UIC vs Illinois Tech for Chemical Engineering

College Search & Lists
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Hello, everyone.

My son got admitted to both, and we’re looking for advice deciding between these schools.

Background: he’s a geeky kid, not into sports or social scene, and will be commuting to school, so living arrangements are not an issue. From the visits, he liked Illinois Tech better, especially because they emphasize hands-on learning. He also heard that at UIC, chemistry is a weed-out course, so that scares him a little. Financially, we can manage either one, if the net price calculators are correct.

Are there any other considerations, or things we should look at and research?

Thank you.
Gerry

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They’re both ABET accredited. Engineering has a 50% drop out rate nationwide - not sure at these but something to ask each. . It’s a brutal major. If you’re going to be a CHEME, Chem is gonna be hard. Seems an odd concern.

If you can afford it, IIT as he prefers.

Because IIT has less non tech majors, one concern would be - what if he doesn’t make it in engineering. Is there enough choice for him to slide into - many, for example, end up in business and they have limited majors.

One last thing - career outcomes - you might ask for reports. The IIT report is not detailed and the % employed not great. I’d ask for job titles and salaries by major.

I’d ask the same of UIC.

I’d assume both are fine but the reason to not attend UIC is hmmmm not good given the major. But since he prefers the other school it’s all good.

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IIT sounds like a good fit for your son. My ChemE son visited and liked it but decided not to apply mostly because he wanted a more traditional campus experience. We know people that attended and loved it.

Any particular reason for the hesitation? Will UIC be cheaper?

It’s good he’s noticed that he likes the hands-on learning. What else is important to him? Class sizes? Nerdy clubs? Playing an instrument? Taking classes in a non-STEM subject? Ease of changing majors?

It’s great that he’s been admitted to these two affordable schools and he’s thinking about the details. Any other apps he’s waiting on? He’s got quite a bit of time to decide!

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My oldest daughter is currently studying ChemE at IIT. Third year pretty far along with her BS in Chem ME and just started her Masters in Pharmaceutical Engineering.

The ChemE department is one of the smaller engineering departments so she has had great access to her professors and has never had a class with more than 30 students.

She and her friends have had good luck finding internships and/or on-campus research jobs. As far as recent graduate outcome from her ChemE, BiochemE, etc. friends, it does appear that they are successful in their goals (job, graduate school, MCAT/medical school, etc.).

Note that my daughter knew early on in her search that she wanted to go to small, private, STEM-focused schools (she chose IIT over Rose-Hulman, RPI, WPI, and Kettering.) So, I really do not have a good direct/personal comparison between IIT and UIC.

Also, note that I am an IIT alum and own my own engineering firm. I have not hired recently but IIT (along with Purdue and Iowa State) have been my go-tos for hiring CEs, ChemEs, and MEs. I have not encountered many UIC grads.

As one poster mentioned, engineering study starts our hard and only gets tougher and every school appears to have a rumored weed out class whether it is Calc 2, Gen. Chem, Organic Chemistry, etc. I do not think that there is a true weed out objective but those “weed out” classes are typically integral to understanding the theory and application of more upper level engineering coursework so they are going to be intense to help build that foundation.

As far as thing to research, look at who is hiring from both universities and what their industries are. For example, if he think that he wants to go into Pharmaceutical Engineering but most of the hiring companies from one of the universities are from oil & gas then dig more into the school that supports the industry that he wants.

Good luck to your son with his choice.

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College Scorecard reports early career pay levels that are not too much different for recent chemical engineering graduates:

School Major Median pay
University of Illinois Chicago Chemical engineering $90,756
Illinois Institute of Technology Chemical engineering $94,955
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This.

The OP’s son needs to understand the workload and challenge. I remember thinking each semester “well, it wasn’t too bad before, but this stuff is just impossible!” Rinse and repeat.

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Rumor has it that UIC chemistry course is geared towards the future doctors, and deliberately made extra-hard to eliminate weaker students, while at Illinois Tech, it’s just an ordinary course. I don’t know how much of that is true.

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Yes, UIC would probably be cheaper for in-state student, but mostly, he is scared of making the wrong choice and regretting it later. So, we’re trying to find out if there’s something we overlooked in this process.

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Every time I hear that a course is described as a "weed out’ I know two things-

1- The curve is harsh, but the goal is to master the material, not to outsmart the curve;
2- Kids who skated through HS and are good test-takers are going to struggle

But that’s it.

OP- does your son have a solid grounding in math and does he have the work ethic to put in the hours? If so, I wouldn’t worry about weeding out. Chem will be very challenging if he’s got some holes in his math prep, but if he is well prepared and already works hard and effectively, I don’t think he needs to worry.

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Organic chemistry - at many schools. Will be at IIT too.

Someone can correct me if I’m wrong but Chem 115 is not required for ChemE at UIC.

Nonetheless, a colleges goal is to graduate kids but engineering is BRUTAL. That your student has this hesitation makes me wonder if the major is right for them. Hence I would make sure at IIT there are alternatives of interest.

But best I can tell he won’t need to take the weed out class (everywhere) being referenced. But if I’m wrong someone can correct me.

Ps - to me - you made a comment if I’m not interpreting it wrong - that he’s scared of making the wrong choice. That’s where UIC could be better - wider variety of majors but IIT may have enough that if he changed his goals he’s find another there.

Good luck.

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Thank you, it’s good to hear from someone familiar with the school and the major. And small class sizes sound really good. My son thinks he can handle the regular college workload, just not the extra difficult one. I hope he’s right.

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Yes, he does have a decent work ethic. As for math, it’s not his best subject, but he did well enough at school. He’s taking AP Chemistry now, and finds it challenging, but doable and very interesting. I hope he can handle college coursework.

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That’s not hard to believe. Though these classes can be difficult anywhere, there are some that have the weed-out reputation (premeds, engineering students) at some bigger schools. There is merit to that.

My ChemE son is at a school with a pretty small program. He had AP credits for stuff like calc and chem and physics. He sailed through his freshman year, but is being challenged in his sophomore year. The course material just gets really hard. The only variation between individuals is exactly when it gets hard for them and which specific classes they find hardest.

He does really like that he’s at a school where he has smaller class sizes, as opposed to his friends studying STEM at huge schools. But I wouldn’t let the fear of weed out classes be a big deciding factor for your son, unless he feels worried he won’t pass them at the bigger school. He might focus more on average class size if that’s something that matters to him.

For any ChemE degree, he’ll have to take a year of standard general chemistry (or have AP credit) – that’s the same one as premeds take. And at least 1 semester of O chem (also with premeds), as well as at least 1 semester of physical chemistry.

I know transferring isn’t anyone’s ideal, but knowing it’s an option helped our kid not feel so worried about making the right choice. Accepted student visits / open houses are great, and he should do those if they’re offered.

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Then engineering is not for him. Seriously.

But it’s ok to start there - and if it doesn’t work out - transition out.

The other interesting thing is that stats show only 1/4 of engineering grads work in engineering. Makes sense. My former vp of car sales was an aero engineer. And a guy doing my sales job is a CE.

https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/engineering-student-quit,-but-there’s-retention-tactics#:~:text=About%20half%20of%20those%20pursuing,their%20first%20year%20of%20college.&text=The%20most%20common%20statistic%20cited,or%20drop%20out%20before%20graduation.

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I think he’s more concerned about choosing the “wrong” school and being miserable later, but he is very sure about his selected major. Of course, a lot of students are, and then change their mind down the road.

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Not necessarily. If he’s worried about workload, he can take 12-15 credits per semester rather than 16-18. He may get to college and kick butt. Also, many people limp their way through their engineering degrees and end up doing well in their engineering careers.

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Do his math and chem teachers know he’s interested in chemical engineering? If not, he should schedule some time with them. It would be good to get their perspective on how he’s doing (not the grades- he already knows that) i.e. “You seem slower in your calculations then some of the other kids in the class. Do you want to schedule a few sessions to review order of operations or do a deep dive on some of the equations that you seem shaky on?”

Teachers will likely have perspective on the areas where he could use a solid review (even if it’s middle school math… any holes in his background are going to slow him down in college). Or they may have practical tips for him-- “you seem less alert in the afternoons than you do in the morning… are you eating a solid lunch or getting by with an energy bar?”

Worth a chat with his teachers both to reassure him (you can handle this!) and to see if they have suggestions to bolster his skills before he starts college.

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I thought seemed odd but here is the UIC curriculum. Org is Chem 115 and it’s not there.

Anyway it seems like the student prefers IIT.

Many have doubts. That he’s got a great work ethic and as long as he understands math - even if he’s behind and has to catch up in college b4 getting to Calc - it’s ok.

If his dream is ChemE, then get confident and go for it !! Be confident. Just make sure the foundation is there and if not don’t rush ahead. If it doesn’t work, no problem - he’ll have tried and it’s all as parents we can ask for.

https://catalog.uic.edu/ucat/colleges-depts/engineering/che/bs-che/

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While not everyone has doubts, that’s a reality for everyone.

Or it could be he could have a great experience at both.

The reality is there are many schools where someone could excel, not just the one a student ultimately selects.

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Well, his chemistry teacher thinks it’s a good fit for him, and math teacher thinks he should work harder, but overall, both are very encouraging. His PLTW engineering teacher also thinks he would do well in college. I hope they’re right.

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