Why Tulane Engineering?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
1

<p>Hey, I was accepted in November for engineering. I visited a few months ago and absolutely loved Tulane. The campus, location, and student attitude impressed me a lot. I was wondering if any current students or anybody else could describe to me the benefits of attending Tulane for chemical engineering. I know huge cuts in engineering were made after Katrina, so my parents are very scared to send me there. </p>

<p>I've gotten into Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, and Vandy. Tulane costs less than half the other 2 privates after scholarship and less than Georgia Tech out of state. Am I turning down a huge opportunity by denying big name engineering schools? Does the name make that big of a difference in quality of education or job/graduation placement? Thanks.</p>

2

<p>This seems to me to be one of those classic situations of “go with the school you think is the best fit overall”. I got my degree in chemistry from Tulane, not Chem E., but I knew a lot of Chem E.'s. Of course we made fun of them as fancy plumbers, but I digress. The curriculum is going to be vitually identical at any of those schools, because you have to fill so many basic requirements for that degree it doesn’t leave room for a ton of variation. Btw, I went to grad school in chemistry at Ga. Tech, so I know both places. Tech is technically most likely the strongest in Chem E., but the fact that Tulane kept the Chem E. degree while getting rid of some other engineering disciplines says they are behind it. It isn’t going away, most likely. Talk to the dean of the department, get his take, and don’t be afraid to ask tough questions about the future of the department, but don’t be confrontational about it either. The other good thing about Tulane compared to all but Vandy is that if you change your mind about your major, you have excellent options in a broad range of areas.</p>

3

<p>Tulane’s chemical engineering is absolutely superb. Here is some information from their websites which describes why it is a unique program.</p>

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We have a small student-to-faculty ratio that allows every student to get individualized attention. The high level of research activity in the department leads to an environment where individualized learning is coupled to the opportunity to participate in research. Every student has the opportunity to obtain a research experience. Many of our faculty conduct collaborative research with faculty at the other Engineering Departments, in the Physical and Life Sciences, and at the Medical School. This allows the student to participate in forefront research and to understand the relevance of an education in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. We strongly encourage undergraduates to participate in research projects, present their research at scientific conferences and publish their work in journals.
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The Department implements a unique Practice School Program in the final year, where students work on industrial projects jointly supervised by professional engineers at world-class chemical companies in the region. Students learn to work in teams, acquire excellent communication skills, and learn how to solve real-life technical problems.
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We have a flexible curriculum that allows students to co-specialize in the areas of Biomolecular Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Materials Sciences etc.
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Based on the events unfolding from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering will reflect educational objectives that are distinctive to Tulane and to New Orleans. In addition to providing a highly rigorous education in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the Department will work with University guidance to provide students with tremendous opportunities to help rebuild the city and community.
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<p>And Tulane’s career services and advising are wonderful. They link you in to alums and try their best to find you internship and career opportunities.
It is a very rigorous curriculum, but you get a great education.</p>

4

<p>I have to agree with your parents. I live in New Orleans. My husband and many family members are alums. While it once had a wonderful engineering department, they’ve only kept a couple of popular majors. </p>

<p>Big reason not to attend, if you decide you don’t like ChemE, there’s no other engineering to switch to. </p>

<p>My husband started in Elec Engin, then switched to Computer Engineering, getting a BSE in Computer Science, which was much more respected than a BS or BA in computer science.</p>

<p>There is no longer any computer science at Tulane. Believe me, I checked.</p>

<p>My son is a junior in HS, and we would have loved to have sent him to Tulane, but because of their cut of engineering, even though he wants to study Biomed Engineering and they still have that major, we cannot in good faith send him there. If he doesn’t like it, what else can he switch to?</p>

<p>I disagree with the above’s description of career placement. Unless you have “connections” in Louisiana, it is impossible to find a job. It’s not what you know but who you know down here. You will undoubtedly have to work elsewhere, so why not make the connections elsewhere. </p>

<p>If you want to study ChemE, LSU would even be better than Tulane, especially if you want to work down here. You would make many more contacts there. Your best bet, really, is to go to Texas, like Texas A&M, or Rice, if you’re lucky enough to get in there. </p>

<p>Believe me, I’m not downing Tulane. It’s a wonderful school and you will get a wonderful education. But for what you’re wanting to major in, it is no longer a good place to go.</p>

5

<p>“I got my degree in chemistry from Tulane, not Chem E., but I knew a lot of Chem E.'s. Of course we made fun of them as fancy plumbers,”</p>

<p>This is an aside that’s not on topic, but the above quote brought back memories from my college days. My degree was in Mechanical Engineering, and we made fun of the Civil Engineers. “I mean, water runs downhill, what’s so hard about that?”</p>

6

<p>I don’t know enough about Tulane’s commitment to Chem E to comment further or disagree with Montegut, I just reasoned that since they kept it when they had the chance to do away with it entirely, they are focusing more on that and BME. I would only say that if the student did change their mind and wanted another type of engineering, they could transfer. If they wanted an entirely different major (history??) then Tulane would be a great place to be already. It is a tough one, and certainly there are schools that are far more engineering focused, no doubt.</p>

7

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<p>I don’t know of any people who did chemE in Tulane, but I believe as long as they do an internship they should be fine. </p>

<p>I do know of a chemE major in LSU who did an internship at a plant. She didn’t like the job that much, so she changed to environmental engineering. Which brings up another point: Tulane only offers 2 engineering degrees. You can’t really switch into another degree without changing schools.</p>

<p>Tulane only has biomedical and chemical engineering. The fact that they only offer 2 degrees for engineering should say something to you. They’re not focusing as much on engineering as say…business/pre-med.</p>