My Dh and oldest ds are both chemEs. The companies they work for hire from across the spectrum of universities and all new hires, regardless of USNWR rankings, start at the same level/same pay. (So a UM equivalent grad is working right alongside a UAH equivalent grad doing the same/similar job for the same pay.)
Industry has a different perspective on what they are looking for than popular college ranking sites. If a program is seen as producing good engineers, industry will recruit their grads. Our ds’s degree is from a school similar to UAH in college rankings, but it is a very desirable innovative program in employers’ perspective. That is the view that matters bc that is where the recruiters go.
Spend some time loooking at the different universities’ career center websites. See if they have fall and spring recruiting. Do they have information on co-ops. See what industries are recruiting on-campus. You can even call the HR depts at different companies and ask if they hire chemE grads from school x.
Fwiw, my advice would be to make sure you maintain a high GPA, seek out on-campus research opportunitie, co-op (do not view co-ops as limiting your options by delaying graduation—view co-ops as real job experience in industry), etc. My ds graduated during the recession when many companies were laying off employees. Kids that had low GPAs or no co-op experience had a much more difficult time finding jobs. My ds had multiple job offers and knew where he would be working after he graduated months before he completed his degree.