@VerlisB: You might also consider posting this query/thread in the “Engineering Majors” forum, http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/, or in the “College Search and Selection”, forum, http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/. I suspect that you will reach a broad audience in either (or both) of those forums; perhaps title the thread along the lines of “Thoughts on Chemical Engineering in Big 10 Schools?” and then pose your question about school comparisons.