Selection of university

Graduate School
1

I am looking for PhD in Chemical Engineering and have received an accept from

  1. Washington University in St Louis
  2. Drexel University
  3. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  4. University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Now I am a bit confused about these 4 Universities. Can someone post their views and suggestions?

2

Are you referring to graduate school admissions, or to undergraduate admissions?
The focus of this forum (College Search & Selection) is primarily on issues related to undergraduate admission.

If you are referring to selection of an undergraduate program, then:

  1. what is the nature of your confusion?
  2. are there significant differences in the net costs to you and your family?

WUSTL is more selective and prestigious than the other 3, overall. I don’t know about chemical engineering in particular. Whether it actually is “better”, for you, may depend on how well each school’s programs meet your specific needs, and on the net price differences (if any).

3

The tech-focused RPI tends to be known for engineering specifically, and notably finished fourth in a Business Insider analysis, “The World’s Best Engineering Schools.”

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-best-engineering-schools-2012-6

4

For a PhD in chem e, I would also pick RPI from your list.

5

If you are entering a PhD program, wouldn’t you already have met the professor you would work with? I can’t believe you wouldn’t have a preference. You should pick based on who you’ll by working with and whether their research coincides with your interests, not just by name of the school.

6

Building on me29034- have you gone to their visit weekends yet?

Key variables are: fit with your research interests, package, what you know about your likely choice of supervisors, overall program focus. Other considerations are things such as do most students finish? how long does it take for most students?

All of this will vary, even by areawithin the same university. For PhD it matters the exact program you are going in to, not the university overall.

7

Hello. Are you an international student?As others have said, people don’t usually select a doctoral program from a list like they do for undergrad. Yes for professional schools but not grad.

8

RPI is good. But for polymer-related work, UMass Amherst is top-notch and has a great reputation.

Are there professors who you’re interested in working with at each school?