"For a STEM degree a “step up”… CMU, GaTech, Hopkins. He’ll need a 1500 SAT for these.
RPI is a “step up”, but they are lesser known.
The same level as UT… Washington, Michigan, UIUC"
None of those are step ups from UT for ChemE given UT’s ties to oil/gas and overall reputation. For overall STEM, only 3-4 would be a clear step-up over UT, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, maybe Michigan.