Need advice on schools

[Zarkes]

I want to get a BA in Computer Science and hopefully get a career the games industry. I can go to a tier 1 University here in my state and get it or what I really want to do is go to DigiPen institute of Technology in Washington State. It's more expensive and also the degree I earn their is specific to gaming only. If I could not find a job in the industry my degree wouldn't be worth anything in any other field if I went to DigiPen.

Should I take the smarter, safer choice and go to school at the University and get a degree that is applicable in many fields or follow my dreams and move back to Wash and get a focused education in the field I want to be in?

 

[Walker]

I want to get a BA in Computer Science and hopefully get a career the games industry. I can go to a tier 1 University here in my state and get it or what I really want to do is go to DigiPen institute of Technology in Washington State. It's more expensive and also the degree I earn their is specific to gaming only. If I could not find a job in the industry my degree wouldn't be worth anything in any other field if I went to DigiPen.

Should I take the smarter, safer choice and go to school at the University and get a degree that is applicable in many fields or follow my dreams and move back to Wash and get a focused education in the field I want to be in?

I recently seriously considered paying $10,000 for a 10-week program of study in intel analysis that would have also netted me a TS/SCI. I decided "hell no" because there's easier and less shady ways to do that.

I've always hesitated to trust places like Full Sail and such that do these extremely specialized programs on a for-profit (?) basis. Seems you could do the same thing at your local state school or whatever. And sometimes cheaper.

 

[Zarkes]

I recently seriously considered paying $10,000 for a 10-week program of study in intel analysis that would have also netted me a TS/SCI. I decided "hell no" because there's easier and less shady ways to do that.

I've always hesitated to trust places like Full Sail and such that do these extremely specialized programs on a for-profit (?) basis. Seems you could do the same thing at your local state school or whatever. And sometimes cheaper.

It would look terrible to an employer if they see you were in any accelerated programs. I hear Full Sail is not looked very highly upon by employers, apparently unimpressive. DigiPen is ranked third in the country for undergraduate game design programs. Graduates have worked on half life, Halo 3, Red Dead Redemption, and Portal came from DigiPen graduates. Going to state would be much less cheaper than in Instituition of Technology but Institutes get you making 60,000 a year minimally. For the gaming field you really need quite a nice portfolio aswell as your degree so a specialized course would really help me in that way atleast.

 

[Walker]

My suggestion would be to attend one of your more prestigious state schools. University of Maryland, College Park, would be my example, just because I'm most familiar with them. They might not have a game design program, but the degree itself is going to be the best value for your money you can find, and the academic program's going to be top-notch.

But to be completely honest? My experience has lead me to believe that your degree matters less than your experience. If you want to succeed, especially in something like game design, you're going to need some kind of really slick portfolio and find internships in the industry (if those exist.) If you don't have experience and connections, your degree doesn't mean jack ****.

The caveat here is that some schools are better at connecting you with industries and people than others.

So long as you don't do something stupid, of course, like major in English.

And also I hear that if you're from Jersey all your state schools suck, so you can look forward to bankrupting yourself out-of-state after Princeton rejects you.

 

[Zarkes]

My suggestion would be to attend one of your more prestigious state schools. University of Maryland, College Park, would be my example, just because I'm most familiar with them. They might not have a game design program, but the degree itself is going to be the best value for your money you can find, and the academic program's going to be top-notch.

But to be completely honest? My experience has lead me to believe that your degree matters less than your experience. If you want to succeed, especially in something like game design, you're going to need some kind of really slick portfolio and find internships in the industry (if those exist.) If you don't have experience and connections, your degree doesn't mean jack s***.

The caveat here is that some schools are better at connecting you with industries and people than others.

So long as you don't do something stupid, of course, like major in English.

And also I hear that if you're from Jersey all your state schools suck, so you can look forward to bankrupting yourself out-of-state after Princeton rejects you.

Yeah I think I'll just get my AA at CC, then transfer to the University, Microsoft does internships out here.

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

I have no idea.

But wow. DigiPen has a university? All I know is it was the first game design program to use 3D objects and polygons (Diddy Kong Racing 64) rather than 2D images rendered in a 3D environment a la Mario Kart 64.

It's possible I'm remembering this wrong. I do know DigiPen was used to make Diddy Kong Racing, though.

 

[Zarkes]

I have no idea.

But wow. DigiPen has a university? All I know is it was the first game design program to use 3D objects and polygons (Diddy Kong Racing 64) rather than 2D images rendered in a 3D environment a la Mario Kart 64.

It's possible I'm remembering this wrong. I do know DigiPen was used to make Diddy Kong Racing, though.

I don't know the relation, it was in Institute started in '90 in Vancouver and opened another campus in Washington.

 

[Walker]

• DigiPen Institute of Technology was founded in 1988 by Claude Comair in Vancouver, B.C., Canada[2] as DigiPen Corporation, a computer simulation and animation company.

• In 1990, DigiPen began offering a 3D animation program and began collaborating with Nintendo of America to create a post-secondary program for video game programming. With Nintendo's support, DigiPen Applied Computer Graphics School accepted its first class of video game programming students in 1994.

• In May 1996 the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board granted DigiPen the ability to award Associate and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Real-Time Interactive Simulation(R.T.I.S) and Associate of Applied Arts Degrees in 3D Computer Animation. This made DigiPen the first university in the world dedicated to computer and video game development.

• The school relocated to Redmond, Washington, U.S. in January 1998.

• The school offered its first Associate of Applied Arts in 3D Computer Animation degrees in 1999.

• In 2000, DigiPen awarded the first class of R.T.I.S. graduates. The R.T.I.S. program, renowned for the highly skilled game programmers that the intensive program creates, proceeded to be DigiPen's flagship program.

• The school added the Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Production Animation and Master of Science in Computer Science programs in 2004.

• In 2008, the BS.c in Game Design and BF.a in Game Design programs were added.

• A branch campus in Singapore started in 2008 and another in 2010 in Bilbao (Spain)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DigiPen_Institute_of_Technology#History

Their Wikipedia page is shady as **** and grammatically questionable, by the way. Sounds like a stoned and drunk GA wrote it.