<p>How is the Chem major in UIUC? Is there going to be a huge class in Chem undergrad? If I want to go to ivy schools or cc schools for studying grad school in engineering, would it be hard to apply to those school by carrying UIUC chem degree?</p>
<p>Chemistry in UIUC is well respected. Many of the chem classes are large and as long as your grades are good, it is not going to make it harder (it would probably give u an advantage over most other universities) when applying for grad schools. And as a bonus, you could transfer to the college of engineering at UofI which is among the best in the world and would DEFINITELY give you an advantage for grad schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comment. I’ve a further question: would it take me more than 4 year to complete my degree if I transfer from Chem to ChemE or Material Science and Engr?</p>
<p>Many students get their undergraduate degree in a non-engineering discipline and go to grad school for engineering. If you don’t have much AP credit, and you don’t overload on classes, this will take you more than four years.</p>
<p>But I have actually heard of cases where ENGLISH and HISTORY majors (with high GPAs, of course) were accepted to an MIT masters program in engineering. A B.S. in Chemistry won’t hurt grad school chances…a low GPA and GRE would.</p>
<p>chem at uiuc is ranked #6 by usnwr, but that’s only for graduate schools so it may not necessarily reflect the undergrad experience. but that does mean that there is a huge research emphasis on the department, and that’s really what counts (arguably). you’ll find lots of great professors who are easy to talk to and will offer undergrad research experience ,given that you take the initiative.</p>
<p>I’m going to go ahead an assume that you’re going in the spec. chem curriculum rather than the arts and letters major. there is a difference in classes that you’ll take as well as the degree you’ll receive (BS rather than a BA). as far as classes go, you’ll be taking the accelerated sequence of gen chem and orgo, which are the same classes that chemE’s take. If you’re set on going into engineering, then i’ll suggest you switch within freshman or sophomore year. at that point you’ll still be taking the same classes and you’ll still be on track to graduate in 4 years. </p>
<p>also take into consideration the difference between chemistry and chemE. with chemE, you’ll be mostly an engineer with some chemistry sprinkled in. you’ll be designing things and trying to make chemicals on a large scale. whereas chemistry mostly focuses on the tinier things. with chemistry you’ll generally be working a micro scale. again, if you’re set on engineering in your future, i suggest you switch into chemE (its not difficult at all since chem and chemE are in the same department of las). </p>
<p>hope that helps. and oh yeah, when time comes for chem lab, beware of COBALT</p>