<p>I'm looking to major in something that has to do with some kind of math. I've become interested in Petroleum Engineering because of the extremely high pay, it seems interesting, and I would like to live by the beach. I'm also interested in Industrial Engineering and Economics.</p>
<p>Ive applied to the following schools:
UF: accepted
UCF (honors college): accepted
Texas A&M (for petroleum engineering): accepted
Georgia Tech: waitlisted
UCSD: accepted (no industrial engineering)
UCLA (no industrial engineering): March 24th
UC Berkeley - March 28th</p>
<p>And my stats are:
SAT Reading: 610 Math: 700 Writing: 530
ACT Comp: 28 English: 29 Math: 30 Reading: 30 Science: 28 Eng/Writing: 27
GPA (UW): 3.7 (W): 4.2</p>
<p>Pros: UF: Price (In-state), Reputation, Great Community, Football
UCF: Pros: Price, Honors, Amazing Dorms/Campus
Tamu: Petroleum Engineering, Great Community/Campus, Amazing Football
UC Schools: Reputation
And UCSD is right on a beach which is a big plus.</p>
<p>If you have any insight on the pros or cons of any of these universities it would help if you could list them. Also on whether or not I should pursue petroleum engineering at tamu, which I think I'm leaning towards right now. I think going to tamu would be fun and I would learn a lot there too. Also the median wage right out of college for an industrial engineering graduate is $98,000 and 15 years later is $160,000. If anything, I'd expect it to rise by the time I graduate because everyone needs oil and even if the United States starts switching off of it (which I don't think it will) there will still be an exponentially increasing demand for it in developing countries like China. I was also considering applying to the Colorado School of Mines because their average scores are fairly high, but I don't feel like going there would be very enjoyable.</p>
<p>If UF is in-state I don’t see any reason to turn it down.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley good but not worth the OOS tuition.</p>
<p>I’d go for UCF, might as well go for the honors.</p>
<p>UF is a lot of better than UCF. Don’t fall
for the honors gimmick.</p>
<p>Well the average UCF honors student has an ACT average of 30, and it would say honors on my diploma. And UF average is like 28. But neither offer petroleum engineering.</p>
<p>Regarding petroleum engineering, there has been a recent influx of students into the major:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1475767-warning-petroleum-engineering-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1475767-warning-petroleum-engineering-students.html</a></p>
<p>Also, the high pay may be associated with less than desirable working conditions, like work in remote frozen areas, work with messy oil or tar sands, work in politically unstable countries, work in countries with very restrictive social and religious restrictions, and/or work on offshore oil rigs.</p>
<p>What are the net prices after grants and scholarships (not loans) at each school? How much student loan debt would be involved at each school.</p>
<p>Industrial engineering graduates do not average $98,000 per year in their first jobs, according to <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys-4.html</a> . Even the 98 petroleum engineering graduates for spring 2012 at Texas A&M averaged “only” $87,743, according to [url=<a href=“http://careercenter.tamu.edu/guides/reports/WhoHiresMyMajor/2012/Spring/Spring2012_Engineering.htm]Survey”>http://careercenter.tamu.edu/guides/reports/WhoHiresMyMajor/2012/Spring/Spring2012_Engineering.htm]Survey</a> Results for Texas A&M University Post Graduation Plans <br>Spring 2012 (Generated 07/16/2012)<a href=“21%20industrial%20engineering%20graduates%20averaged%20$61,928”>/url</a>.</p>
<p>Could your family afford to pay for TAMU as an OOS student?</p>
<p>Yes, we could probably afford the california schools also, but I feel like the OOS tuition might not even be worth it unless I go to Berkeley or UCLA, not UCSD though.</p>
<p>to UCB</p>
<p>Okay, thanks for the information. I got the $98,000 figure from payscale. And if the graduates at Texas A&M average $88,000, that’s still very impressive. I believe that most jobs for petroleum engineeers are in Texas and I would have a problem visiting an oil rig every now and then. Or if I worked in North Dakota, I would probably just have to drive out to an oil field ever so often. And I’m sure that there will still be high paying jobs available by the time I graduate with a petroleum engineering degree because wven if the U.S. starts switching off of oil (which I don’t think it will), there will still be an increasing demand in developing countries and there would still be an incentive to continue drilling in the United States.</p>
<p>I thought PetE was a dying major? Or people are majoring in ChemE because of more flexibility. Am I confused? </p>
<p>Ask your parents how much they’ll pay. They may be fine with $50k for a UC…or not. Ask them, so you’re not surprised. Too many students think their parents will pay X, but later find out that they won’t.</p>
<p>So you think it would be better if I went to a UC school? And yeah they said they would be able to, but I don’t want to go there if it wouldn’t be worth it.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’ll get accepted to UCLA or Cal, and you don’t want SD, so where else do you want to go?</p>
<p>I think I could get into Berkeley or UCLA because I’m in their 25th-75th range and I have good extracurriculars and essays. And I made my post to weigh the pros and cons of each school. The schools I applied to are the ones I’m considering. Also colorado school of mines.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, but the “warning letter” does mention the influx of students into the major, which may increase the competition for jobs when they and you graduate four or so years from now.</p>
<p>Yeah, I believe I would get a better insight into that in my first year or two at the school, which would give me enough time to switch my major if necessary. Also I believe that although the demand for petroleum engineering degrees are going up, tamu is limiting the amount of people allowed to take the program. I could also get my master’s degree in the field. If I had to bet, I would say 5-20 or even more years from now, it will still be the highest paying major and if not, it would certainly be in the top 5.</p>