University has an excellent PE program and very good merit tuition assistance to OOS and IS students. Morgantown is not the most exciting place to be, but it has a low cost of living for R&B purposes and the school is underrated in a lot of ways. Right in the middle of some of the big shale oil fields as well.