Hello, I recently got off the waitlist at Davis, with my second choice major (Chemistry). I was already planning on attending UW to study my first choice (Chemical engineering). I would rather have a bachelors in chemical engineering than in chemistry, but i do not know if it is worth the out of state tuition ( a difference of $15000/year). What do you think I should do? I know this may be hard to answer, but it would help a ton if you gave your opinion. Thank you.
Oh and also, I only have until Friday to make the decision.
You need to take a hard look at your career goals and options. There isn’t much to separate the quality of education you’d receive at either school.
If you really want to become an engineer, I suppose it’s possible to enter a MS ChE from a BS Chem, but it would take you 2+ years to complete, so there goes your cost savings. It’s also questionable whether you would have any different/better job prospects as a MS ChE grad (from a BS Chem), over the BS ChE grads. So I’d say if you really want to do engineering, UW looks the better option, despite the cost difference.
On the other hand, good careers are possible with a BS Chem, but you’d very likely require grad school to earn a comparable salary with engineering. A PhD is possible, so research jobs in industry or academia come into play. Pharmacy/med school is also a good path with a BS Chem. So if you are ok with having non-engineering options that will likely require further schooling, saving money at UCD with the BS Chem is fine. But as noted, engineering is still doable with a BS Chem (check MS ChE requirements) if you decide to fling aside the cost savings at UCD.
UW