Our son has narrowed his choices down to the above schools and we are trying to finalize our decision. He has visited RIT twice, and loves it. We went to MSU for the DAS competition and were not impressed with the professors we interacted with (they came off as condescending and told him how hard the math was for the GD program when he has already completed all but one, if not all, the required math courses). However, we’ve spoken by phone to folks in the GD program and were more favorably inclined. We are visiting this week to meet with them in-person. We will also visit Utah.
Here are what we see at the pros and cons of each:
MSU
Pros:
Best financial package—choosing MSU would leave us with money to pay for a MS
Would accept all of his AP credits so he would enter as a sophomore
PA award means he would get to do research with a professor or work in the GD studio his first year
Cons:
It’s a huge school, which it not a great fit for him.
The school culture overall is not at all a geek culture. Not sure about GD.
Fewer opportunities for internships/coop/job placement.
RIT
Pros:
Professors are clearly very smart, hard-working, quirky, and fun at the same time
COOP program (finding a job is more daunting to my kid than anything else; his interview is likely why he didn’t get offered the DAS at MSU).
Great job opportunities
Geek culture
Cons
Utah
Pros
Highest ranked of the three
One of the best in terms of professors with industry experience
Cost is less than RIT
Good internship and job opportunities, but less structure than RIT for placement
Skiing-- He doesn’t care about a college town, per se, but he does love to ski
Cons
Not sure about the culture, but certainly less of a geek culture than RIT
Further away from home (MD) than we would like
We would love any insight folks might have!