PaulMo

I totally agree. I don't know about all that fine arts stuff as I'm a chem major (I know I know, I don't belong here, but I accidentally posted here before, was redirected to the chemistry section, found them to be very boring then subsequently ended up back here). It's a little funny being the oldest person in a room on a regular basis at only 34 years old. At first I felt awkward but lately it's almost felt like an advantage being a little older.

Hey everyone, My name is Paul, I was just accepted into two different departments at Oregon State so I figured I would introduce myself here in hopes to get some advice on what I should do. But first, is anyone here planning on OSU? I really like Corvallis and I'm super excited. It would be neat to find someone going to OSU as well. The only issue is I'm really struggling with a decision between materials chemistry and chemical engineering. I think I would like them both and the more information I get the harder the decision becomes.

Thanks! Sorry for strokes/heart attacks. Lol

Woooops... how did I end up here? Sometimes my writing is "creative" but I'm definitely not a creative writer. I think I got a 3 or 2.5 on the writing portion of the GRE ?. Well, hello writers.

Hello everyone, I decided to throw an introduction in here to distract myself from the difficult decisions ahead. My name is Paul and I applied to Oregon State this year. I noticed a frequent mention of purgatory, I assume that's in reference to waiting to hear back from your application? I guess I'm not in purgatory as I was accepted to two different departments at OSU, I just have no idea which one I should accept. I've been feverishly trying to look for a deciding factor of some sort only to further muddy the water that is my decision making process. Is there anyone looking at OSU here? I'm pretty excited, I really like Corvallis and the college.

Anyone have any advice on a good part of town to live in? I was just accepted to OSU so I'll be at least moving down to Corvallis in anticipation for fall quarter 2021. I'm a little afraid that it might be difficult to find housing considering how small the town is compared to the campus.

TLDR: I got chemistry and chemical engineering acceptances at OSU. which=better? I have a diverse educational background, I've taken a lot of physics (electrodynamics/quantum etc...), applied mathematics(calc 1-4, diff eq, linear alg), computer science (projects in C/Python/LabVIEW, arduino, C# data structures/algorithms, parallel programming, SQL), Physical chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry. I think I generally do well in computational environments but I also enjoy working in a lab sometimes (maybe not always, it feels like 50/50... sometimes I really enjoy it but sometimes I get sick of it). I worked as an instrumentation aid for the ICP-MS, AA spec, Ion Chromatograph and I have hands on experience with GC-MS, NMR, UV-VIS, FTIR spec and probably more I'm forgetting. I've done a lot of random stuff. Anyway, I really like Oregon State University and I've found some faculty in a few different departments that seem like a good fit. I applied to the chemistry department and the chemical engineering department. I was accepted to the chemistry department recently and I was told by the faculty in the chemical engineering department that I'm on the highest tier list to be accepted. Good news right? However, now I have a decision to make. I figured (since I've previously been denied) that I might get one acceptance and I would just choose that one. I'm trying to make the most informed decision that I can so I'm emailing people I know, asking friends at OSU, current professors, sending out smoke signals, asking people's dogs, waving down complete strangers. Now I'm here. I'm hopeful that someone maybe with some experience in chemistry and chemical engineering departments could shed some light or maybe someone who went to OSU. Right now the biggest problem is I know a ton of chemists and no chemical engineers. I like chemistry, I like working in a lab sometimes but I think I would be okay if I didn't work in a lab again, I also really like programming and mathematics and physics. As far as research goes. The professor in the chem department is doing very similar work as the professor in the chemE department (nanoporous solid adsorption stuff), I think the subject is fascinating and I think the topic would be interesting to me whichever I choose. Thanks folks!