rimjau31

Which school has the better Chem dept - considering that my research interest lies in more biological side/applications of chemistry?

Also, everyone knows and recognizes MIT, but how reputable is Caltech outside academia? If I were to go to Caltech for a PhD and decide to drop out and do consulting instead, would I be just as likely to get the job as if I had gone to MIT? How about going into industry (pharma, biotech etc)?

Filza93

Best Chemistry Programs | Top Chemistry Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools
Go to MIT just be happy u get in geez think abt those who dont even get to go to college, let alone those who dont study at all.

hesdjjim

You're choosing between two academic giants, here, and I seriously doubt you'll have trouble getting a job if you attend either one. Have you been offered financial assistance at the schools? As someone who grew up in CA, I would rather stay where the weather is mild.

Ouroboros313

I've been told by my professor (he's from MIT, so take what he says with a grain of salt) that Caltech focuses students more on a future career in academia than MIT does. But he was talking in terms of academia vs. industry rather than research vs. consulting, like you're interested in. As for reputation, I'm sure anyone who matters will have heard of both. The big difference, to me, is their size and location. Caltech is tiny in comparison to MIT.

archon

Both of them are top-notch institutions, so you can't go wrong with either one. If all else equal, you should choose based on fit/professors who you'd like to work with. Like Ouroboros313 said, anyone in industry/academia knows about Caltech and MIT, so you won't have a problem there.

I would imagine that there are no differences in industrial placements between the two, but it only appears to favor MIT because there are lots more students there. In fact, in pharma/biotech, I think that is more important to have your experience aligned with the company's position (eg. when hiring for a scientist studying inflammation, you'd want somebody who's done inflammation work for their PhD) than the name of the institution you attended.

However, you mentioned consulting, which is a whole different ballgame when it comes to recruiting. I'm going to assume you meant strategy consulting, and the biggest players in that arena (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) all recruit on campus from MIT--this is to your benefit because of Sloan, MIT's business school. Recruitment for consulting firms is ultra-competitive and for undergraduates and MBAs, these firms usually only take resumes from "target" schools like Wharton, MIT, HYP, etc. so even getting someone to look at your resume from other schools is very, very difficult unless you have strong networking connections. However, I'm not as familiar with the recruiting process for advanced degree holders. Do note that entering consulting as a PhD is a dual edged sword--advanced degree holders are mostly sought by the larger consulting firms (like the three named above), but the caveat is that these firms are those more difficult to get hired into because of increased competition. If you are seriously considering a gig in consulting, the nod definitely goes to MIT.

bookworm

In response to last post, DS-Caltech UG- had interviews at Bain, McK, Citi, Suisse, Goldman, etc.

DS & friends (C for UG, MIT for grad)report there are pluses and minuses to both. Go with your heart.

superwizard

to the OP: This is grad school man. Not undergrad. Go to the place whose fit is better, the place where you have professors you can see yourself working for and (obviously) the place you got into (if you get into one that's awesome-2 that's brilliant!)

RacinReaver

This is the thing you should be looking at before considering if all else is equal!

rimjau31

Of course, the most important thing would be the fit and this sort of decision naturally depends heavily on one's research interest. But a lot of graduate students come in thinking they would do one thing but change their mind, and some don't even have very defined research interests. I was just trying to gauge how the two departments compare - at least in the minds of the people who post on CC. And don't say that they are both great, because as far as I know each school has distinctive strengths/weaknesses in very well defined subdisciplines. I was hoping to hear something like "well If you want to do computational chem, go to Caltech, but MIT is probably better at inorganic"

I was also curious to know how people who drop out of these programs or who decide to leave science after getting their degree do in consulting/banking etc. Most people want to stay in academia as long as possible (at least when they start grad school), but given the high attrition rate and perpetually abysmal academic job market, it would be stupid not to consider a "Plan B" and the impact your graduate school decision would have on it.

RML

there really isn't much difference between the two in terms of prestige. but i would personally take caltech because it's in california.