I have received enough college decisions to know that I am going to end up at either Vanderbilt or Cal. My major is chemical engineering, and I live in California.
Given the notoriety of the College of Chemistry, Cal might seem like an obvious choice. However, Vanderbilt appeals to me for several reasons:
awarded Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship (full-tuition)
compared to Cal faculty, Vanderbilt faculty were more accessible and seemed more interested in the students
preferred the environment / student body at Vanderbilt
Although money is not an issue for my family, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship actually makes Vanderbilt cheaper than Cal. Overall, I have the impression that Vanderbilt wants me as a student much more than Cal does. I also feel that I would be given more personal attention at Vanderbilt.
I am concerned, however, that (this might be really silly) a chemical engineering degree from Vanderbilt will not carry as much weight as one from Cal. Job placement, research / internship opportunities, and graduate school admissions all seemed to be noticeably better at Cal. In addition, I like the fact that chemistry at Cal is separate from the the rest of the university.
In short, I prefer Vanderbilt socially but Cal academically. I am really having a hard time deciding between these two colleges – Anyone have some good advice to help me figure out which college I should choose?
Consider where u want to be after college. Grad school somewhere specific? Work at a particular company? Call that entity and ask them which is more desirable. That may impact ur decision. Congrats on the scholarship!
My daughter graduated from Vanderbilt in 2013 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. She had two jobs offers by Thanksgiving of her senior year and all her ChemE friends had jobs by graduation or were going to grad school. She did two internships, one after her sophomore year and one after her junior year. She also did research with one of her professors for two years.
She loved her time there! She choose Vandy over Georgia Tech and has never regretted it. It was a great fit for her.
Congrats on the scholarship! And good luck, you can’t go wrong either way.
@TooOld4School For Cal, I will be going to Cal Day and the day prior to Cal Day (a Friday, so classes are actually in session and I will be able to meet faculty members). I am not going attend Vanderbilt’s admitted students day, but I recently visited and already have a good enough impression of the school.
@hawkbird Good to hear! When I asked one of the ChemE professors “What is one thing you would change / do not like about Vanderbilt,” he replied that he felt that the area around Vanderbilt does not provide as many job / internship opportunities as he would like. That your daughter and her friends did not run into this problem is encouraging. As of now my impression is that, if you’re proactive and take advantage of opportunities when they arise, you’ll be fine.
Yes, my daughter was proactive. She got her first internship near home on her own. Her second one she did get through a job fair at Vandy. She was offered a job by this company.
My daughter would probably agree with the professor. The opportunities are there but I think you do have to be more proactive.
I would say to go for Cal. A Cal degree is much more reputable especially in a field such as engineering than Vanderbilt. The tuition shouldn’t be so much of a difference, since you’re an in-state for Cal. Also what is it about the social scene at Vanderbilt that’s so appealing? Having visited Cal myself, I found it to be robust with social activites and fraternities to join.
@nevergiveupp Interestingly, the scholarship makes Vanderbilt cheaper by about $15,000 per year. There are also some other smaller benefits, and I am sure I would receive a lot more attention at Vanderbilt than at Cal.
Socially, I just got a better “vibe” from Vanderbilt. It is possible that my impression of Cal will change when I visit again in April, however. I’m actually not interested in joining a frat, but the students I talked to at Vanderbilt who were not part of frats said it is a non-issue.
The private school experience is a lot different than the public school experience. There is a lot of chatter about the COC being on the chopping block too. UCB has some serious financial issues and there doesn’t seem to be any plan for dealing with them. The one thing that comes up regularly is closing the college of chemistry. But being part of UCB normal engineering program wouldn’t be the end of the world. Hard to imagine turning down the Vandy scholarship. Love the school that loves you back…
@notveryzen Yeah, I was nominated for Cal’s Regents’ Scholarship, but I didn’t get it… Not feeling much love there.
Cal’s administration recently removed any possibility of chopping the College of Chemistry. However, the budget problems for Cal as a whole remain one of my concerns about attending there.
At Cal you are just another person who studied engineering. At Vanderbilt, you will be labelled as winning the Carnelius Vanderbilt scholarship when you start, when you apply for internships and when you graduate. That designation will help you for the rest of your life.
Berkeley’s reputation in chemistry and engineering is globally recognized. I know that Cal was considering removing the college of Chemistry as a separate identity, but the plan was rejected. I don’t think in the near future that the college of chemistry will be gone. Additionally, UCB’s chemistry department has Nobel Laurates and more world renowned faculty giving lectures.
My apologies for assuming you wanted to join a fraternity. I can see why Vanderbilt is more a social fit, I myself applied knowing that Vanderbilt has the happiest quality of student life. But I was Waitlisted.
Where do you hope to end up after college? Those are both fabulous options, and there was a thread many years ago (apologies I forget the poster’s name, but someone will remember) who turned down Yale for Vandy, and had a fabulous experience and outcome. I think, IIRC, he was premed, but no matter. He followed his heart and the money, and it all worked out. I believe that yes, even though Cal’s engineering reputation is stellar, if you too are stellar, ad you no doubt are, you will shine and do well no matter what. Both my s’s are engineers. Neither went to college in California, but both live/work there now. Do yo uhave time to visit both again before you decide?
Forgot to mention-- agree with Texaspg-- the recognition of the prestigious scholarship can be a feather in your resume cap.
@jym626 Thanks for the compliments; yes, I am sure that both Cal and Vanderbilt will work out fine in the long run. After college, I plan to take a job for a while and then attend graduate scool (heavily subject to change). I will have time to visit each college again if need be.
@1golfer1 Lots of nice cheap golf courses in Nashville. Berkeley, not so much. If you are a Regents invite for UCB engineering and a CV scholar at Vandy you aren’t going to have trouble finding a job or getting into a good grad school coming from either place.
If you have a dream of working in Asia, UCB is probably a better choice though.