Chemical Engineering Applicants - 2017 Entry

Bath is really good for Chemical Engineering but it's not Russel Group so its probably not that competitive.

It might be, they have relatively high entry requirements. I'm not applying there as its not Russell group, I know that its really good for Chemical Engineering but I don't want to be a Chemical Engineer when I'm older.

Yeah, I agree but in terms of Chemistry, I only found out in the summer that its not very Chemistry-based so I had to change my reasoning for wanting to do chem eng a little bit!

Ah, the classic russell-group nazi. Often found lurking in the depths of TSR. I am well aware that university prestige matters, but there isn't a magical cut-off line around the unis in the russell group. Do you think employers rate the university of Glasgow (in the RG) higher than Bath?

Yes, but I want to be an Investment Banker and so doing Chemical Engineering at UCL over Bath (Bath i better for Chem eng) means that, although I'll be a worse Chemical Engineer, I'll have a better chance of going into IB than you, if thats what you decided to do?

Yes I completely understand your reasoning. However that reputation UCL has isn't due to it being in the Russell group, it's because it's part of the 6 target universities for graduate employers.

Yes but Bath is a semi-target so there's not much difference, I just think going to a Russell Group university will give me better options further down my career in terms of studying for an MBA or something like that.

The university teaching the MBA will not care where you did your undergrad. At all.

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Yeah, I agree but in terms of Chemistry, I only found out in the summer that its not very Chemistry-based so I had to change my reasoning for wanting to do chem eng a little bit!

Well in terms of future job prospects it might, if you want to be a Chemical Engineer then Bath is a no-brainer but I want to be an Investment Banker and although Bath's career prospects are good, going to a Russell group university would be better, if that makes sense?

If you have no intention of being a chemical engineer, why are you planning on studying the subject? Your chances of being an investment banker would be equally as good studying a business/finance degree at the universities you've listed, and your workload will be considerably less so you can actually enjoy university life too. Also, the blurred line between Russell Group and non-Russell Group has changed significantly in recent years, Bath is a far more employable university than the vast majority of the Russell Group at the minute.

The subject definitely is chemistry-based, it's just that the subject expands beyond what people perceive chemistry to be at A-Level. For example, thermodynamics draws upon a lot of the chemistry you learn at A-Level but ties it together with Biology, Physics, Maths. Separation processes use organic chemistry and physical chemistry and exploit the properties to achieve the design objective you're aiming for.

Have you heard of Bath Business school...? If you go to a business school and you also went there for undergrad then you get a discount...

I would love to study Chemical Engineering as a subject but I don't like the idea of becoming an Engineer, its hard to explain my reasoning on a forum. I also just think that studying a finance/business degree and then going into finance is just a bit boring and investment banks aren't too bothered about the degree choice as long as you can take the skills that you learnt from the degree and show that they are transferable. I know that Bath is very employable, but I have said my reasons for not wanting to apply to Bath, which are more long-term.

Ah ok, I've just been told that its not as Chemistry- heavy as the name suggests and that Physics and Maths are more prevalent in chem eng. May I ask what university you study/studied at?

Have you heard of Bath Business school...? If you go to a business school and you also went there for undergrad then you get a discount...

That's ok, but you need to think is it worth making a lot of extra effort to study engineering to not consider the prospect of being an engineer? If you think it's a boring route doing investment finance straight from business, then I would be skeptical of your motivations to get into the industry. Furthermore, by committing to a career in finance from the start, you may struggle to have your eye on the ball in getting through the degree, it's a huge mental and physical challenge due to the size of projects and number of pieces of coursework.

I understand you have your reasons for not wanting to apply to Bath, but from somebody who rejected offers from Bath and Strathclyde for similar reasons to you, I will say I definitely regret it. I went to Leeds Uni. in the end.

Also there are so many flaws with this statement. Given the price of MBA's nowadays very few people self-fund and the option of taking one lies with employers, who will put you through an MBA at their choice of business school irrespective of your undergrad school offering discounts. My dad attended a polytechnic and got an MBA from Warwick.

Aside from all that, the trend of taking an MBA for success is quickly diluting because of the large numbers of wealthy internationals and home students who are taking them without the pre-requisite management backgrounds, and by the time you are 10 years deep in your career in 15 years time who knows what the corporate structural landscape will look like. So I think you're being a little short-sighted in your imagination of stepping off the uni gravy-train alongside the thousands of other graduates and waltzing up the corporate ladder like it's a case of simply following the 'dummies guide to career success'.

That's not really the point The point is going to a "less good" undergrad university will not disadvantage you from applying to any MBA school. Any business school will be more than happy to take your money

II'm sure that Business school's do care about where you got your degree from because obviously there's a difference from getting a 1st at Essex Uni then a 2:1 from Oxford.

Its not a matter of "less good", Bath is better than UCL for Chem Eng, so thats not really a factor anyway. It would just be easier to go to a Russell Group uni because since the graduates are more employable, that means that the skills they learn from their degree are more transferable, meaning that I would not be disadvantaged when applying for a job in respect to other candidates anywhere in the world, and I'm sure that Business school's do care about where you got your degree from because obviously there's a difference from getting a 1st at Essex Uni then a 2:1 from Oxford.

What skills do Russell Group universities teach you that non-Russell Groups don't? Given that the Russell Group encompasses a wide range of universities that are all essentially autonomous in how they run and organise their courses, how is that assertion even logical?

Well usually, Russell Group universities have better links to industry so project work can actually be undertaken to a professional level as well as placements. I know there are exceptions but this is the case in general. They are all run differently but they are mainly all pioneers of research and are proven to provide better graduates to society.

Well usually, Russell Group universities have better links to industry so project work can actually be undertaken to a professional level as well as placements. I know there are exceptions but this is the case in general. They are all run differently but they are mainly all pioneers of research and are proven to provide better graduates to society.