Chemical engineering? Good choice. I have a brother-in-law who went into that. Not only did he quickly pay off his loans, but he is now the VP of an oil company. Seeing his success, his youngest sister also went into the field, and now makes excellent money as a startup engineer for power plants. (She works on the SO2-removal systems.)
I was already set in a good paying job before I started college, and never expected to make a living from English Lit. Other than teaching, I’m not sure what one would do with it. (Just before graduating, I was offered a teaching post at a Catholic girl’s high school, which I’m sure is not nearly as much fun as it sounds. Nor would it have paid nearly as much as I was earning at the time.)
BTW, my college was also an all-women school, which had just gone co-ed. There were just two males in the entire 300 student body. I’d advise any young man to consider going to an all-women’s college!