All of those careers are just awesome. Genetics, Environmentology, Piloting, Programming, and tutoring...wow. Kudos to all of you!
I myself am merely a sophomore in high school, but I am dreaming big. I want to go into a career in aerospace engineering, and possibly become an astronaut, meaning I have my work cut out for me. Embry-Riddle and the Air Force Academy are really the only options for college that I have. Plus, I am already working on getting my Private Pilot's License, and i hope to be flying soon.
If your goal is to be a pilot, make sure that you get a degree not aviation related.
I cannot stress this enough. A lot of these places offer 'aviation management' degrees, and trust me, they are nearly useless. I know, I have one. Employers do not take it seriously outside of the flying world. Sure, airlines accept it (they don't care what your degree is in), but should you not be able to fly you don't want to have to go back to school, a reality I'm facing now. Make sure you get a degree in something else that interests you as a backup, in case of furlough, loss of medical, etc. Get something that will be useful and will be accepted and known.
As far as embry riddle vs. air force academy, do the academy by far. There is a stigma in the airline industry regarding riddle graduates. Academy graduates get the best options and positions, plus your flying is paid for. And if you want a chance of being an astronaut, the academy is a no brainer. More and more, the astronauts are not trained aviators, but rather Phd's in the science fields, who they then train to fly the missions. The mission commanders will still have a flying background though.
If your goal is aeronautical engineering, with just some flying on the side, well I know nothing of that world so good luck
If you ever have questions, feel free to PM me, I love to talk flying, despite what the industry has put me through. You probably already know of them, but I could direct you to some good flying/pro pilot message boards.
Just for fun, here's a link to some of my photos I've taken while on the job. I miss the flying part, it's been a couple months due to my medical leave. I've got tons more that I haven't uploaded.
http://www.pbase.com/bluemanor/fly&page=all