[Sophia7X]

I am a high school student who will be attending college next fall. I was recently accepted to the college of engineering @ Cornell (marked my major as chemical engineering); but I'm considering doing a double major in chemistry and chem E. As just a chem E major, I would be missing out on advanced organic/inorganic and also analytical chemistry courses that chem majors take.

Does anyone know how much additional work it is to double major in both chem and chem E, and will it be worth it?

[Arkcon]

Double majors, of the sort you pick out yourself, can be very difficult.  Definitely talk with your academic adviser as soon as possible about what the work load is going to be.  If the Chemistry program at the university offers a double major, then they've put some work into a practical lesson plan, so that's better if that's the case.

Only you can be a judge of you ability to handle an extra workload.  And thermostatically theoretically, any additional knowledge is a useful distinguishing characteristic for you and your future.  However, the analytical courses seems, to me, almost diametrically opposed to the topics of Chemical Engineering.  I'm not saying that a chemical engineer never runs an analysis, just that getting deep into analytical theory seems not to be advancing your own chemical engineering knowledge.

*[EDIT] fix auto corrected word

[Sophia7X]

Yes you are right, but ah I can't skip out on those classes (purely for knowledge reasons, not necessarily profession-related). And I can't go with just chemistry because I would be missing out on the advanced thermo/physics/math that chemical engineers do, and I would like to have that knowledge as well. So I'm hoping a double major won't be death because I really cannot decide between the two...

[UG]

I'm now into my third year doing a double major in Chemical/Materials Engineering and Chemistry. Originally I had planned on doing just a science degree in Chemistry purely because I was looking to get into post graduate work. I guess I got lured into engineering because that seems to be what people want to do these days. Lots of people say chemistry and chemical engineering are not the same, and it's true. Sure you will get the occasional thermodynamics paper which is really interesting but then you have stuff like reactor/process design or heat transfer which will be something new I'm sure. Don't get me wrong, now that I am doing engineering, I really love my courses and I have a nice balance of papers to keep me busy most of the time.
I guess I am lucky in a way because I can take advanced analytical and organic chemistry as my chemistry courses so I won't be missing out on any of that knowledge. In terms of workload, I am doing 2 extra papers/courses per year compared to a normal single degree. On occasions there have been timetable clashes and really awkward timetables which meant I ended up with huge gaps between my lectures. Really I do not think the work is an issue, if you are passionate about what you are studying which I'm sure you are, you will be fine. There will be times when you feel like you're drowning in work and all the assignments and reports and tests seem to be all due on the same day. I'm sure though, this feeling has probably been experienced by most people but with good time management and work ethic you will get things done, and before you know it, the semester will be flying past.

[eazye1334]

Depending on the courses you want to take and the setup at Cornelll, have you considered just a minor in chem or even just taking the few extra courses you're interested in?

Also, what is your end goal? Are you planning on continuing education or are you looking to go into the industry first? I ask because there is always a chance to get in with a company that is willing to foot the bill for going back to school, so maybe you could do the extra courses in that situation.

Just don't feel like you have to jam everything you ever want to do in a 4-year window. Trust me, you need to enjoy the time as well, not just do as much work as possible.