My D23 has the opportunity to interview someone who just recently graduated from the exact major she wants at a school she is seriously considering. What are the best questions she should ask? We have quite a list so far about academics, job prospects, and college life (specific to that campus/major), but I’m sure the CC community can suggest some questions we haven’t thought of, and this may be a helpful thread for others who get a similar opportunity in the future. Thanks in advance for all your insightful suggestions!
If your D is interested in study abroad opportunities, I would ask how that could fit within the major. How competitive are internship opportunities and how much support is offered either by alumni or career services? As the parent of a student who second guesses her choice of school on a weekly basis, I would ask what things about their experience would they change and why.
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Will she be able to get the classes she needs when she needs them? Any strategies for that?
What is the vibe in her major? Do people in the major hang out together? At my college with my major, that wasn’t really the case and I wish is was.
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I like the advice to ask ‘what is one thing you would change’ or ‘what is something you wish someone would have told you before you made your decision’, something like that. Or even what turned out to be different than the graduate was expecting.
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Depending on the field she may ask if there are opportunities to do research with professors.
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Oh, those are great! We did not have any of those on the list! Thank you!!!
Would you repeat your four years again ir choose another school?
Ask about professors…do they care about teaching or research.
Outcomes …overall career services.
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Honestly I would want to know why the picked the school and did it live up to that expectation. Also just day to day stuff since your child has to do 4 years there.
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Internship opportunities, career opportunities, which employers offer on campus interviews, social life, & food/dining quality & options.
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These were all very, very helpful. We did have some on our list already, but a bunch of them we did not. She didn’t ask the student all of them, so I’m going to encourage her to follow up in an email with a few that she missed that I think are pretty important. In case you’re wondering about the answers we got, both good and not so good, here’s a little summary:
The good: He loved the program and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. The vibe among the kids in his major was really positive. As a group, he felt they really clicked and they did hang out together a lot. He didn’t have a someone he considered his mentor or do any research on the side, but all of his professors were very helpful, available, and ecouraging (so it sounds like they cared more about teaching than research/projects). The school has a coop program and two stints are required for the major, which is great. He enjoyed both of his coop periods and was hired right out of school by one of the companies. He still works for them today, four years later. He did not have any issues with getting the classes he needed. We asked about male/female ratio for the major, because women are often outnumbered and we’d like to know HOW outnumbered she’d be; he didn’t know for certain, but it sounds like it wasn’t worse than 3:1. (This is better than another school, where the ratio is 20:1.) It sounds like most kids are employed pretty quickly after graduation.
The not-so-good: I am a little sketchy about how much help she’ll get with coop placement and employment assistance (it sounded more DIY than I was hoping; will do more research). Yes, he is employed by one of his coop companies – but not exactly in the field he majored in. (This definitely requires a follow up: WHY is he not employed there? It could be that the coop company offered him more money than a job in the industry he was aiming for, but it could also be that he couldn’t get a job in the industry he was aiming for. That makes a huge difference.) He didn’t join the special-interest housing (related to the major) that she thinks she’d like, so we hope to speak to another student about their experience. She’s highly introverted and struggles a bit socially, but it looks/sounds like the kids in her major and in that housing group are her kind of people.
What we missed: What would you do differently, what would you change, what do you wish someone had told you. I would have asked those, but it sounds like they prioritized other questions. (I did not go on the trip; just my hubby and D23.) More about the career services would have been good, but I don’t she and my hubby are as concerned about future employment as I am. She also didn’t ask why he picked that school, but we are pretty sure it’s because his dad is a professor there and tuiton was waived or very low. I had put “What other schools did you look at for this major” on the list, but she didn’t ask.
What we skipped: Study abroad. We know the school has a great program, but my daughter has traveled a lot (14 countries currently and will add a couple more before heading off to college), so she isn’t as excited about SA programs. I’ve tried pointing out that living and going to school in another country is different from visiting for two weeks to a month, but she’s just not very interested. I am really hoping that will change.
Again, thank you all for such great suggestions. They were very helplful.
Just curious - which school are you talking about? I’m assuming it’s engineering or comp sci? Many companies have programs and the way it is today, there’s a lot of self applying.
That said, many students don’t take advantage of connections schools have - and perhaps this student didn’t. So if you really like the school, I’d encourage you to look at their placement report or call the school and talk to a career counselor and get data.
Ask how the experience changed over the four years. It’s easy to think that it’s going to be one thing. But many students will tell you that they had 4 very different years. It could help your D frame her expectations.
I’d also ask about the social experience. Where did this person make the connections that she most values? Dorms? Classroom? Greek life? Clubs? That can often be a bit telling about a school.
Thanks. Yes, comp sci, but with video game design. The school is RIT. Seems like there are even fewer women on the tech/programming side of GD than in regular comp sci - they all seem to be in the art/animation/music side of GD. She wants to work her way up to level designer. (Dream job would be a level designer working on another version of Monument Valley).
We would prefer a Comp Sci major with GD, but it looks like the closest RIT gets is a BS in GD with a minor in CS. My concern is employabililty if the BS is more GD than CS. The former student she met today was in a comp sci job in a non-GD company, which I take as a good sign that the degree still has usefulness outside of the GD industry. That said, it was disappointing to find out he wasn’t in GD. Of course it really depends on why. We will be following up with the school/department to find out what percentage of the BS in GD with CS minors actually end up in the GD industry. If it’s low compared to other BS Comp Sci/GD programs, RIT might fall off the list even though she said she really liked it.
Did the school provide the student? Did you see the rankings (not that they matter) but to give you an idea of possibly good schools, RIT included?
I’m sure, in the end, if the student is ambitious, efficient, and puts forth effort, they’ll be successful.
in case this helps…there’s more info on RIT
Seeking feedback on Game Design Programs - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums
Well i don’t know how to delete - but - i see you are already reading that one.
Game design and related areas are a small part of the computing job market. It also has some characteristics that can be unpleasant as an employee (e.g. very hard deadline requiring cramming to get the game out by the deadline).
Anyone aiming at computer game design would be well served to include generalist upper level CS courses that are helpful in all areas of computing (including game design) as well as specialist courses focused on game design (AI, graphics, art, physics, …) and be prepared to look for jobs in the overall computing job market. Note that game jobs accept CS majors, but some non-game jobs may see a game design major as a signal that the person will leave for a game design job if one comes up.
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Thank you for sharing what she got out of the tour and interview! So great to hear he enjoyed the program and would do it again!
I just realized I should have put all that on the other thread! I should get more details tomorrow; will post on the other thread once I get the full report.
No problem! I got notification from this as well! Just glad to hear!
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