I’m currently struggling to make a decision on which college to attend this fall. I will be studying chemical engineering. I am mainly interested in energy/fuel and consumer goods in terms of career fields to pursue. I am also graduating with an associate’s degree and transferring a solid amount of credits, so I do not intend to stay at either school for the full four years.
I am in-state for NC State and was accepted to one of the major scholarship programs which will amount to a full ride. I am out-of-state for UMich, but I have received solid aid with costs down to 5K and some work study. The 5K would be manageable.
My parents are really pushing for NC State because they want me to be nearby, but being close to home is not necessarily a top priority for me. They are also frustrated with the idea of me turning down the full ride which is making me doubt if not taking it is a bad move.
I’ve spent summers at NC State and did a research externship there and I did not really like the dorms, food, or campus so that is holding me back. Also, NC State and the Research Triangle seem heavily concentrated with biotech and pharma opportunities in terms of ChemE which does not really interest me. I will admit that I am worried about career and research prospects/competition in the area when Duke and UNC are next door. I liked the campus at UMich. There are more research/club/network opportunities and sure “it is the higher ranked school and program,” but I am still hesitant in terms of turning down a full ride.
I would greatly appreciate some advice for this circumstance!
Both are reasonable choices with Michigan obviously a bigger name.
I’m not for extra expense or debt but this is certainly a reasonable amount.
So I’d say Michigan but ultimately your parents do have a say.
Good luck.
Here’s some salary info. NX State doesn’t seem to break down by major. Its engineering salary is similar which is odd in that usually chem is higher so I’m surprised Michigan isn’t higher but a lot is geographically driven.
Before assuming that your transfer credit will reduce the number of semesters to graduation, check each school’s transfer credit articulation web site to see what subject credit your courses will give, and then check the chemical engineering course plans to see if they will advance you in the prerequisite sequences needed by the major. (Michigan engineering is notoriously stingy with transfer subject credit.)
So total net price of around $10k or less?
Both Michigan and NCSU start students in undeclared engineering. NCSU can require competitive admission to declare the more popular engineering majors. The CODA statistics indicate that chemical engineering is not usually a more competitive major. Note that your grades in math, physics, and chemistry college courses that you took in high school will be included in calculating your CODA GPA that will be using in competitive admission to major.
For NC State it would take off about 2 years if I stay enrolled full time during semesters. I’m still determining for UMich with my admissions officer, but my understanding is at least something would transfer.
The CODA process at NC State for ChemE is not as competitive as other engineering majors. I’m graduating with all my math and physics completed along with chemistry up to OChem II. I’m not worried about my GPA in the college courses I took during high school affecting the CODA process (4.0).
Net price is 7k total which is reasonable. I’m still waiting to hear back on answers about other scholarships which may affect this.
You can use Transfer Credit | University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions to determine transfer subject credit equivalency of the college courses you took in high school, rather than waiting for an overworked admissions officer to do that for you and hundreds of other students with the same question.
Yes, I’ve used these resources, but I’m hesitant to trust them completely, so I’ve been trying to reach out to someone to verify. Albeit, I’m not completely worried about having to spend a little more time at either institution and understand that not everything will transfer perfectly at either place.
Assuming you can comfortably afford the difference (subject to nailing down transfer credits), I think it becomes a personal preference sort of situation.
If it helps, I don’t think there is anything particularly magic about a “full ride” other than it costs less out of pocket. Meaning if you consider this seriously including opportunity costs, even with a full ride there are usually short-term financial costs to choosing college over something like immediately starting a career that does not require college at all. But for some people (not all people) it makes sense to accept those short-term costs.
So a full ride does not in fact mean no financial cost at all, just a lower out of pocket cost. And of course that might be attractive, but it is just one thing you can consider among many.
I will say I usually think it is not a great idea to take out more debt than the federal limits. Among other things, I think those federal limits are a pretty decent estimate of what sort of debt service most people can comfortably handle as a college graduate.
But it sounds to me you will likely not be exceeding that amount, and might indeed not need even that amount. So again, barring some unusual additional consideration, I would say this is a personal preference issue where rational people could choose either way.
Work study still needs to be earned; it’s a job. On campus jobs are often available regardless of work study. I would not count work study when comparing costs between colleges.
Are we voting? If so, I vote for this. These “extras” should be given significant weight. Plus, NCState is a great college for engineering.
You know…it doesn’t matter if you are 20 miles away at college or 2000 miles away. You will be able to make your college life yours. And if you want to go home or need to for any reason, it will be easy
In that case I’d vote for UMich. It’s one of the best public schools in the country, and comes with huge name recognition, prestige and alumni connections.
NC State is certainly an acceptable option too, especially with the perks you’re receiving atop the full ride. But if you’re able to truly choose I’d suggest Michigan.
If you don’t like the dorms, food, or campus, it doesn’t sound like you’re a fan of NC State. If $7k is affordable for your family without loans (perhaps closer to $10k when transportation costs are added in), then I think it makes sense for you to choose Michigan.
If you got a full ride to NC State, then you are obviously an extremely strong student. Would you be willing to share what kind of merit aid (not need-based aid) you received from Michigan? Since Michigan costs over $30k for in-state students and over $70k for out-of-state students, you’ve gotten a significant reduction in cost. It’s a popular school of students who post on CC, and the advice is generally that UMich provides very little merit aid, but if that information is incorrect, it would be helpful to know.
I reviewed the major scholarships at NC State. My thought is that it was a different scholarship than the Park (one that is for NC residents or for those graduating from a NC high school). The award is $23,000 a year for 4 years. Includes mentoring and other benefits.
NC State is also attractive because OP seems confident that he can complete his major in 2 years; this leaves another 2 years for further / additional study. Will the scholarship award cover a master’s degree if OP can complete both within 4 years ? Otherwise, OP has the freedom to double major.
I had to acknowledge this. I’ve been trying to “get over it” and just take the full ride.
It appears overtly evident to me that this is true. Most people I’ve heard get little aid at all for OOS. I’m pretty sure I just got lucky with both solid merit and need-based aid.
No, I can’t “roll over” the scholarship for grad school.
Yes, I’ve been told that I will likely need to double major or minor in something, although I don’t have much interest or see much benefit in doing so beyond trying to meet credit hours for full time enrollment.
I’m pretty confident that I will be entering industry right after undergrad (why I mentioned the fields I intend to pursue career wise in my post). Recently I’ve opened up to the idea of grad school (why I mentioned concerns about research at either school). However, I still don’t consider myself getting a master’s degree or beyond being likely or arguably necessary.
