<p>My son is planning on majoring in Game Programming, but I have read conflicting reports, as far as job prospects are concerned, that Computer Science is what many Gaming companies are looking for. So his “second major” would be Computer Science which should have a large overlap with Game Programming. Have any of the gaming companies Champlain works with made reference to this preference of a C.S. degree? Also, although it is not required, would a portfolio along with the traditional application for the Game Programming major be accepted?</p>
<p>When are the best times to visit Champlain College? Are there specific times that are better to visit depending on the major? We were thinking of possibly visiting this summer while the Summer Game Academy was running, but didn’t know if it would be a good time or not. Otherwise, we would visit in the fall. Would it be possible to tour the Gaming Lab and speak with professors in the department? Thanks so very much for your help!</p>
<p>Wanted to pop on and wish all of you with Juniors luck with your search. I am happy to say that my son will be a Freshman at Champlain in the fall!! We are very excited and think it will be a great fit for him.</p>
<p>Nicole - thank you for all of you help in answering questons her on this board!</p>
<p>I also want to add that the my sons Admissions Counselor, Shawn McElwain, was just awesome! Out of the 8 schools that my son was accepted to, Champlain was the ONLY college in which his admissions counselor personally called to check in and see if we had questions. From the time we met Shawn at a college fair over a year ago, he has been incredibly responsive and helpful to us!!</p>
<p>Hi, I have a question about the application process. I applied for RD as an international student and am planning to take the Game Design program. I know there is a portfolio involved in application process and I have already uploaded it. Somehow, my mails are missent to a neighboring country and I had also received letters for another international applicant. I got a letter saying that I missed the deadline for the the college’s request for additional information because I did not respond to a previous letter and my file needs activation so that I can be considered as an applicant. Unfortunately, I did not receive any letters about any of this except the prospectus which are missent as well, is the additional information the portfolio? I’ve sent emails to the admissions department and got no reply, and I am getting really worried, what do I do? I really really want to go to Champlain, the Game Design program there is a dream! Help!</p>
<p>Hi student4ever, I’m sorry for my delay in getting back to you! It’s honestly hard to say what people in the industry would suggest - I am in Admissions, not a faculty member of that major or working in Career Services, so I"m not privy to those conversations often. I do know that our Game Programming major has a solid base in Computer Science, but does have more specific classes to the field, so I’d imagine they would be happy with either degree. If your son is hesitant to be so focused with his major, though, he could consider doing a major in Computer Science and a minor in Game Programming. I would encourage him to be in contact with his Admission Counselor regarding these types of questions - they can then put you in touch with faculty and staff would could answer those types of questions in more detail. We do not a require a portfolio for that major, but we would certainly not turn it down. An important detail to know is that both of those majors do require that the student has taken at least Pre-Calculus, if not a higher math - Calculus is preferred. </p>
<p>We are open for visits at any time, but I would encourage you to visit the school year, when students are present in higher quantities. Other good times to visit are during our Open Houses, which I can provide dates for if you’d like. We are open for visits all through the year, though, so we’re pretty flexible as far as time of year for your visit. You can visit during the Game Academy, but I can’t promise that our tours will be visiting that event - it is managed by one of our faculty members and isn’t something that Admissions is actively involved in. The fall would absolutely be a fine time to visit as well. We could try to get you through the Gaming Lab, but it would depend on how many others are part of your tour. If you’d like to make it a point to visit with faculty as well, you’ll definitely want to reach out to us well ahead of time to let us know when you’re thinking of visiting so that we can connect with faculty to determine their schedules and if they’re available to speak with you. As a small school, it’s not always easy to guarantee that they’ll be available when you are, so it takes a bit of time to coordinate!</p>
<p>I hope this helps answer your questions. Please let me know if you have any others I can assist you with, or you can contact your son’s Admission Counselor through email.</p>
<p>Hi Snowdog, yes, the typical courseload in a semester is five courses, or 15 credits. There are some 4 credit courses, but those usually are courses that include a lab. Some schools do it differently, I guess! :)</p>
<p>Sjlupin, I shared your very kind words with Shawn. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!! That’s what we strive for, so I’m glad to hear that you had such a great experience with him!!</p>
<p>Hi FairyKik, I would echo what vonlost said - your best bet is to be in contact with our International Admission Counselor. She can help advise you from here. You can email her - her name is Sarah Gibson, and her email address is <a href=“mailto:sgibson@champlain.edu”>sgibson@champlain.edu</a>. In that email, please include your name, date of birth, and home address. She will be in touch with you shortly after you send it and will help you try to figure out the status of your application as soon as possible so she can help! Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Oh, it’s not my son who is concerned, he is quite sure of what he wants! :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks, he is currently taking Pre-Calc and is registered for AP Calc for next semester.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks for that tidbit of information; I didn’t realize we had access to “his” Admissions Counselor. I checked the website and now know who the Admissions Counselor is for our area.</p>
<p>My DD has received a letter and nice Brochure and is interested in Champlain ( and the more I look the more I support her thoughts) In the letter it almost recommends an interview to find out more about the school. We are planning a college tour trip in New England this summer and I wanted to know if an interview would be a good idea this early in the decision process ( where to apply) so I can plan our trip.</p>
<p>She is enamored with the “Upside Down” curriculum but has some questions, as well as whether such a small school would allow her flexibility to study her interested Major ( Business Admin) concentration (Accounting) and also explore the field in which she would like to work ( Sustainability). Currently she is looking at schools strong in all these areas but I think that’s not as important. Would an interview allow her to get some answers such as these?</p>
<p>Hi Jssaab, I’m glad to hear that your daughter liked what she saw! We’d be happy to host you for a visit to our campus this summer. We do request that we wait to interview students until after they have applied - there are only a small amount of counselors on our team, so we try to make sure we are interviewing students who are serious in their interest in Champlain. Therefore, while we’d be happy to do an information session and tour during your visit, I wouldn’t recommend an interview at this time. We could always do a phone or Skype interview down the road; if we’re close to you, we could also do an interview on a return trip. We do some fall travel as well, so it’s a possibility that her admission counselor could do an interview with her during that travel time. </p>
<p>A visit could definitely help answer such questions as the one you asked about the different areas she is interested in. We do have some great options in all of those fields, and I do think we could find a way to support all of those academic areas in some way through her program. We’d be happy to chat more about it during your visit.</p>
<p>Please let me know if you have any further questions that I can help you with!</p>
<p>Hi Nicole, With May SAT results just in, could you kindly let me know if I am remembering correctly from our visit orientation session that Champlain does in fact look heavily upon the Writing component score (where most schools do not) due to the heavy writing involved in the Core program?
Thank you! You must truly be ready for some summer fun!</p>
<p>Hi tpcrd66,
You are remembering correctly! We look at all three scores from the SAT, but we definitely value the Writing component more heavily than most other institutions due to the focus on writing in our curriculum. Our average score last year was I believe around a 570, but we of course take all the pieces into consideration when reviewing applications!</p>
<p>Thank you, I am ready for summer fun! We work through the summer, but I’m definitely planning on taking some much-needed vacation time over the next few months! I hope you all enjoy the season as well!</p>
<p>Thank you again Nicole for getting back. I know you can’t speak specifics here but can I be hopeful that a quite a bit higher score could help with some merit? Our biggest fear of applying, unfortunately, is cost :(</p>
<p>Hi tpcdr66,
It could help, but it honestly depends on which major the student is applying for, and what the applicant pool looks like in that given year. Financial Aid bases their merit off of where the student falls in the applicant pool for the major they are applying for, so there’s no set number above which a student is guaranteed a certain amount. However, if your student has decent test scores and a good GPA, they should be at least at a reasonable spot in the applicant pool. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific with numbers! We look forward to working with you this fall.</p>
<p>Does Champlain superscore the various sections of the ACT? If taken twice, will Champlain take the best score for English and Reading from one test date and then Math and Science from the second test date?</p>
<p>Hi student4ever, we do superscore the ACT, so we will take the highest score from each area. We don’t recalculate the composite score; we take the highest composite from the different testing dates. This is the suggested model of ACT itself.</p>
We work through the summer, but I’m definitely planning on taking some much-needed vacation time over the next few months! I hope you all enjoy the season as well!</p>