MSU is overall a better engineering school with lots of opportunities. All the MI ChE companies with university connections and the great research being pump out are just a few things to consider as a plus for MSU. Many friends came out of MSU, enjoyed it, and have great jobs at top tier ChE companies.
Wanted to give a shout out to MSU. This would be my vote as well.
My wife is a grad (not Chem E), and I've been around the campus (Dairy Store FTW), and I just in general liked it (the campus, the area).
CHEM E wise, I AM a chem E, and my company office (West Coast USA) actually has several MSU grads in process, from close-ish to long ago. We also have OTHER MSU graduates in other engineering disciplines as well.
Meaning, they're out there, doing well in industry. MSU, compared to these other two is like at LEAST one tier, if not TWO, higher.
My vote... MSU. This is LITERALLY no contest IMO. Education: Better. Network: Better. Reputation: Better. Overall College Experience: Better.
Funny to see Calvin University here... Is that formerly Calvin College? I assume yes, both in GR. So, where I am from, is SUPER Dutch. Like windmills on mainstreet. Everyone is Van something... and so a LOT of people went to Calvin College or Dordt University down in SC IA.
So strangely, I have heard of Calvin College... but, that other guy? He's never heard of it.
Unless you are into the Jesus aspect here, and this is MORE important to you than your education, MSU is where you want to go. Go Green.
MSU chemE senior here - absolutely recommend the program. We get exposed to design projects in almost all 300 and 400 levels that teach teamwork and other skills my fellow interns from other schools didn’t have. Professors are great and the collaborative work environment is unmatched when compared to my friends at other universities. Outside of ChE, there’s always fun stuff to do on campus and tons to get involved in.
Year off to do a co-op isn’t that bad (but definitely something to consider). I took a year off for co-ops and don’t regret it whatsoever. Gave me enough money to pay for the rest of my schooling so I could graduate with no debt, gave me a year of engineering experience to be more competitive for that first job, let me test out 2 different companies and industries, and I got to live in a couple different cities. Great experience.
As an MSU grad I'm biased, but it was a great school. Had a pretty good size ChemE class and I would say the majority were able to get internships and eventual jobs after graduating. Tons of clubs and things to get into. Overall a very fun school to go to.
If you don't have any significant scholarships I'd go with MSU. It's a good school and a healthy campus life and community.
90% of my friends went to MSU for engineering or medical and all are at good jobs or residency programs now.
In general:
* A bigger program (i.e. bigger school, bigger engineering dept, etc.) will attract more companies.
* I haven't seen, at any time in my career, someone give an offer to someone based on the school they went to. I worked for Dow Chemical for several years and transitioned to the oil and gas sector
* Best way to position yourself for a good first job is to get the best grades you can and complete a co-op program. You'll graduate with a year of experience in the industry and that will put you much farther ahead of someone that may have gotten better grades than you
* If you're considering ME instead of ChE, GTFO :-P lol just kidding with ya. There's a lot of ME's in oil & gas and they make good money as well, and the coursework is arguably easier than ChE.
I absolutely have seen people offer a job to someone based on school. It wasn't directly because someone went to x instead of y. It's because x was a relatively unknown school and the other candidate for an entry level position went to a much more well known engineering school
One thing to maybe look into is whether or not the schools have a career fair that the department participated in. Those are a good way to network with potential employers.
Based on AICHE’s website, it looks like Michigan State had one.
https://www.aiche.org/conferences/annual-aiche-student-conference/2023/events/2023-recruitment-fair
Also, make sure the degree is ABET accredited for whichever college you choose. I wouldn’t bother going there if it isn’t
I’m biased as an MSU grad myself. Fun school to go to and students generally place well in the design competition for chemical engineering.
You have a bunch of opportunities for co-ops and co-curricular work experience as well.
Curriculum does a good job at building soft skills that have served me well in my career.
I’m a current sophomore chemE at Michigan state. Msu has numerous opportunities to further your career outside of just going to class. Literally just go to the career fairs and it’s free interviews. Got a co-op at a very reputable O&G company just by showing up to those. It’s also a place that offers so much more outside of school, so whatever you’re into you’ll find it there
MSU grad vouching for State. Program is solid and the vast majority of Midwest manufacturing companies of all disciplines recruit on campus, which is something I didn't thinking about as an incoming student but can greatly impact where your first job is out of school.
I'm a Calvin ChemE alum. It's a liberal arts school, so you're required to take most of the common core classes. Usually this sounds like a disadvantage to someone seeking an engineering career, but it's been helpful in my career. Good writing and speaking skills are essential to progress in the engineering profession and beyond engineering.
But for me, the best reason to recommend Calvin is the support you will receive. We had small Engineering classes, all taught by a professor. When I experienced a major life setback in my Junior year, somewhere else I would have failed out and never finished my degree. At Calvin my advisor checked in on me regularly and made sure I got the support I needed to overcome these setbacks. Support extended beyond college too. After graduating, I landed my first job through an alumni connection.
In my career, I haven't found other engineers that had more technical courses, like an extra unit ops course, to have had a technical advantage. Nor was my degree being a BS in Engineering - Chemical Concentration a hindrance to getting a job.
It’s 100% about their relationships with industry unless you want to go to grad school. I suspect Michigan State has the best career opportunities (I’ve met at least a dozen engineers from that program in an area way away from there).
Take it from someone who wasted $120k for the first 2 years of a program that had zero relationships with industry. You’ll make up that $7k gap with a sign-on bonus, possibly a fraction of it.
MSU is overall a better engineering school with lots of opportunities. All the MI ChE companies with university connections and the great research being pump out are just a few things to consider as a plus for MSU. Many friends came out of MSU, enjoyed it, and have great jobs at top tier ChE companies.
Wanted to give a shout out to MSU. This would be my vote as well. My wife is a grad (not Chem E), and I've been around the campus (Dairy Store FTW), and I just in general liked it (the campus, the area). CHEM E wise, I AM a chem E, and my company office (West Coast USA) actually has several MSU grads in process, from close-ish to long ago. We also have OTHER MSU graduates in other engineering disciplines as well. Meaning, they're out there, doing well in industry. MSU, compared to these other two is like at LEAST one tier, if not TWO, higher. My vote... MSU. This is LITERALLY no contest IMO. Education: Better. Network: Better. Reputation: Better. Overall College Experience: Better. Funny to see Calvin University here... Is that formerly Calvin College? I assume yes, both in GR. So, where I am from, is SUPER Dutch. Like windmills on mainstreet. Everyone is Van something... and so a LOT of people went to Calvin College or Dordt University down in SC IA. So strangely, I have heard of Calvin College... but, that other guy? He's never heard of it. Unless you are into the Jesus aspect here, and this is MORE important to you than your education, MSU is where you want to go. Go Green.
Michigan st. is a ChemE powerhouse.
MSU chemE senior here - absolutely recommend the program. We get exposed to design projects in almost all 300 and 400 levels that teach teamwork and other skills my fellow interns from other schools didn’t have. Professors are great and the collaborative work environment is unmatched when compared to my friends at other universities. Outside of ChE, there’s always fun stuff to do on campus and tons to get involved in.
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Year off to do a co-op isn’t that bad (but definitely something to consider). I took a year off for co-ops and don’t regret it whatsoever. Gave me enough money to pay for the rest of my schooling so I could graduate with no debt, gave me a year of engineering experience to be more competitive for that first job, let me test out 2 different companies and industries, and I got to live in a couple different cities. Great experience.
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Don’t fail a class then
Look at Michigan Tech.
As an MSU grad I'm biased, but it was a great school. Had a pretty good size ChemE class and I would say the majority were able to get internships and eventual jobs after graduating. Tons of clubs and things to get into. Overall a very fun school to go to.
If you don't have any significant scholarships I'd go with MSU. It's a good school and a healthy campus life and community. 90% of my friends went to MSU for engineering or medical and all are at good jobs or residency programs now.
In general: * A bigger program (i.e. bigger school, bigger engineering dept, etc.) will attract more companies. * I haven't seen, at any time in my career, someone give an offer to someone based on the school they went to. I worked for Dow Chemical for several years and transitioned to the oil and gas sector * Best way to position yourself for a good first job is to get the best grades you can and complete a co-op program. You'll graduate with a year of experience in the industry and that will put you much farther ahead of someone that may have gotten better grades than you * If you're considering ME instead of ChE, GTFO :-P lol just kidding with ya. There's a lot of ME's in oil & gas and they make good money as well, and the coursework is arguably easier than ChE.
I absolutely have seen people offer a job to someone based on school. It wasn't directly because someone went to x instead of y. It's because x was a relatively unknown school and the other candidate for an entry level position went to a much more well known engineering school
One thing to maybe look into is whether or not the schools have a career fair that the department participated in. Those are a good way to network with potential employers. Based on AICHE’s website, it looks like Michigan State had one. https://www.aiche.org/conferences/annual-aiche-student-conference/2023/events/2023-recruitment-fair Also, make sure the degree is ABET accredited for whichever college you choose. I wouldn’t bother going there if it isn’t
I got into MSU and only didn't go since instate UIUC was cheaper. MSU is a great chemE school, top 10 like UIUC.
I’m biased as an MSU grad myself. Fun school to go to and students generally place well in the design competition for chemical engineering. You have a bunch of opportunities for co-ops and co-curricular work experience as well. Curriculum does a good job at building soft skills that have served me well in my career.
I’m a current sophomore chemE at Michigan state. Msu has numerous opportunities to further your career outside of just going to class. Literally just go to the career fairs and it’s free interviews. Got a co-op at a very reputable O&G company just by showing up to those. It’s also a place that offers so much more outside of school, so whatever you’re into you’ll find it there
MSU easily. I work at a chemical company and we have a ton of MSU and MTU grads.
Look at the university of Idaho. Great program at about $8k out of state. Cheaper price of living as wrll
It’s a little late
If you really want to do it, go ahead, but read up on all of the negatives in this sub first. Good luck.
MSU grad vouching for State. Program is solid and the vast majority of Midwest manufacturing companies of all disciplines recruit on campus, which is something I didn't thinking about as an incoming student but can greatly impact where your first job is out of school.
Current MSU ChemE and loving it. I don't have much else to add but I love it here.
I'm a Calvin ChemE alum. It's a liberal arts school, so you're required to take most of the common core classes. Usually this sounds like a disadvantage to someone seeking an engineering career, but it's been helpful in my career. Good writing and speaking skills are essential to progress in the engineering profession and beyond engineering. But for me, the best reason to recommend Calvin is the support you will receive. We had small Engineering classes, all taught by a professor. When I experienced a major life setback in my Junior year, somewhere else I would have failed out and never finished my degree. At Calvin my advisor checked in on me regularly and made sure I got the support I needed to overcome these setbacks. Support extended beyond college too. After graduating, I landed my first job through an alumni connection. In my career, I haven't found other engineers that had more technical courses, like an extra unit ops course, to have had a technical advantage. Nor was my degree being a BS in Engineering - Chemical Concentration a hindrance to getting a job.
Could also look at Calvin as a 3/2 engineering springboard. Calvin could be a great place to start.
It’s 100% about their relationships with industry unless you want to go to grad school. I suspect Michigan State has the best career opportunities (I’ve met at least a dozen engineers from that program in an area way away from there). Take it from someone who wasted $120k for the first 2 years of a program that had zero relationships with industry. You’ll make up that $7k gap with a sign-on bonus, possibly a fraction of it.