My S thinks he wants to do a game design major (not art-based). He was admitted to Bradley so far, which sounds great. Also applied to following schools with game design programs, but hasn’t heard back yet: Champlain, Rochester Inst. Tech, Marist, Rensselaer, Univ. of Washington, Stevens Inst. of Tech.) *
I am somewhat concerned that if for some reason the school doesn’t work out and he needs to TRANSFER, that the very specific game design courses won’t transfer to another school and he will have wasted those precious credits/$$. Any input? My older S spent a year at a LAC and only 9 of his 18 credits transferred to our local state school, even though they were general courses. In particular they didn’t take his first year seminar course, which ALL of the schools are doing now. Has anyone has problems transferring these first year seminar credits?
*As a Georgia resident he could also apply to Georgia State Univ. and Kennesaw State Univ., which also have gaming programs but he wants to get away from home. Will gladly hear any input on game design programs.
First I’ll point out he won’t get any aid at UW so I hope you’re prepared to be full pay. Second, it’s very possible that he would not get credit for any specific game design classes (while he probably would for general comp sci).
You already know the scam they pull with transfer students. Nothing you can really do about it. It is the risk you take when you transfer out.
Can he not transfer to another game school? I would think that is the best hope.
If he is switching majors, then all is lost usually. That is why kids have so much pressure at 17 or 18 years old to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. College is just too expensive to find yourself. Do that at a CC if your not sure.
With CS-based majors (including computer game design), the frosh/soph CS courses are often organized differently at different schools, so transfer students may still have to “catch up” on CS courses after transfer. This is less of an issue when the frosh/soph courses are more standardized like in math, psychology, economics, etc…
This would be specific to the school he is transferring into and how much room is in their requirements. This is always a risk in transferring. Game Design is one of those fields where you need to spread it out over 4 years so you do end up taking some gen ed electives in your junior and senior years regardless of where you go. It just needs time and the curriculum builds on itself in this way, so you can have a foundation in place within the major and use it to build a great portfolio by the time you’re a junior or senior. So yes, unless the school you pick to transfer into is very generous with their requirements, some classes won’t transfer and he may end up needing more general classes to become a sophomore or junior at the new school.
I’m very surprised your other son’s gen ed classes from the LAC didn’t transfer. Did he get less than a C in them?
Good question @redpoodles, however, the local CC actually accepted two courses with D’s: German and Stagecraft. They DIDN’T accept two semesters of first year seminar (which was an EXCELLENT course) where he received B+ because “they don’t offer that course”, even though they require their own first year seminar.
Sometimes, a school may accept transfer courses for credit units of general electives, but not subject credit if it decides that it has no equivalent course.
I know the Champlain College Game Design program does not accept transfer students and would guess most of them don’t except in the “Business of Game Design” track. It might be hard to transfer into another game design program. If the major isn’t changing, best to buckle down, stay put, and build a strong network. My son is in Interactive Media/Game Art and it’s actually very challenging compared to what I expected for him. He found his beginning Game Design courses to be focused a lot on the psychology of it. He switched to Art after he learned the difference and is now focusing on 3D Modeling etc. MIT has a free course on EdEx or Coursera called “Intro to Game Design.” Anyone thinking about this field should sit through it. Do you like the exercises they ask you to do?
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-game-design-mitx-11-126x-0?utm_source=OCW&utm_medium=CHP&utm_campaign=OCW Here is the course I was referencing. Don’t be intimidated by MIT. It isn’t difficult to understand, but it will open your mind as to what Game Design is actually about, and how hard it is to make a good game! I sat through half of it myself (and I didn’t have the patience to do any of the exercises). I’m sure others are out there–Level Design, etc.
@redpoodles Thank you so much - I’ll have my S try this course. Is your S at Champlain?
@cougheedog, as an OOS applicant, your son would be considered for a Purple and Gold Scholarship at UW ($4,000 to $9,000 per year for four years) among other forms of financial aid, such as grants, loans and work-study opportunities.
https://www.washington.edu/financialaid/types-of-aid/scholarships/undergraduate-scholarships/
https://www.washington.edu/financialaid/types-of-aid/