[ricki]

A coons age ago, I started Engineering and Biology at USF for a couple of years and finished in Biology and Ocean Engineering at FAU. It was a while back and a lot has changed, then again some things have changed little I suspect.

OE and ChE are highly divergent fields on the surface. What attracts you to each field if I may ask? What (and where) would you like to do upon graduation, go for an MS or into the work force? These are fairly important questions, and lots may not have great answers, early on. Still, maybe you do so it is worth asking.

I grew up on Ft. Lauderdale beach and on the reefs offshore. Being obsessed with reef diving and the SE environment was a poor mix with USF when I was there. Was fairly miserable but hung in for two years. Had a favorable sea change upon returning to Ft. Lauderdale and FAU. Wind sports are less dependent on bottom communities and viz by far. Kiting can be pursued in each venue to varying degrees throughout the year.

USF is a much larger university than FAU with about 46 k vs. 26 k students. Then again, OE is fairly unique and notably linked to FAU going back to the mid '60's. If your heart is set upon OE, then FAU is perhaps the best choice in state, even in the SE. For ChE, you've got me but it wouldn't surprise me if USF had a good standing in that discipline. You should know that even though they call it OE, in fact it can be more of a generalist engineering ciriculum. There is a broad spread of civil, structural, materials, acoustics, corrosion, electrical and other areas of engineering that can be blended in. The ocean part at times is secondary, dealing largely with traditional terrestrial aspects of fundamental engineering doctrine. When I went through, it was a demanding program and provided an excellent basis for work in many areas of engineering, not just ocean aspects. You should also know that finding work in the field of OE in Florida can be challenging, strange but true. Lots of us went on land in time to practice in other areas of engineering. I've interviewed and hired both OE's and ChE's over the years for various reasons and applicant strengths. In the end in large measure, it depends, back to you.