I agree that if the student stays in ChemE, both schools are very solid, and the non-academic differences between them will likely be more important than splitting hairs about which is “better” for the major.
However, you allude to possible major changes. How sure is the student about ChemE - do they have a clear picture of what a ChemE career might look like, or are they more of an “I like engineering and I like chemistry so ChemE seems reasonable” kind of student? If it’s the latter, have they considered Materials Science also? Both schools have this as well. If they like physical sciences generally, Case also has an ABET-accredited Engineering Physics major, within which each student chooses an emphasis area which can be ChemE, Materials, or any other engineering discipline.
OTOH, if what they really love is chem, but they want something more “practical” than a pure lab-science major, VT has some options in the ag school that don’t exist at Case. For example, the Food Science & Technology department at VT is very strong and offers great career opportunities for a chem-loving student; it also offers a minor that a ChemE student could add (also a Fermentation minor fwiw), so this could be an enhancement even if the student is sure about the ChemE major. Soil Science is another interesting chem-related field that VT has and CWRU doesn’t.
No idea whether the student is still exploring major possibilities, but the landscape in terms of adjacent majors does differ between the two schools, so I’m just mentioning this in case it matters. Congrats on two great admits!
Thanks for your detailed response. He “chose” chemical engineering as a possible major mostly because he likes math and sciences. Surprisingly, he has only taken regular chem, not AP chem, but is currently taking BC Calculus and AP physics and is enjoying both.
He still has to develop his true interest and will certainly keep his options open. One benefit of Case is that it is very easy to change field of study bc students are admitted to the university, not a specific college. At VT, even though he has been admitted to the COE, my understanding is that it is not difficulty to switch out if so desired.
Remember that the courses he chooses in his first and second years of college will determine which options of majors remain effectively open in terms of being on track in the curriculum (regardless of whether the majors have any capacity limitations or administrative barriers to changing into them).
If his potential major choices are all in engineering, physical sciences, and math, the first and some of second year courses will have substantial overlap, so the course selection as a somewhat undecided student should not be too difficult, compared to a student whose interests are all over the place.
Just as an addendum, a lot of non-STEM, aka HASS, majors have fewer total credit requirements, and/or the sequencing of the classes is less strict.
So, if you are exploring but STEM is a possibility, it typically makes sense to make sure you are doing an appropriate sequence of core STEM classes for STEM majors early on. Hopefully you will have some additional credits you can use to explore some HASS options.
Then if you decide to transition to a HASS major, hopefully it will be easier to put together the curriculum plan you need. Fortunately, typically those STEM classes + exploratory HASS classes you took will have knocked out a lot of your gen ed requirements, so you can potentially load up on quite a few classes for your major in the same terms as needed.
There could be exceptions in foreign-language-based majors for those who enter without advanced placement in the foreign language. Also, arts courses could involve substantial studio or performance time that could increase scheduling difficulty.
Also, within sciences, biological sciences majors may take different or less difficult versions of physics, math, and/or chemistry than physical sciences majors, so a student undecided between biological sciences and physical sciences may need to choose the more difficult versions acceptable to all majors.
Yes, ultimately you need to dig into the weeds. Like, there can be a VERY large difference between a BFA and a BA in Arts.
This in turn means that exploration can have its limits. Like every once in a while, I encounter a kid who wants to explore both engineering and a BFA at the same time and be able to finish in four years. That may simply be unrealistic,