After you consider entrance requirements and cost, you should weigh the location of the school, course offerings in your field of interest, faculty, and facilities. You should also evaluate the size and type of the institution in terms of your own personality. Parents, teachers, and local scientists can be excellent counselors in helping you make the decision.
Inevitably some intelligent students who lack motivation fail to achieve top grades in high school. Science careers are open even to these students if they choose their colleges carefully. Sometimes small, less well-known colleges will admit them because the competition for entrance is not as great as it is in “name” colleges. Small schools should not be dismissed as “second rate.” They are usually staffed by fine teachers, and, even with limited laboratory facilities, such colleges still offer excellent training.
Scholarships and Other Financial Assistance
A number of fellowships, scholarships, grants, and awards are available to assist the aspiring scientist in his education.
This financial assistance is offered by colleges; local, state, and federal government agencies; industry; private foundations; and individuals.
Literally thousands of other educational assistance programs exist. A list of some publications that contain information on currently available assistance is printed in the back as a guide. Some of the publications are in most libraries; others must be ordered from the publisher. Since financial assistance programs are undergoing constant change and revision, no directory can be complete, but these books will give you an indication of the range of the programs.
Although it is common for a student to change his primary interest from one science to another during his college training, he should have in mind from the beginning the sort of broad career he wants and the amount of time that preparation will take.
For example, a bachelor’s degree in one of the physical or geological sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, geology, archaeology, agriculture, metallurgy, or mathematics usually requires four years. Some engineering programs require five. A medical student, on the other hand, sometimes takes only three years of college and then goes directly into medical school without a bachelor’s degree but with six to eight years of training still ahead of him.