Hi, Im a sophomore in high school and i want to go into chemical engineering. However i see that a lot of schools combine their chemical engineering program with bioengineering. However I dont really like Bio too much though i understand that it is quite similar in some ways to chemistry.
I want to go more into the energy/environmental side of chemical engineering. Do you guys know of some colleges that I can look into that have a good program to specialize in envronmenta/renewables/energy side of chemE?
In terms of caliber of uni, i took the sat math ii subject test and got a 770. ik its not a 800 so im looking into colleges that r not quite ivy but well respected
There are lots of good schools, and honestly the only criteria for engineering programs that is essential is being ABET accredited (this is hard and implies a vigorous program with qualified faculty).
The easiest way to tell if a school’s flavor is petro or renewables or biochem is to read their ChemE departments websites and look over the 4 years plans and BS requirements.
Bioengineering is a subset of chemical engineering and it is really unlikely that a typical university would emphasize it over traditional chemical engineering or petroleum (would think oil states). Rarely is biomedical enginering in ChemE, really what is meant by bioengineering is typically molecular processes of biological origin.
Now envronmenta/renewables could easily include dread plants being broken down by biological processes into fuel by enzymes or bacterial in fermentation tanks.
Environmental cleanup could also involve biological processes.
I have not found a chemical engineering program that requires biology, but yes, organic chemistry is a given and biochemistry and microbiology could all be part of Biochem option.
This list includes less outrageously competitive schools such as UWisc, UMinn and UDel (think chemical power house states). These programs may also be very competitive since they are top tier and probably attract good candidates.
ChemE is a very standard offering so you should find good offerings at your flagship in-state U and in some of the merit OOS programs like Bama or value OOS programs like G’Tech,UDel, UWisc, etc.
Unless you are super smart, need substantial financial aid, or get a big scholarship somewhere like Bama, your local flagship is likely a good place to apply.