My S19 is very much interested in a CS degree, with an emphasis on game design. He will do well on SAT/ACT and his GPA and rigor will be fine, but will have a lack of EC. Realistically he is not getting into CMU, MIT, UT, and possibly not even into RPI, Northeastern, GA tech, RIT, WPI. Maybe Va tech . What other eastern US schools would be good. ? does it even matter than where he gets his degree. Thinking UAH.
I know this is far in advance, but going through this process with D17 this year (different degree), starting to think realistically for S19
I don’t know much about the reputation of the program, but George Mason University (DC suburbs) offers a CS degree with game design emphasis, a BFA in video game design, and houses the Virginia Serious Gaming Institute. Might be worth a look.
I think that UT Dallas has a game design program. Not as well known as UT Austin but still a very strong CS dept - and they offer a lot of merit aid based on grades & test scores.
I had S look at the george mason program yesterday. He was not impressed with the “game” they put out there; had to explain they would not put their best work out in public. Will still keep in on the list.
I visited George Mason with S1 and it seemed like a great public school to me.
Note that most large public colleges do not emphasize EC nor essays and focus on the grades.
You also save a great deal of $, so this sounds like your best bet.
Another private tech school to consider, Stevens Institute of Technology, they gave my son nice merit.
RPI has a top game design program, though you expressed some concern about getting in.
Note the game design major is more selective than the overall school, so your concern may be valid.
I see drexel on some of the lists. maybe look into that. I am not discounting RPI, but looking at how hard it is to get into so many schools, want to be sure that we have safety and target.
Champlain?
Look at public flagships not known for CS (ie.? not UMass Amherst) - CS/Game Design tends to be more competitive than the overall university by a good margin.
Game design is a rough industry - hard to get a job in, hard to get consistent work in, hard to get admitted to (and even then, some argue that the best in game design don’t go to school for it), and very oversaturated. Does your son know what he’s getting into? If he enjoys CS in general, that may be a better route.
he will major in CS (Bs vs BA), but would like to focus on game design right now. He is only 16 so maybe that will change. Just want to be realistic in where he applies, because like everyone else on CC, he will get the high SAT/ACT scores, will have a pretty good GPA and number of AP classes. Since that seems to be everyone, what gets the kids admitted into the better schools seems to be EC’s and the essays. Which I am afraid he wont have much of, and wont do a great job of. So being realistic here.
Hi @sdl0625 - my son will be graduating from UW-Stout Polytechnic University this May with a degree in CS-Game Design. He had the high GPA/ACT scores to get into a lot of places (and did), but absolutely fell in love with the campus, people, and what the department had to offer. I’m sure it is not even on your radar but Stout is ranked in the top 15 on the Princeton Review list that just came out. The school itself has an employment/continuing ed rate of 97.4% (85% of those employed were in their major field) and the Game Design department specifically has a 100% employment/continuing ed placement rate. In addition, Stout’s Game Design and Development-CS program was accredited by the ABET Computer Accreditation Commission. When accreditation was awarded, (2014) they were/are the only such program in the UW System and may have been the only one with similar accreditation in the country (this is from UW-Stout’s website, obviously may be outdated info at this point, but still nonetheless impressive). The 2016 Senior Capstone Game Design project just took 1st place in Best Visual Quality award at the Intel University Games, a national competition. They were only 1 of 11 schools chosen to compete in the US and Stout went up against RIT, USC, NYU & Utah to name a few.
My son has a job upon graduation with the firm at which he co-op’ed. Although it is not in the game field, it was his choice to take the offer because he liked the company, where it was located and the things he knew he could learn (of course the amazing pay and benefits were also very helpful. I have no doubt that if he had sent resumes to game design companies, he would absolutely been hired - he just chose not to go through that process at this time.
What I am really getting at is why UW-Stout is climbing the ranks and graduating such fantastic young minds…they listen and follow very closely to employers in the field. Much of it comes from their Polytechnic designation. It’s a mindset at the school and in every professor in the department. The GDD department is relatively young at Stout, but early on, they learned that GD employers what students to learn either CS or Art, but not both. They want them to be work ready as soon as they graduate and be on top of either programming or art. So their department really is either Computer Science or Fine Arts with a Game Design emphasis. So look for the best CS department you can find at the schools that really fit your son. Going to the name-brand school is not always required as I can personally attest. My son has gained way more from going to Stout than I could have imagined and I continue to be impressed by where the school is headed!
RIT isn’t hard to get into. Canadian schools just look at numbers. Consider Waterloo which is one of the largest computer science departments in North America. Toronto is also excellent.
What kinds of ECs does he have, and why don’t you think they are good enough for WPI or RPI?
Hi, @ILMom13579! Thank you for your post!! This is so good to hear. My son is a senior and was accepted to UW-Stout as well as RIT, MSU, IU, and DePaul for Game Design. He has chosen UW-Stout because it just felt right and loved the campus. Any tips/advice? We live in Illinois, too, (Chicago).
Hi @mamabear099 and congratulations to your son - he is going to LOVE Stout, I’m so glad my ramblings were helpful. My son visited Bradley, DePaul, UW-Whitewater & UW-Stout and applied/accepted to all except Whitewater (neither of us were thrilled with the campus!). We also live outside of Chicago so the 5-hour drive up there is not bad. I love the fact they are so close to Minneapolis, great for day trips off of campus as well as being a great job spot. Lots of MN & WI companies recruit at Stout because they know the kind of students they turn out.
Not too much advice other than make sure he gets involved in the game design orgs on campus and nationally. Take FULL advantage of the Fall and Spring Career Fairs. Their fall one is HUGE and where most of the internships/co-op/jobs are touted. Stout has a fantastic Career office and they do a great job of helping hook students up with employers and visa versa. He should for sure do at least one internship/co-op, 2 is better but not always possible. I actually think the program now requires a co-op so he should jump on that sooner rather than later.
Best of luck and feel free to ask me any other questions if you need assistance.
Few week ago I got offers for CS undergraduate degree from both Drexel and RIT. My intention is to study video game design.
Though Drexel fees are higher than RIT, both have offered scholarships but the final amount I have to pay in both cases are almost same. It would have to be quite an effort for me to pay these amounts even after the scholarship.
Can you suggest a best option for me to select (RIT or Drexel)? What are the possibilities of getting further aid in support of my study?
I have no doubt that if he had sent resumes to game design companies, he would absolutely been hired - he just chose not to go through that process at this time.