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Question for a Chemistry Professional

HoopsTournament

HoopsTournament

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My son is thinking about majoring in Chemistry in college. Right now he is down to four schools:

Nebraska-Omaha
Missouri S&T
Missouri Western
UMKC

My wife thinks he should go to Missouri S&T because she thinks that it would look better on a resume. His current #1 is Nebraska-Omaha. If you were hiring someone out of college, would Missouri S&T vs. Nebraska-Omaha (or the other two schools) make a difference to you on a resume. What are the other things that you would look for on a resume?

P.S. He did visit Iowa State, but thought it was too big. (Before anyone asks.)
 
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LutherBlue

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Oct 19, 2006
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For a future meth cook, they will look at work experience far more than academic background (or so I've seen on TV). So focus on experiential learning -- internships, externships, may be a co-op stint.
 
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danelson4

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Apr 12, 2006
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HoopsTournament said:
My son is thinking about majoring in Chemistry in college. Right now he is down to four schools:

Nebraska-Omaha
Missouri S&T
Missouri Western
UMKC

My wife thinks he should go to Missouri S&T because she thinks that it would look better on a resume. His current #1 is Nebraska-Omaha. If you were hiring someone out of college, would Missouri S&T vs. Nebraska-Omaha (or the other two schools) make a difference to you on a resume. What are the other things that you would look for on a resume?

P.S. He did visit Iowa State, but thought it was too big. (Before anyone asks.)
Click to expand...
 
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danelson4

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Apr 12, 2006
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Hired several chemists during my tenure with 3M, and was more impressed with grades and Internship experience. Undergrad institution less of a factor if prospective employee goes to grad school (which I would highly recommend). ISU grad school is excellent for Chemistry, and it is a smaller group of people to interact with at that level. I had a great experience in the MS program.
 
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dcxme1183

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HoopsTournament said:
... P.S. He did visit Iowa State, but thought it was too big. (Before anyone asks.)
Click to expand...

Too big for what? For personalized attention? 'Cause you can get that easily at a school twice the size of ISU; it's just on you to seek it out. ISU consistently ranks as a top 50 school for chemistry, FWIW.
 
isu_oak

isu_oak

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LutherBlue said:
For a future meth cook, they will look at work experience far more than academic background (or so I've seen on TV). So focus on experiential learning -- internships, externships, may be a co-op stint.
Click to expand...
What this guy said (minus the meth thing). It doesn't really matter on the academic pedigree as long as the grades, experience, and references check out. The longer they are out of school, the less the school matters. Encourage him to actively seek out lab experience his freshman year wherever he ends up.
 
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HoopsTournament

HoopsTournament

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dcxme1183 said:
Too big for what? For personalized attention? 'Cause you can get that easily at a school twice the size of ISU; it's just on you to seek it out. ISU consistently ranks as a top 50 school for chemistry, FWIW.
Click to expand...

No, campus is too big. Too many students. He doesn't want to go to a school that big. Just not for some kids. Not for me to push him if he doesn't want to go to ISU.
 
F5cy

F5cy

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May 1, 2011
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HoopsTournament said:
No, campus is too big. Too many students. He doesn't want to go to a school that big. Just not for some kids. Not for me to push him if he doesn't want to go to ISU.
Click to expand...

Does he intend to live on campus? Since you're in St. Joe, I imagine Missouri Western would be the easy local choice.. Rolla seems to have a very high rep for their science programs, but heavily populated by males (might help keep him more focused...) but I don't recall UNO as having a ton of on campus housing. Plus, it's smack dab in the middle of Omaha, so definitely the most urban setting of all of them.

I realize I'm probably not telling you anything you don't know already, but just a few observations coming from someone who visited many of those colleges and who lived in both KC and Omaha.
 
HoopsTournament

HoopsTournament

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F5cy said:
Does he intend to live on campus? Since you're in St. Joe, I imagine Missouri Western would be the easy local choice.. Rolla seems to have a very high rep for their science programs, but heavily populated by males (might help keep him more focused...) but I don't recall UNO as having a ton of on campus housing. Plus, it's smack dab in the middle of Omaha, so definitely the most urban setting of all of them.

I realize I'm probably not telling you anything you don't know already, but just a few observations coming from someone who visited many of those colleges and who lived in both KC and Omaha.
Click to expand...

All that has been taken into consideration. UNO has on-campus housing. Everything is apartment style. It is limited, so he is planning to apply for housing immediately after being accepted. If he goes to Missouri Western, he would probably live at home at least his freshman year.

I think that UNO is a top choice for several reasons. He has told us that Rolla is in the middle of nowhere and nothing to do while Omaha would have a lot more to do. I think my wife would rather him be in Rolla because of this too, but I don't think he will be happy and would probably want to transfer after one semester if he was there. He also is considering Physics and Missouri Western only has a minor in Physics, so that is a consideration.

UMKC is on his list because he qualifies for a full ride so he is going to apply for it to see if he can get it, but it is #4 on his list right now.
 
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