Georgetown Vs TAMU

[Stella_in_rainbows]

Hi, Im new to the forum but since I have already found some of the topics really helpful, I'm hoping you can help me with my latest "problem" :

I have an offer from TAMU and another one from Georgetown, but I can't seem to come to a decision. I'm scared of the whole "Texas yee-ha" style, and the hot weather, but I think the university is great. Washington DC on the other hand, is beautiful but REALLY expensive, and the univ is not that "famous" for it's chemistry program.

Any ideas how to decide?

[bardo-being]

Hi, Im new to the forum but since I have already found some of the topics really helpful, I'm hoping you can help me with my latest "problem" :

I have an offer from TAMU and another one from Georgetown, but I can't seem to come to a decision. I'm scared of the whole "Texas yee-ha" style, and the hot weather, but I think the university is great. Washington DC on the other hand, is beautiful but REALLY expensive, and the univ is not that "famous" for it's chemistry program.

Any ideas how to decide?

I was in the same position as you several weeks ago when I was deciding where to do. I ended up deciding to go to UC-Irvine because the professors there publish on a regular basis and the reputation of the department is known worldwide. Even though most people enjoy sun and the weather of Cali, I personally love the rain of the midwest and the east, but at the end of the day you don't want to spend 5 years at an institution that's not known for their chemistry program.

TAMU is a great school, so is Georgetown, but just not for chemistry.

so here is what you should do: look up the professors you want to work for, and look at their recent publications, look at the type of grants that they receive, and then decide base on those factors.

[chem_hollas]

If you haven't already decided yet, I hope I could give some insight into what has guided my decision for fall 2012 (and some info on TAMU which is where I went as an undergrad).

First of all, not to be impartial, but TAMU is a great chemistry school. Funding is good, and there are lots of well known and well respected professors. Faclilities are also exceptional (NMR spectrometers, XRD, etc.) Guess that depends on what area of chemistry you plan on studying.

Hopefully you found a couple of professors who you were interested in during your visitation. And as far as the yee-ha mentality, grad students in the chemistry department are predominately not from Texas. Those that are from Texas aren't really going to be of the "yee-ha" mentality anyway. You will of course encounter some undergrads in your classes, and wherever else that might be. View the College Station forum for info on the city in general.

But yes, texas is hot from may to october, then becomes more mild and bearable.

But like bardo-being said, do some investigating into the publications and funding from those profs that you think you would work for. Also, look at their web sites and see if it lists where their former students are working and see if that is in-line with what you want to do (i.e. academic vs. industry). Professors and their former students can have quite a network of friends and acquaintences that can be quite helpful come graduation.

As for me, I actually also decided to attend UC-Irvine after meeting with professors and seeing some projects that I was really interested in. If you find a respected professor, and you honestly like what their project is, then I think that should be the biggest determinant.

Any other questions, especially about the department at TAMU, let me know and Ill do my best to answer them.