Hello! I have received many of my admissions decisions and am currently trying to narrow my options down. I have been struggling to decide because of how hard it is to know a schools culture from just videos and posts. Any help will be appreciated.
My goals: I’m going to college for computer science. After graduating I want to work in game design and eventually expand my own studio (I already have a registered business and a few games published but its just me and a friend right now). In college I want to learn more about programming and the game design process. In addition, I want to meet the people that will help me get into the industry and build my studio one day. Ideally I want a school with connections to the game design industry.
Less important things I want (consider these like tie breakers): I’ve never been someone to party and that probably won’t change while I’m at school. I lift a lot so I want a school with a nice gym. I did debate in high school so a good debate program would be nice. I’m also a skiier and always have random little projects building things. I would also prefer somewhere where I can have a car.
Cost:
For now consider cost as not too important. I will not qualify for any financial aid, and while my parents have not told me how much they will contribute, I am not too concerned about it right now. I want to get an idea of a ranking of which schools I want to go to the most first. Then I can sort the cost out later.
Info about me:
36 ACT
4.0 unweighted GPA
Valedictorian (1/50ish)
Presidential Scholar Candidate
National Merit Semi-Finalist
Eagle Scout
Varsity Football
FRC Robotics Team Captain
Business Owner
From small town Montana (which means I was pretty limited in extracurriculars and AP classes)
Schools left:
MIT - Waitlisted (I doubt I will get in as I was rejected from other much less selective schools)
University of Michigan - Accepted, waitlisted for computer science program
Purdue - Accepted
University of Utah - Accepted, WUE premier scholarship
University of Virginia - Accepted (likely too expensive)
University of Wisconsin - Accepted
Montana State University - Accepted (probably full ride with MUS scholarship)
I am not really considereing MSU even though I probably have a full ride. I am currently leaning towards University of Utah because of its game design program and cost. However, I honestly do not know much and would appreciate any help in making a decision. Thank you for your time!
You say cost not an issue per se but then UVA is too much ahd Utah is a great rep and cost. So it does matter.
Are you seeking a game program or CS major with a goal to end in game design ?
It seems to me the valid alternative to Utah would be Purdue. Great cost. Very different environment.
Are you able to visit ? Given you’ll be somewhere four years, it’d be smart to visit. SLC is a big city surrounded by outdoor adventure. Purdue is small city - and flat.
How do the curriculums look ? For Purdue game development, it’s in the Polytechnic school. Vs CS.
Cost is definitely a consideration but I do want to slightly separate from it and narrow down where I would like to go.
I want a CS major for sure and ideally somewhere with a Game Design minor.
I was able to visit both. I really like both campuses. Salt Lake is a city I have spent some time in and enjoy. West Lafayette reminds me a lot of the area I am from (minus the mountains).
Purdue does not have a game design minor that I am aware, so I would be stuck in CS. (unless I double majored I think)
Looking at course requirements I liked the variety of the CS with EAE (game design minor) path at Utah.
My son had strong stats like you, and ended up at Cal Poly (BS/MS ME 2019). He didn’t decide until two days before the deadline. Utah was one of his final three schools because there’s a LOT to like there.
It plays like a smaller school because only about 10,000 live on campus for four years. The dorms are amazing. Outdoor activities are unparalleled. Student support of sports is crazy. They’ll have more attendance at a dual gymnastics meet than my SEC Alma Mater has at men’s BB games.
Sounds like Utah checks all the boxes. Excellent CS and game design, with a CS: Entertainment Arts & Engineering track that strikes a good balance between a straight CS degree and an overly-specialized game design major. Unmatched access to great skiing. Great financial deal. Strong debate team too. Are there downsides to UofU, in your view? It seems to fit everything you are looking for - hard to see why you’d pay a lot more for one of the others.
That is a pretty fair analysis. I am just unsure if the culture there is what I am looking for. They do have the best price and check all the boxes. Housing is a concern but I am hoping to get into Lassonde.
What are your assumptions about the culture? You’re not going to offend anyone here if the LDS influence is a concern, or if that’s something that excites you. As for dorms, they’re all very good. Most of them were built for the Olympics. The honors dorm is like a Marriott hotel, because it was built by the Marriott family. Know though that honors will extend your curriculum if you bring in a lot of AP/DE credits.
Yes my D18 was at Utah (OOS from CA) and loved it. She was a high stats (4.0/35 ACT) student and had a great group of talented friends in her cohort (she was an Eccles scholar). She loved the outdoor lifestyle, skiing, climbing, backpacking etc and stayed every summer with her friends. It was relatively straightforward to double major (she actually did both a BFA and a BS Hons) and still maintain a high GPA. Many of her friends stayed in SLC after graduation as it’s a great place to live with a vibrant economy. She would certainly move back if there was an opportunity.
Do you only have WUE or did you get one of the other scholarships that will save money if you get residency?
Dorms I was concerned about availability. As for culture, I want a school that will help with my interests. Any larger school like that I will probably be fine. I just do not want to get stuck in a school that makes drinking and partying too much of a focus. From other people, I have talked to the LDS influence has never really bothered me.
The dorms are nice (you have to register by the deadline in March even if you haven’t decided yet), but most people have to move off campus after freshman year, though there are some spots for honors college students. There are plenty of nice new apartments in the city and the commute on Trax is easy enough.
Utah is not a party school (campus is officially dry and enforcement at liquor stores is relatively strict) although there is a lot of spirit around the football team. Greek life is not a big thing. Apart from when there’s a football game, campus empties out at weekends because a lot of people go to the mountains. My D did lots of weekend trips, there are national parks in every direction and a lot of people bring cars.
That’s good to know. I think this thread has been telling me Utah is my best option so far and that seems to make the most sense. Being able to bring a car would be nice. I don’t think any other school on that list would allow me to get parking.
Bringing a car freshman year is the best way to make friends at the U, especially if it’s 4WD so you can get to the ski slopes (Ikon is the best ski pass for SLC). D came home at fall break in freshman year to drive her car back to Utah. Driving 3-4 hours to Grand Teton, Bryce, Moab, etc for the weekend is very typical, they would even go to Mammoth (8 hours) for skiing. They would also go to the hot springs 90 minutes away for an afternoon if they couldn’t get away for the weekend.
