Ask an Admission Counselor

<p>Hi crenhov, I would contact Skip Harris, our Assistant Director of Counseling and Accommodation Services: <a href=“mailto:sharris@champlain.edu”>sharris@champlain.edu</a>, (802) 651-5961</p>

<p>Thanks Nicole! I’ll check with his counselor if we don’t get the FA letters sometime next week.</p>

<p>We just signed up for the Accepted Student Event on 4/6. Can’t wait!</p>

<p>Son received acceptance and financial aid package today in the mail. Very grateful to receive $18,000 in scholarships, trustee and inspiration, in addition to federal grants. Unfortunately, we would still need to take out $25,000/yr in loans. With being a single parent of three to put to college, I can’t justify that much. Good luck to everyone else !! It is a wonderful school.</p>

<p>Looking to see some more exciting news here!!</p>

<p>Hi Nicole. Can you tell me if there is any Jewish life on campus?</p>

<p>Hi farrpost, we do have some Jewish students on campus! There is at least one religious club I know of on campus, but there may be more. However, I also know that the UVM Hillel is very welcoming to our students if they want to be a part of that larger community. They’re just up the road, so it’s an easy walk! I hope that helps!</p>

<p>Could you clarify a question I have on Early Decison application? I understand the November 15th application deadline and that you may only apply to one school for ED. Could you confirm if acceptance is a binding or are we able to wait until after FAFSA/financial aid process is complete which will not be until after Febuary?
We were very impressed with our visit!! Thank you!</p>

<p>From the ED agreement:

<a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/…_Agreement.pdf%5B/url%5D”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/…_Agreement.pdf</a></p>

<p>This means you decide to accept or decline the ED FA offer after you see it. Most schools give you a few weeks to decide. This is general, not specifically for Champlain.</p>

<p>Thank you vonlost. I was afraid if apply ED and then the financial aid isn’t enough we would still be commited. I believe that is the case for Early Action…which I don’t see as a Champlain option.</p>

<p>trcrd66, Here’s the definition of EA and ED: <a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000041.htm[/url][quote]”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000041.htm

</p>

<p>Do NOT apply to any school Early Decision unless you can afford to pay whatever they say you can afford. Early decision is a binding contract. Early action (which Champlain does not offer) is NOT binding.</p>

<p>ED is NOT a contract. Read the actual agreement at the link I supplied above. The Common Application ED agreement itself governs, not someone’s article or opinion (not mine either). If you have doubts, call Champlain and ask them what happens if their FA offer is insufficient to support attendance. Ask them how much it “costs” to decline their FA ED offer (it will be zero).</p>

<p>From College Board: [Early</a> Decision & Early Action](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/applications/early]Early”>Early Decision and Early Action – Counselors | College Board)

</p>

<p>Yes, you can get out of an ED decision, but it must be for an excellent reason. The big disadvantage is that you cannot compare other financial offers because once you are accepted to your ED school, you must withdraw other applications. I’m a huge Champlain supporter, and my son LOVES Champlain, but if you cannot pay full price, or nearly full price, I would think hard before applying ED here. Make sure you to the net price calculator to get the best guess price estimate. [Net</a> Price Calculator](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/netpricecalculator/]Net”>Net Price)</p>

<p>Thank you both for your help on this one. Since finances will unfortunately be key component on attendance (if accepted) we will certainly have to apply RD. We will plan to complete and submit application as early as possible hoping that will have some weight (and “show interest” even if not ED. We will also plan for a second visit in the fall and to meet with a admin counselor. Do you think that would be helpful?</p>

<p>kathiep…was you son able to work out spending the summer in Burlington?! Wish I could ;)</p>

<p>Yes, my son was able to get an internship in Montpelier. Career services at Champlain was very helpful and sent him weekly e-mails about potential jobs and internships in his field. He’ll be staying on campus in one of the cool houses at a reduced rate. We’ll miss him at home but excited that he got an internship in his field.</p>

<p>“Yes, you can get out of an ED decision, but it must be for an excellent reason.”</p>

<p>The common excellent reason is the family’s decision that the ED financial aid offer is insufficient to support attendance. But then there’s this (dated, but some things don’t change):</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/strategy.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/strategy.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Yes, do use the Net Price Calculator. If it’s way off, you may be wasting your application fee, be it ED or RD. But if Champlain is your by-far number one choice, the NPC says you can afford it, and you don’t care if another school would cost you less, I see no reason to avoid ED.</p>

<p>Kathiep, That’s wonderful! I’m sure you’ll be very happy to visit during the summer. When we make our next visit I will be sure to reach out! You’ve been very helpful.</p>

<p>Hi there, sorry I am a bit behind on this conversation!! Yes, our Early Decision deadlines are binding. We will provide an estimated financial aid package based off your tax information for the year your student is applying - so if he/she is applying for this year’s November 15th deadline, you’d be using your tax information from this year. If the financial aid package isn’t enough, before you break that bind, we just request that you do a Financial Aid appeal process first - this gives our committee a chance to see if there’s any additional financial aid we might be able to offer to make it more feasible. If we’re not able to help, however, then you can break that bind.</p>

<p>I hope that clarifies things! Please let me know if you have any further questions!</p>

<p>I have read that Champlain’s Game Development Department is fairly competitive. What exactly is meant by that? I did see that some of the Gaming majors require a portfolio, but I do not think the Game Programming major requires one. Please correct me if I am misinformed. Are there any additional admission’s requirements for this department?</p>

<p>I see the opportunity for minors exists. Is there also the possibility of a double major? </p>

<p>How hard is it to change majors, especially with the Upside-Down Curriculum?</p>

<p>Hi student4ever:),</p>

<p>Yes, it is a fairly competitive program. It is considered such for a few reasons. It was listed among the top gaming programs in the country due to our approach of creating the most team-like environment among the majors for all four years, in order to mirror the way that career field works - in gaming, you will always find yourself among a significantly large team with which you will need to work together well. Many well-regarding game design companies have pointed out the strength of our graduates due to this approach. Because of the team environment and also the technology we make sure to have available to our students, we keep our incoming class small - each major in that field (Game Design, Game Art & Animation, and Game Programming) is typically limited to either 40 or 50 students in each incoming class (varies by major), and so we are reviewing each applicant very carefully to make sure that each student is coming in with the skills and creativity necessary to find success in the field. A portfolio is required for our Game Design and Game Art & Animation majors, but you are correct that we do not require one for our Game Programming major. However, we do require that students coming into Game Programming have taken at LEAST Pre-Calculus, though we prefer to see Calculus or higher if possible. This major requires some high-level mathematics understanding, so it is important that you’ve taken math at at least the Pre-Calc level and have done well in it. We also look for students to have taken (and done well in) Physics, as this is a pretty significant portion of that major as well. </p>

<p>At this time, it is not possible to double-major. This is because the Upside-Down curriculum gets you into three classes in your major/minor/specialization in each semester, and we have a required Core for your other two courses in each semester, so there’s not really any space to take a second major. What were you thinking of studying alongside Game Programming? Depending on what you want to do, a specialization or minor could probably help prepare you for your plans.</p>

<p>It is not too difficult to change majors in the first year, depending on what you want to study; after the first year, it can be a little harder depending on what you’re switching out of and into, but our Registration Center will do whatever they can to make sure as many credits transfer over to your new major as they can. Your Core classes will transfer easily from one major to another, as they’re required for all majors (except Radiography, but that’s sort of its own entity anyways).</p>

<p>I hope this helps answer everything! Let me know if you have additional questions!</p>