<p>Hey all to the College Confidential Community. I have been on this site multiple times but this is the first time I felt compelled to join and actually post my issue.</p>
<p>OK so here is my current situation. I am currently attending University of Houston as a sophomore in Chemical Engineering. Its a great program but I feel as If i could do better.</p>
<p>I want to either transfer to A&M or UT's Chem E program (UT preferably) because of the better career opportunities and credibility of the college. But, I am already in Sophomore year, and albeit I have applied for Spring 2011 for both colleges, I dont know if transfering is even worth it ( even if i do get in).</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<ul>
<li>More difficult coursework. The Chem E program at UH is not a joke. It requires hard work. I am doing average in this program and the thought of getting into a program that expects even more at UT or A&M leaves me with some self-doubts.</li>
<li>I have an overall GPA of 3.51 currently and I would guess it would only go down at A&M or UT ( bad for prospective employers).</li>
<li>Having to deal with the hassle of transferring internally if I get accepted into a different major, which in my case is very likely with a 3.51.</li>
</ul>
<p>Basically, what I would like input is on : </p>
<p>Whether I should bother transferring If i do get into the engineering program at either schools based on the concerns that I advocated.</p>
<p>Whether I should bother transferring If I get into another major other than engineering and then try to internally transfer. I might do this for UT as I want to go there much more than A&M.</p>
<p>If you require further input from me (classes Ive taken, etc) let me know and Il edit it in
Thanks for reading. Any advice/suggestions are welcome :)</p>
<p>I would also like you to account for the price of the extra tuition at UT/A&M when justifying transfer. Thanks</p>
<p>A 3.5 gpa in chemical engineering is by no means ‘average’. If you get accepted to UT for ChemE I suggest you go. If you get accepted into a different college at UT keep in mind that you have to accumulate 30 credits before you will be allowed to attempt an internal transfer to ChemE.</p>
<p>Is an extra $1,500 - $2,000 per year in tuition a big deal to you? If so you might consider A&M or staying at UH.</p>
<p>Best Engineering Schools Specialty Rankings: Chemical</p>
<p>1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
2 University of California–Berkeley<br>
3 California Institute of Technology<br>
University of Minnesota
5 Stanford University<br>
6 Princeton University<br>
University of Texas–Austin (Cockrell)
University of Wisconsin–Madison
9 University of California–Santa Barbara
10 University of Delaware </p>
<p>[Chemical</a> - Best Engineering Schools - Graduate Schools - Education - US News](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/chemical-engineering]Chemical”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/chemical-engineering)</p>
<p>As you can see, UT Engineering program is ranked #6 in the nation in the same pool with MIT, CalTech, Stanford and Princeton.
Also you probably noticed UH is no where close to this list. I am not insulting your school and I understand that your hard work will pay off no matter what school you attend, but having a degree from the top tier institution will open doors for better jobs opportunities than your current bet. I know a lot of people will dislike my post that UH is not prestigious, but it is true. Having an HYP Summer Research Experience, no Texas school is known except for Rice and UT.</p>
<p>Even if you lose few credits, because of the transfer process, ultimately it will worth it, since this degree will stick with you for the rest of your life.
Even little debt should be allright, since the rest of the same-tier engineering schools cost about 50K per year.</p>
<p>Kind regards,
K</p>
<p>From what I understand, UH engineering vs. UT engineering might be same in rigour, and might lead to the same number of job opportunities, however my degree will be much better known to employers outside of Texas if I graduate from UT rather than UH. How accurate is this assumption?</p>
<p>Going outside of Texas, no one ever heard of UH.</p>
<p>^^ Not true. I know of UH because of a great little movie by the name of Tin Cup (Kevin Costner’s character played golf at U-Houston).</p>
<p>My post-doc at Princeton also heard about UH; some football player.</p>
<p>After you do well in your first job, hardly anyone will care about where you went to college. After you’ve had a couple more, even fewer will care. Once you are CEO, everyone will care, but for a completely different reason than the one you are worried about now.</p>
<p>An update to people who are still keeping up with me. I believe I got accepted to General Studies at A&M thus far ( AIS changed my major to General Studies). Thats unfortunate because i dont see myself transferring to A&M to again internally transfer. Still waiting on UT though…hoping for the best.</p>
<p>If I am not wrong, there is a poster on UT board called iambored, he should be able to help you with ChemE questions at UT.</p>