Career Question- State School vs. Big Private

[surftheiop]

thanks for the input,

curious whar your thoughts are for something like ChemE where less than half of the graduates go to grad school?

(If i did ever go to grad school it would be for MBA down the road or posibly law if my interests change)

[J.A.Sucker]

My thoughts would be the same as they would be for science - it doesn't matter. Also, do the research - you may just find something you like. In my example, I HATED my physical chemistry classes, and HATED every lab class I took in chemistry even more. I needed a job, though, and ended up working for a phyiscal chemist. I loved it. I had always planned to do something else, like med school or law school, but decided to go to grad school after working there. I'm glad I did. Even if you don't like it too much, at least you learned that, and the experience and recommendation that you will get from sticking it out will punch your ticket for whatever you want to do. No joke.

[Wyman]

Yes, the name/reputation of your school matter. Yes, your GPA matters.

But 100 times out of 100, I'm gonna take the higher GPA, lower cost, much better weather, and much much more fun with my friends route of Clemson over Cornell. And it isn't even close.

I worked moderately hard and partied a lot in college -- best time of my life. Now I'm working my ass off in grad school, having little to no fun. Sure I'm getting a PhD from a top program, but in the end, how much is that going to benefit me financially? Probably very little. In industry, it's slightly different, but don't short yourself on "the college experience" for anything.

[/guy who wants to be back in college rant]

[prohornblower]

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Transferring would help my GPA alot. I have friends at clemson back home who (atleast so far, they are sophmores) say that college has been MUCH easier than high-school (I made almost identical grades to them in high-school). One of them has a 4.0 and another a 3.8. They rarely go to class

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The accuracy of this is all highly doubtful.

[surftheiop]

Which part of it dont you believe?

[prohornblower]

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Transferring would help my GPA alot. I have friends at clemson back home who (atleast so far, they are sophmores) say that college has been MUCH easier than high-school (I made almost identical grades to them in high-school). One of them has a 4.0 and another a 3.8. They rarely go to class

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These are the parts I find "highly doubtful".

EDIT: I didn't say I don't "believe" it. But the accuracy is highly doubtful. Plus, they are only in their 2nd year for Pete's sake.

[disjunction]

I went to Cornell. Computer Science yo

(1) ***MAKE SURE*** to sign up for engineering co-op sophomore year. This will assure you of a job if the market is at all decent.

(2) Cornell alum in positions to hire have mad loyalty. The whole winter-on-the-hill thing.

(3) I'll make a debatable statement, and say the quality of your education will be better. This will have more of an impact on your career than ANYTHING else. The fact that you can do your job.

(4) Classes are not that challenging if you have any aptitude and if you actually care about your field. If you can't get a 3.0 you may consider not becoming a chemical engineer. It's not even close to being too late.

(5) Higher numbered courses are higher grades than freshman year weed-out courses. The work gets harder, but you get smarter. Start your homework early. Go to office hours. Ask questions. Read the text. I know that these are crazy concepts to undergrads, but try it out.

[surftheiop]

Thats understandable, i guess this is a pointless arguement anyway.

Thanks for the input though, its good to hear what otehr people think

[surftheiop]

thanks for the input, i think im sorta realizing what some of my problem is.

I took a bunch of APs where my teacehers taught to the test (meaning i scored higher than my actual knowledge of the subject) so Im now in classes i probaly wasnt really completly prepared for. I do feel like i have been catching up to everyone else somewhat so maybe i will do better on my finals than im expecting

[Mook]

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5 years down the road nobody will care what my GPA is or what school I graduated from.

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Sorry, this is not true in any world.

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Are you kidding? From 5 years after graduation to the present? I doubt if I've been asked three times in that span where I attended college by the world at large, much less by prospective employers or headhunters. (Which is still more than I've been asked about my undergraduate GPA in that span, by a factor of infinity in fact.)

Once you've been out in the workforce 5+ years, only two things matter to the vast majority of companies:
(1) Do you have whatever specialized skillset(s) your prospective employer requires?
(2) Does the job require an advanced degree and/or previous experience in the field and, if so, do you have it?

That's about it.

Mook