Again, thanks to jcleppe, goaliedad, and others - you are all a wealth of information and I really, really appreciate it. I promise I'm not being lazy - I have been searching the forums and utilizing Google, but nothing quite compares to having a single source lay it all out.
When you are talking about a limit to the number of credit hours, do you mean that the number of classes one can take per semester is limited? I know Chicago is on the quarter system - would that affect this? I will have some AP credit there, although they limit it to 6 (I think) so I'd have a little flexibility in my schedule (theoretically. I could be completely wrong since I have no idea what I'm talking about)
I think someone mentioned in a post that it sounds as if I'm leaning towards Chicago. They're correct: I am, when I weigh my options purely academically and yeah, maybe I liked the city of Chicago more than the city of Burlington. but I love mountains (big hiker/skier/backpacker) so I've basically decided that they're equal in terms of location. On one hand, I want to believe that I could make it work at Chicago because I'd like to think that I'm just that determined. At the same time, I'm afraid of being overconfident in my own dedication. There are always going to be days when I just don't want to get out of bed in the morning, and it would be so much easier for me to quit at Chicago. Going to UVM would basically eliminate the option of failure (after the first year, right? Otherwise I owe lots and lots of money). On the other hand...sticking with it for four years at Chicago would feel pretty great to me personally, and I wouldn't worry about feeling as if I compromised my education. On the other other hand...UVM is still a very good school and one where I would have more of a chance to stand out in a good way. I'm not saying that because I want to sound full of myself so I hope it didn't come across that way. I'm just thinking that, academically, Chicago is such a strong school that a lot of my peers would be much smarter than I am. I love that kind of atmosphere in a classroom and I find that I do better when I'm really challenged because I hate being last or even just average. I want to know that I worked my butt off to do my best even if I don't end up being in the top 5%. At Vermont, I'm worried I wouldn't push myself. A lot of these issues are things that I'm just gonna have to figure out & deal with so sorry for the rambling. I guess I'm just thinking out loud via my keyboard.
End ramble.
My end goal is to commission as a second lieutenant. ROTC is one path. Officer Candidate School is another, according to the goarmy website. I was looking at this thread:
http://www.nationalguard.com/forums/showthread.php/1354-National-Guard-Army-ROTC-Scholarships
My cousin joined the National Guard after his college graduation and proceeded to serve in Afghanistan. The Guard seems to have a lot more flexibility which might be a better option for me if I do end up deciding that I want to attend Chicago. I am in no way trying to imply that the UVM scholarship isn't an amazing opportunity, I just want to be informed of all my options before I make a decision because this really is the most important decision of my life. I know this is an internet forum so I just want to make sure no one misinterprets my intentions. Anyway, how competitive is the candidate school? Would it be possible for me to enlist, train with the Natl. Guard while in college and then apply to be an officer? I realize that the OCS (is that the correct use of the acronym? I haven't gotten them quite figured out yet) is much, much shorter of a training period than ROTC but obviously it is doable or it wouldn't be an option..or at least I hope so.
I read on another thread that one can delay basic training for up to a year after enlistment. If I enlisted this summer, I could do training the summer after my freshman year of college?
If I went to a recruiter, would he/she be able to help me work through all these possibilities? I hate to keep bothering you folks with what probably seems to be an overload of inane questions.
Again, I really appreciate your help so far.