I am searching for a school with a top ranked chemical engineering program that I could likely get into.
My questions:
Which schools can I likely get into?
Which of those schools should I consider over A&M and UT?
Graduation Year: 2016
Weighted GPA: 4.2488 (5.0 max)
Unweighted GPA: don’t know
Rank: 25/302 – top 8.3%
SAT: 1850 (CR-680 M-630 W-540)
SAT Superscore: 1880 (CR-680 M-630 W-570)
ACT (with writing): 26
AP Classes: 9 by the end of senior year
High School Soccer and Club Soccer
NHS, Key Club, Student Council, Debate Team (9,10), Prom Committee, Relay for Life Committee
Created club at our high school with a friend to support free ECG screenings
Elected and re-elected class historian each year of high school
Here are the top 20 schools with the best chemical engineering programs (according to U.S news). I’ve given my input next to each school.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- there is no way I get in here
Cal Berkeley -- not sure about my chances, but if accepted would consider over UT
University of Minnesota -- seems to be the UT equivalent in Minnesota (as far as ChemE goes)
Stanford University -- there is no way I get in here
University of Wisconsin -- never imagined myself living in Wisconsin
University of Texas -- with in-state tuition and a great program this is my #1 choice
Georgia Tech -- not sure about my chances, but if accepted would consider over UT
Cal Tech -- there is no way I get in here
University of Delaware -- tell me more?
Princeton University -- there is no way I get in here
Purdue University -- worth considering, might have to take A&M over this
University of Michigan -- way too expensive
University of Illinois -- would go to A&M over this
University of California (Santa Barbara) -- would go to A&M over this
Carnegie Mellon University -- there is no way I get in here
Cornell University -- there is no way I get in here
Texas A&M University -- automatically accepted (top 10% rule), not my personality, in-state tuition
Northwestern University -- there is no way I get in here
Pennsylvania State University -- would go to A&M over this
University of Colorado -- would go to A&M over this
I do not like A&M but it has a great alumni network and the in-state tuition pricing makes it worth the 4 years. I was one rank away from being an auto admit to UT Austin (needed rank 24, not 25), and if I am accepted to UT Austin the only other schools that seem worth considering are Cal Berkeley and Georgia Tech.
My questions:
Which schools can I likely get into?
Which of those schools should I consider over A&M and UT?
Any advice is welcome and appreciated! Thank you a ton in advance!
I know university of Delaware is very good for Chemical Engineering. This apparently is because one of the largest chemical engineering companies (duPont) was founded right near UD. Apparently 10% of all of the companies employees have attended UD for chemical engineering. Also I think it would be a good choice because their average SAT is 1815 and average gpa is 3.61(unweighted)
In particular, out-of-state public universities tend not to give good financial aid. Use the net price calculator on each school’s web site if your parents have not told you that their contribution will be sufficient to afford the list price of each school. If #12 is “way too expensive”, then #2, #13, #14, and #20 are likely in the same cost ballpark, and #5, #7, #9, and #19 are close. The privates can be even more expensive, though they usually have better financial aid than out-of-state publics if you are eligible.
You should be able to calculate your unweighted GPA easily. No one else here will find your weighted GPA useful, since each high school uses its own weighting system.
There is no reason to go OOS when you have TAMU in your backyard.
What are your parents saying about how much they’ll pay?
Many will not pay for an OOS public when the instate is good enough and is less expensive.
What math class are you taking this fall? Your 630 in SAT Math is not encouraging. Do you realize how much math you’re going to have to take?
Before you select a school based solely on ChemE, you need to consider that you may end up changing your major at some point. Companies don’t care about these rankings, particularly for eng’g.
ChE at a school like TAMU is no ‘walk in the park’ - I know a NMS who has a 3.5 GPA there after first year but probably cannot maintain that high (will still qualify for in-state due to another scholarship). Family HS in TX had her want to attend school there.
I got my MBA at TAMU while H and I lived in College Station for his job and for my MBA. I got a great education. I liked the campus and other students fine. TAMU has friendly students. I socialize with my local Aggie group (live in AL).
So if you are admitted to UT, seems like you like UT over TAMU but appreciate the A & M network. What you say about ‘not liking’ - you may not like looking in from the outside with your HS eyeglasses - but it may also be because of bragging rights for ‘cooler schools’ OOS, whatever…
Yes TAMU has a large alum network globally. Maybe internship and other opportunities can help get you where you envision yourself going. Companies recruit ChE at schools where they have recruited at - care about you as the product, not the school ranking.
Maybe you should be thinking MBA later to make yourself ‘top notch’ to match what you are looking for with ‘top notch schools’. Can always do that at a pricey, name brand school later - or maybe you can do an executive MBA program.
My ChE nephew went to his in-state school, Iowa State, and his career is very fine.
Your parents may be very practical money-wise. Maybe you are also thinking about doing those college applications when realistically the best options are pretty evident already.
@ucbalumnus the issue isn’t so much the cost, my parents are willing to pay or at least work something out if the school is worth the extra cost over the education I would receive at A&M or UT. Sorry that I wasn’t clear about that!
@mom2collegekids I agree with the idea that most out of state schools in my range are not worth the extra cost, I am trying to get an idea as to what schools I could likely get into out of state that might be worth that extra cost. If I had to answer my own questions I would say that the out of state schools I could likely get into are not worth going to over A&M or UT.
I took Pre-Cal sophomore year, AP Stat junior year, and next fall I am taking AP Calc AB. I have taken many practice tests and scored over 700 on all, so I will be taking the SAT again on October 3rd to try to improve that 630.
I am aware that I shouldn’t choose a school based soley on a target major that could easily change, that is why I hold A&M in high regard even when it isn’t my fit.
@SOSConcern I do respect A&M’s program and network, but when it comes down to it I will be happier at UT. I’ve visited A&M multiple times and have even stayed a weekend in the dorms with a friend.
I believe that since companies recruit me as the product, not so much the ranking I will do just fine anywhere I decide to go. I am not brilliant by any means and nothing quite comes easy to me but I work hard and finish things better than most.
I am definitely going to try to get an MBA, but I really haven’t considered school options or factored that into my decision before.
I appreciate all the replies they have been very helpful! I believe that @SOSConcern made a good point when saying “Maybe you are also thinking about doing those college applications when realistically the best options are pretty evident already.” I am going to start a new thread to decide between those best options, A&M and UT.
As for this thread, if anyone has any input on an out of state school I could get into that would be worth going to over A&M over UT, please share!! Thanks again!
Hey @smiteme you are a smart kid. I’ll adopt you even if you go to ut! However the SEC rocks! DD is in Million Dollar Band and having a blast! Maybe you will find other things enjoyable at ut, but DD is in band with a gal from Austin who is also loving UA. Not trying to recruit you to UA though - you can do well at ut or TAMU. I know many young adults love Austin - have at least four friends’ kids that now live in Austin after finishing college, all OOS families but two with some family TX connections.
My son is in about the same boat as you and we are also from TX. He is sitting at top 11% of his class so that kicks out UT. We visited A&M and were very impressed BUT it is a very competitive program - I’m almost afraid to send him there and then after a year if he doesn’t have top grades he may not get into Chemical. (he’d be auto admit top 25%plus scores) We are also about to visit Texas Tech and he will probably also apply to U of Houston. His top choice at this point is U of Arkansas. With his grades he will pay almost instate rates. He would be in the Honors College. My Hubby graduated from Arkansas w/ChemE degree and is now in management in the oil and gas industry. When Hubby looks to hire new kids out of school that list of top schools does not even come into play.
Look at what is affordable and work hard wherever you end up and you will be fine.
Besides TAMU, I really believe that you need to get your ACT or SAT up (29+/2000+) to have a decent shot at any you’ve list besides Delaware and CO, maybe PSU. Just being honest with you. Are you planning to retake?
Firstly, your list is too long; having 20 target schools is unnecessary. Secondly, the Chemical Engineering major is tough EVERYWHERE!!!
M2CK is correct, as is always the case; it is not practical to chase out-of-state colleges when you have very fine public STEM choices in your own state. This is especially true in the traditional engineering disciplines. Sure, UT and A&M are excellent, but Texas Tech University is very underrated and ChE at the University of Houston is excellent also. I realize that you may not like living in Lubbock or in “rough” environs of Houston, but there are options.
Based on quality and cost, other ChE departments to consider where you would likely be admitted are:
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State U
U of Kansas
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
U of South Carolina-Columbia
Clemson U
Illinois Institute of Technology
Iowa State U
U of Rochester
Rice University
Keep in mind, as others have said, getting decent financial aid from out-of-state public colleges is rare. Not impossible but not common. The privates, like Illinois Tech, RPI and U Rochester, are another matter. South Carolina has been known for generous financial aid packages to out-of-staters with high marks and scores.
@wayneandgarth I agree, my scores are low and will be taking them again, but I don’t anticipate scores of 29+/2000+. I believe I can get my SAT math score over 700, so I will be close to a 1400 two score. For the ACT I feel like there isn’t much room for improvement.
@LakeWashington at this point I agree, going out of state is not practical for me to try out-of-state colleges when I have A&M and UT right here. It is one thing to go out of state if I’m accepted to top tier colleges but that’s not gonna be my situation hahahaa!
I appreciate the short list, at this point I’ve really narrowed down where I will be applying. The list I had provided was mostly a quick resource for everyone to see when they visited the thread! But thanks again, I hadn’t even heard of RPI and I had completely forgot about Colorado School of Mines!
Colorado Mines is relatively expensive; New Mexico Tech and South Dakota Mines are significantly less expensive. Iowa State and Minnesota are among the less expensive of the big out of state universities.
*…Secondly, the Chemical Engineering major is tough EVERYWHERE!!!
M2CK is correct, as is always the case; it is not practical to chase out-of-state colleges when you have very fine public STEM choices in your own state. This is especially true in the traditional engineering disciplines. Sure, UT and A&M are excellent, but Texas Tech University is very underrated and ChE at the University of Houston is excellent also.*
Your Math SAT score should be of concern. Have you taken any chemistry classes in High School? Would be able to handle General Chemistry I, II, Organic Chemistry I, II and I think, Inorganic Chemistry and Calculus I, II, III, Differential Equations, Advanced Mathematics for Engineers (Linear Algebra and Vector Analysis)? IMHO, I think Chemical Engineering is the most challenging of the Engineering disciplines. I have seen many of my peers dropped out of Chemical Engineering programs, individuals who had done quite well during their first 3 semesters, only to perform poorly when taking on more advanced Chemistry/Math/ChE Courses. Many who made it through the program, did so with very low GPA and took close to 5+ years. My advice to you would be to make sure you do AP Calculus and Chemistry courses during your senior year and focus on getting into a Chemical Engineering Program where you stand a strong likelihood of successfully completing your ChemE degree.
