<p>Hi, I'm currently a junior in high school beginning to think about colleges I'd like to apply for next year. I am very interested in chemistry and pyrotechnics and my goal is to get a four year degree in chemistry and a license in pyrotechnics, and to base my career around pyrotechnics (which is apprenticeship-based and not degree based). So pretty much I just want to go to college because I'd like to learn more about a subject I enjoy a lot and I'm sure the things I learn would greatly complement my career later in life. Because of this, things like prestige and such are not important at all to me.</p>
<p>Here's some stuff about me:</p>
<p>Scores:</p>
<p>GPA - Unweighted 3.3/3.4, weighted about 4.2/4.3
ACT - 36, didn't take SAT and don't plan on it unless I have to.</p>
<p>Jobs and Sports:</p>
<p>I have held a part-time job for all four years of high school, as well as several separate part-time summer jobs. I haven't done any sports.</p>
<p>School and Community Service:</p>
<p>I have some community service hours but not many, probably less than 20. As I've said I've been working all four years of high school and I'm not really the academic prep type, so my extracurriculars are abysmal and I'm aware of that :) I'm a member of a few school clubs like Amnesty International, Spanish Club, yadda yadda but I'm unsure if those are significant at all.</p>
<p>I would prefer (ok ok, my parents would prefer) the school be in the midwest (I live near Chicago), but it doesn't matter a whole lot. Anybody have suggestions?</p>
<p>write to John Conkling, Chemistry Dept, c/o Washington College, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown MD 21620</p>
<p>or write to the American Pyrotechnics Assoc.
American Pyrotechnics Association
P.O. Box 30438 * Bethesda, MD 20824
Phone: (301) 907-8181 * Fax (301) 907-9148</p>
<p>If you're going purely for the love of learning, a smaller school will allow you a more hands-on experience, collaboration with professors, etc. </p>
<p>Try schools like Middlebury, Amherst, Brandeis, Denison, etc. Or on the note of universities, maybe Northwestern or Emory? Case Western, perhaps?</p>
<p>Or then again, the other side of the arguement is that if you're just going for learning, rather than prestige or job opportunities, perhaps it would be smartest to save the money and just go to UIUC. </p>
<p>It really depends on how you see it. If you're someone who thinks that knowledge is worth all the money in the world, more expensive, intimate environments might be the way to go. If you seek knowlegde, but don't feel that it's worth breaking the bank, staying in state might be the way to go.</p>
<p>Large schools: Agree with UCBChemgrad, the big 10 offer lots of strength especially Wisconsin, UIUC, and Minnesota. Michigan and Purdue are quite solid well.</p>
<p>Mid-sized schools: Northwestern is a top national draw with lots of support from strong related engineering sections. UChicago is fairly strong as well, hold the engineering.</p>
<p>Small schools: Carleton turns out proportionately more chem. PhDs than almost anyone in the country and is nationally known for this strength. Grinnell and Oberlin also offer strong, though smaller, programs.</p>