<p>Doing this for a friend. He wants to major in Chemistry.</p>
<p>These will be the schools that he is applying to
San Diego State
Sonoma
UC Riverside
University of Oregon
University of Arizona</p>
<p>3.1 GPA 1800 SAT</p>
<p>Cost is not a factor…his parents are extremely wealthy and just want him to be happy.</p>
<p>Which school has the best academic reputation? Best in Chem? Best social scene?</p>
<p>Chemistry is a common major. Interesting choices if cost is not a factor.
My oldest applied to U of O for biology, it is a good school.
Don’t know anything about the others.</p>
<p>Will the bachelor’s degree be the terminal degree or does he plan on going to grad school? That can make a difference.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the Johns Hopkins University:</p>
<p>[JHU</a> Department of Chemistry Homepage](<a href=“http://chemistry.jhu.edu/]JHU”>http://chemistry.jhu.edu/)</p>
<p>johns hopkins is not generally in the same category of state schools like U of A U of O and San Diego.</p>
<p>Also not the West. ;)</p>
<p>Can people bother to read OP’s posted stats before suggesting something like JHU.</p>
<p>Here’s a thread here on cc about best undergrad chemistry:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/184683-top-schools-undergraduate-chemistry.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/184683-top-schools-undergraduate-chemistry.html</a></p>
<p>MickJag, what do you mean by “best social scene”? Greeks, rah-rah athletics, school spirit, parties?</p>
<p>“Chemistry” is a broad field: analytical, organic, bioorganic, materials, nanotech, etc. To be employable and competitive for jobs in chemistry with just a B.S., your friend would need to get his hands dirty in a lab doing undergrad research. Take a look at the chem. departments websites and see how many opportunities there are for undergrads to be involved in that. I know that Oregon does offer opportunities for undergraduate chemistry research, and its chemistry department is well-regarded. And if you looking for rah-rah spirit, you can’t beat the Oregon Ducks.
[Chemistry</a> Degree, Organic Chemistry Major - University of Oregon Major](<a href=“http://admissions.uoregon.edu/majors/chemistry/interior2.html#hands]Chemistry”>http://admissions.uoregon.edu/majors/chemistry/interior2.html#hands)</p>
<p>Of the schools where your friend is intending to apply, in my opinion the University of Arizona would be the best choice for someone who would like to gain research experience as an undergrad and who doesn’t mind the heat or the relatively large size. </p>
<p>If you look for “Academic R&D Expenditures” on the National Science Foundation website, and then look at the rankings of total research expenditures in chemistry specifically, you will find the University of Arizona ranked 41 in 2004, 33 in 2005, and 29 in 2006 (the last year for which the data are currently available). The rising trend usually points to a department that’s “on the move,” and I know of some very interesting work being conducted there. </p>
<p>UC Riverside ranked 89 in 2004, 85 in 2005, and 90 in 2006. The University of Oregon was 94 in 2004 and (as far as I could tell), not in the top hundred in 2005 or 2006–but that surprised me, because they have a strong department, in my opinion. San Diego State and Sonoma didn’t seem to be in top hundred in any of the years.</p>
<p>Of course, research expenditure is not a guarantee of excellence in undergraduate teaching! And your friend might have other specific reasons for selecting a different college. In my field (broadly speaking), there is a faculty member at Berkeley who is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and who attended the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire as an undergraduate–because his girlfriend was going there. </p>
<p>But, other things being equal, I’d pick the University of Arizona.</p>
<p>I agree with Quantmech. Arizona has the best program in chemistry and you would probably have the best opportunity there to do high-level research. I met people who went there who got into top 10 programs with mediocre GRE scores. I think UC-Riverside would also be a good option because it might be easier to go to a different UC for grad school in chemistry (and the other UC schools are generally high ranking in chemistry.)</p>
<p>If your friend is in the habit of ingesting his chemicals, he may want to avoid SDSU. Big drug bust today…</p>
<p>NMR - you’ve pulled yourself out of the dungeons of the MT forum? Welcome to the rest of the world!</p>
<p>just asked H who has his Ph.D. in organic chemistry. He says U Arizona and UC Riverside.</p>
<p>Taken from the list given.</p>
<p>Gourman Report undergrad chemistry ranking:</p>
<ol>
<li>Caltech
…………</li>
<li>UC Riverside</li>
<li>U Oregon</li>
</ol>
<p>People in this thread are talking about how great Arizona is but why aren’t they even ranked for undergraduate chemistry research. Research in this field is extremely important.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how the science facilities are UC Riverside and Oregon?</p>
<p>SDSU is great for chemistry… especially human neurochemistry. It’s not strictly legal chemistry, though… ;)</p>
<p>“People in this thread are talking about how great Arizona is but why aren’t they even ranked for undergraduate chemistry research. Research in this field is extremely important”</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you mean by “undergraduate chemistry research.” If you want to know about how good the research opportunities are, then just look at the grad school rankings. There are no rankings for research on undergraduate chemistry education. Rankings in undergraduate chemistry programs have nothing to do with research in education. (If there was, U. of Wisconsin would be #1 as it is the place where the Journal of Chemical Education is published.) The only difference in graduate vs. undergraduate rankings in chemistry is probably the quality of the student body. I don’t know why Arizona wouldn’t be ranked in the Gourman Report.</p>
<p>I don’t know its ranking in every subfield, but I do know Arizona a top 10 school in analytical chemistry. Graduate rankings will tell you the quality of the faculty (at least in terms of their research,) how cutting edge the research you might do as an undergrad, the quality of the facilities, and also how much pull recs will have for grad school (because the faculty members are respected.) There might be a loose correlation to rigor in the classroom, but this is probably more closely tied to the intelligence of the student body.</p>
<p>The Undergraduate origins of the students who recieve a PHd in chemistry by percentage of students.
Harvey Mudd
Reed<br>
Cal Tech
Wabash
Carleton
Grinnell
College of Wooster
Kalamazoo
Texas Lutheran
Bowdoin</p>
<p>An eminent chemical physicist I know sent his chem major son to Macalester, another went to Carleton.
You also might check NSF fellowships awarded.</p>
<p>I would say that Pacific Luthern University in Tacoma WA has one of the best chemistry departments I know of. They have graduates which go on to do research in major univeristies including John Hopkins, University of Washington, etc. Try calling the chemistry chair there and talking with him. They have a lot of great equipment and give a lot of one-on-one care to the students in general.</p>
<p>The university of Illinois has a highly ranked chemistry dept, my roomate just got accepted into their phd program pretty competitive</p>
<p>If you went to UPS you could take classes from [The Wizard!](<a href=“http://www.ups.edu/x19353.xml”>http://www.ups.edu/x19353.xml</a>)</p>