The Chemical Engineering program at UT is ranked 4th in the nation, and the faculty and administrators in the department are working hard now to make it number 1. As such, classes here are full of extremely bright, hardworking students. This is great because you're surrounded by fantastic peers, but it also makes for a competitive environment with little grade inflation. This is a tough department to be in. The faculty is top-notch and there's a research opportunity for anyone willing to look for one. The job placement program for the School of Engineering is also ranked among the top in the nation, so if you graduate with a degree in engineering from UT, you WILL get a job, usually in September of your Senior year. What I like most about the Chemical Engineering department is that the students here, despite their competitive edge, are really easy to get along with. Unlike several of the other engineering majors at UT, most of the Chemical Engineers are sociable and fun. They get together and go out on the weekends and working in groups is actually fun. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (the ChE club that nearly every student is a part of) hosts biweekly meetings with free food and corporate speakers, and has a social event at least once a semester. People get really involved with AIChE and we just won E-Week, I week-long competition between the biggest engineering clubs on campus that involves a ridiculously long list of scavenger hunt tasks (doing the harlem shake wearing burnt orange on the A&M campus, rick-rolling a class of freshmen, winning the "Mr. E-Week Pageant, decorating the rooms of the ChE building).
It's a lot of hard work, but it's a fun place to be and you'll like the people.