r/ChemicalEngineering • u/Advanced-Rip6382 • 16d ago

Student Did I make the wrong decision?

I’m an incoming student at UVA for chemical engineering. I got into Georgia Tech too, but I rejected it because going to UVA would allow me to graduate a year earlier, save 10k per year in costs not including the earlier graduation, get my masters in +1 year, and be much closer to home. I want to get into pharma/biotech. Did I make the wrong choice? Be honest.

7 Upvotes

68% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

18

u/username-nombre 16d ago

You’re fine. Get the degree. It will not matter all too much long term.

-1

u/Advanced-Rip6382 16d ago

How much will it affect internship/CoOp opportunities and first job?

8

u/username-nombre 16d ago

As long as you’re doing well in classes and join meaningful clubs/stack up good projects you will end up the same

5

u/PubStomper04 16d ago

id put uva pretty close if not at the same level as gtech so dw man.

1

u/riftwave77 15d ago

Eh?  #5 vs #49?

1

u/PubStomper04 15d ago

not sure what parameter that ranking is by but if its us news or something similar you overestimate how much that stuff matters for chemE

1

u/riftwave77 15d ago

Did you go to either school?

1

u/[deleted] 14d ago

[deleted]

1

u/riftwave77 14d ago

That's delightfully vague.  Opportunities for what (research or job placement)?  Did you study chemical engineering at Georgia Tech and also at your state school?  In which capacities (which years, grad or undergrad)?  Did you graduate from either of these schools?

1

u/[deleted] 14d ago

[deleted]

0

u/riftwave77 14d ago

So, you got academically dropped at Tech and finished at your state school?

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u/PubStomper04 13d ago

lol i can still see your other comment you deleted. get a grip man i just dont use this app much

1

u/riftwave77 13d ago

Are you talking to me? I haven't deleted any of my comments. I had a response I tried to post (twice) yesterday but reddit wouldn't let me. After the 2nd time it failed I went about my life and watched Mission Impossible Final Reckoning. It wasn't a great movie.

2

u/DriizzyDrakeRogers 16d ago

Prob not much at all. GT is a great school, but I don’t think it’s especially a hotbed for pharma/biotech companies so I wouldn’t too much about having missed out on potential opportunity in that regard.

As for general coop/internship opps if you do well in your classes, go to career fairs where you actually talk/network with people (wear a suit, make it a priority to get one if you don’t have one.), and get some extracurriculars so you don’t come off as one dimensional I think you’ll end up happy. Also, get involved with the CHEN alumni at your school if you can, that can open a lot of doors.

I went to a similarly ranked school as UVA and managed to draw a lot of co-op/internship interest with a very mediocre GPA. Had a full time job offer a couple of weeks into my senior year and everything’s been gravy since.

I think once it’s all said and done, you’ll be happy you saved the money, not to mention everything else you got by going to UVA.

1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

You would probably get internships and a first job much easier at Georgia Tech (former chemE at Tech) But like the earlier comment said, if you have good grades and club involvement you’ll be fine

9

u/niarem22 16d ago

Realistically, once you get your first job, 99% of people don't really care where your degree is from. If it makes more sense for you to do UVA, I wouldn't worry about it too much. UVA is still a well known school

3

u/supahappyb 15d ago

plus it’s cheaper for them which is great. student loans suck fr

5

u/[deleted] 16d ago

[deleted]

-6

u/smashmilfs 16d ago

Damn those mines students must have not applied themselves then 😎

3

u/viciouscabaret Property Risk Engineering - 10+ years 16d ago

Either way, you would come out with a chemical engineering degree from a good school. Having less debt AND a whole Master’s at graduation will make far more of a difference in your long-term financial and professional prospects than slightly more name recognition for an equivalent degree.

3

u/anhydrousslim 16d ago

There’s faculty there doing biotech research. See if you can catch on in one of those labs. Merck has a plant on the other side of the Blue Ridge and companies in DC and RTP will recruit from UVa. You’ll be fine as long as you put in the work.

1

u/Advanced-Rip6382 16d ago

I did 3 years of biotech research in high school, but I joined an energy/polymer lab because it was the first and only one that got back to me. What should I do?

1

u/anhydrousslim 16d ago

Well you’ve made an early start! You can work with that lab for a while but be honest about your long term goals, if you do a good job the prof can help you connect with another lab later.

Biotech industry uses lots of polymeric materials so a good understanding of polymer science is not a bad thing. And you never know, you might find that you connect with this work and want to stay with it.

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Long_47 13d ago

I graduated with more people who went into biotech after grad from UVA than any other industry. There was def more of a focus on that than hydrocarbons in thr dept. UVA has a good biz school too. The engineering business minor was good for getting a job. The other poster listing Merck was right, I know a few people who interned with them over the summer. If you're smart and work well with others, you won't have any problem getting a primo job from UVA. Debt is the real enemy.

5

u/Unearth1y_one 16d ago

We all made the wrong decision - majoring in this

1

u/TheLimDoesNotExist 13d ago

This is the correct answer.

1

u/Advanced-Rip6382 16d ago

More context: I was initially premed, which steered me away from GT towards UVA. This was another factor in my decision. but I don’t really want to do med anymore, so now I’m second guessing my decision.

1

u/terpgonnaball 15d ago

Just focus on what you can control now and that is doing well at UVA. You'll be good. Also, don't worry about the Masters Degree, its less important in terms of income potential with regard to Chemical Engineering. Bachelors degree is fine so just focus on that and getting internships.

1

u/MuddyflyWatersman 16d ago

do you think anybody here has a crystal ball? it's all a gamble nobody knows what's going to turn out best for you. or themselves for that matter. go with your gut... nothing is permanent... can always make changes.

1

u/Mvpeh 15d ago

Skip the masters and go to the cheaper school. Nobody gives af about where you went to school, this isnt private equity.

1

u/Medical-Tadpole-4278 14d ago

You definitely made the wrong choice.

1

u/Oakie505 13d ago

Saving 10K/year is smart, especially when you’re not going to be working. GA Tech is a great school, but so is UVA. Graduating a year earlier? How are you doing that?

Average stay at my small tech school was 5.9 years. Only about 10% of our folks finished in 4 years.

2

u/Advanced-Rip6382 13d ago

I came in with a bunch of AP credits which basically knocked out all of first year pre reqs. Yours might be longer because of CoOps which I didn’t include in the 3 year plan.

1

u/futurechemEng 13d ago

UVA is a good school but georgia tech is better without a doubt. You could easily pay off that 10k with a co-op at either school though.

1

u/Advanced-Rip6382 13d ago

Yeah but 10k per year in tuition and 1 extra full year is 85k. It’s not just 10k.

1

u/futurechemEng 13d ago

Apologies I didn't read it correctly, if thats the case then I say you made a good decision. Also you are close to biotech/pharma hubs such as Research Triangle, DMV and Boston. It seems like UVA has a strong medical focus which is good for you.

0

u/ScoutAndLout 16d ago

Orange is an ugly color, you are cooked.