Texas A&M University-PhD-Chemical Engineering admit

[D.C.]

Hello everyone, I have received offer in Chemical Engineering PhD program from Texas A&M University. I am a foreigner and thus I am not familar with the reputations or people's impressions of these schools in the US--the only way I get info is from the web, and maybe US News ranking is the most important resource for me. But at the same time I understand that these rankings might not give a true picture!


I'm receiving a RA (2000$/month) and full tuition fee waiver from Texas A&M. Though I'm extremely excited with the offer( In fact I intend to join Texas A&M as it is my only accept as of now!), but recently I came across very negative review about Texas A&M online.

Can anyone give me a true picture of PhD program in Chemical Engineering Department at Texas A&M?


Thanks,

D.C.

Edited July 23, 2015 by rising_star
to remove individually identifying information

[NeuroGal]

That is really an excellent program and a great school for that kind of work from my impressions of it. I'm not in the engineering field but I know people who think highly of that particular program. I believe that town is pretty small and "country" though.

[D.C.]

I seriously intend to join Texas A&M, but I guess those negative reviews I read (about the unfriendly administration of Texas A&M) confused me. Perhaps those person who gave the review must be seriously hating the University. One of the review even went to the extent of saying " Think twice before applying to this university"! I hope these are few odd experiences.

By the way I'm a huge fan of small places/town, so I guess I'll like College Station.

[NeuroGal]

The administration is such a small part of your experience there I think it would be fine. It sounds like it would be a good fit for you! I know people who got their chemical engineering degrees from there and are set up with some pretty nice jobs.

[D.C.]

The administration is such a small part of your experience there I think it would be fine. It sounds like it would be a good fit for you! I know people who got their chemical engineering degrees from there and are set up with some pretty nice jobs.

I hope it is indeed a good fit for me! I'm looking forward to join Texas A&M

[peachynestea12345]

great department and university. have you visited? knowing the living conditions and the pi's will be important. administration shouldn't affect your decision at all, in my opinion.

[MSEngineer12]

Congrats on your admittance!

I graduated with a masters degree in materials science from A&M and had to work a lot with ChemE. It is a pretty good department and the administration are also good. Sometimes a bad review could be from someone with genuine problems or just a personal gripe. Also, experiences across departments/colleges can be quite different.

You said you are a fan of small towns so you will definitely like A&M. I had a positive experience in engineering and at the University. There is also a large international population and my lab had a good mix of people. I would suggest you connect with people in your lab/department once you get there and go to the events that are hosted by the graduate association to diversify your experiences.

Hope this helps.

Hello everyone, I have received offer in Chemical Engineering PhD program from Texas A&M University. I am a foreigner and thus I am not familar with the reputations or people's impressions of these schools in the US--the only way I get info is from the web, and maybe US News ranking is the most important resource for me. But at the same time I understand that these rankings might not give a true picture!

I'm receiving a RA (2000$/month) and full tuition fee waiver from Texas A&M. Though I'm extremely excited with the offer( In fact I intend to join Texas A&M as it is my only accept as of now!), but recently I came across very negative review about Texas A&M online.

Can anyone give me a true picture of PhD program in Chemical Engineering Department at Texas A&M?

Thanks,

Ravi

[ChemEngr]

I may me joining Texas A&M this fall as well. I am actually currently visiting. I am not a small town guy so I cant say i love the town, but you say you love small towns so you'll like College Statios. I know rankings are stupid but i think A&Ms chem E department has a decent rank. I too am confused about how to decide what school to go to. Everyone says rankings dont mean anything and that you should make sure the PROFESSORS are well respected in the chem Engr field- not sure exactly what that means..

I visited the Chem Engr building. It is a new bulding so it is really nice..and big.

[D.C.]

great department and university. have you visited? knowing the living conditions and the pi's will be important. administration shouldn't affect your decision at all, in my opinion.

I haven't visited the Department as I reside in India. Anyways thanks a lot.

[D.C.]

Congrats on your admittance!

I graduated with a masters degree in materials science from A&M and had to work a lot with ChemE. It is a pretty good department and the administration are also good. Sometimes a bad review could be from someone with genuine problems or just a personal gripe. Also, experiences across departments/colleges can be quite different.

You said you are a fan of small towns so you will definitely like A&M. I had a positive experience in engineering and at the University. There is also a large international population and my lab had a good mix of people. I would suggest you connect with people in your lab/department once you get there and go to the events that are hosted by the graduate association to diversify your experiences.

Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot for sharing the inside story, and it totally sounds good to me. Small towns attract me because these places tend to be so peaceful! Also thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate your help.

[D.C.]

I may me joining Texas A&M this fall as well. I am actually currently visiting. I am not a small town guy so I cant say i love the town, but you say you love small towns so you'll like College Statios. I know rankings are stupid but i think A&Ms chem E department has a decent rank. I too am confused about how to decide what school to go to. Everyone says rankings dont mean anything and that you should make sure the PROFESSORS are well respected in the chem Engr field- not sure exactly what that means..

I visited the Chem Engr building. It is a new bulding so it is really nice..and big.

It is good to interact with someone who is also might be going to Texas A&M. Yeah, I know; deciding on the graduate school is a difficult task. I'm pretty sure that all the coming years as a PhD student would be so demanding, that one would hardly have time to go around. So I'm better off to small peaceful town, away from distractions. I already reside place like this, so I'm actually happy about it. Let me know anything new you know/ get to know about ChemE at Texas A&M. And yeah, thanks for the reply.

[rockhopper]

Hello, just reading the forum and I think I'm also going to be at TAMU in the Fall! Not for ChemE, but for Oceanography. Anyway, I liked the university/town at first visit. I'm from Chicago and spent undergrad in St. Louis so I'll definitely miss the city atmosphere but I want to do Oceanography so this way I'm much closer to the ocean/Gulf of Mexico! I liked campus a lot on first visit, wasn't what I was expecting at all, very green! I'm really excited about all the sporting events too!

[D.C.]

Hello, just reading the forum and I think I'm also going to be at TAMU in the Fall! Not for ChemE, but for Oceanography. Anyway, I liked the university/town at first visit. I'm from Chicago and spent undergrad in St. Louis so I'll definitely miss the city atmosphere but I want to do Oceanography so this way I'm much closer to the ocean/Gulf of Mexico! I liked campus a lot on first visit, wasn't what I was expecting at all, very green! I'm really excited about all the sporting events too!

Hi. I have talked to number of Grad students at TAMU, and none of them gave a negative comment. In fact, all of them are enjoying themselves. I'm happy to hear all the positive things. Hope to meet you in College Station. And thanks for your comment.

[D.C.]

great department and university. have you visited? knowing the living conditions and the pi's will be important. administration shouldn't affect your decision at all, in my opinion.

Haven't visited the Department or university, and I don't have visa either, so I'll be directly coming to TAMU. Talked to some GradStudents in Chemical Engineering Department, they were pretty much satisfied with Department. They didn't quote any problem; so I'm really excited about TAMU now. Thanks for your comment.

[Pauli]

Congrats on admission to ChemE at TAMU!

Everyone says rankings dont mean anything and that you should make sure the PROFESSORS are well respected in the chem Engr field- not sure exactly what that means.

Unlike in Asia, rankings mean very little in America. Americans believe that people are defined by their tangible and intangible skills and their previous accomplishments and merits, not by a single number such as some test score or some university rank. That's why rankings mean crap in the long run since you're going to grad school for its research lab, not for its university prestige.

But well-respected professors is a very important measurement because that means that professor is great to work with, has many connections, collaborates with other great minds, is very helpful in pushing acceptance rates of publications, etc.

I'm not in ChemE (I'm a PhD student in CompSci), but the department has some great people and have some friends there. And I think you get to work at the awesome building that is the Jack E Brown building?

[aditi9989]

Hello

 

Can anyone help assess my GRE score??!!

 

Graduated from NIT Calicut
GPA: 7.89/10
GRE

Q 168
V 150

AW 3

 

Program Applying to

Texas A&M

Uni of Virginia

Uni of Southern California

Michigan State Uni