Hi, I'm a senior in high school interested in becoming a game programmer (coding the engine, graphics etc). I am looking at colleges now and need some advice. I have the grades (4.0, 1560 SAT) to get into most colleges and have a shot at the Ivy League. So my question is, what would a company prefer: A Harvard graduate with decent grades in say CS, or an A student from a technical school such as WPI, RIT, RPI, Carnegie Mellon, or (in its own category) say MIT? Is the name and all around good education given at an Ivy League school more favorable to game companies than a really dedicated CS program at a technical school? This is my main question. Second, any suggestions for colleges? I don't want to go to a place like Digipen or Full Sail until after I graduate regular college. I would prefer one in New England or the Northeast. What places have the best CS undergraduate/graduate programs? I know a few have game design courses but many of the ones I've looked into seem kind of poor. I need a program with a hardcore computer graphics programming course. Is there any particular college that really stands out to game companies as renowned for its CS/gamedev curriculum? Anything with a lot of Linux education too? I would greatly appreciate any help, this is going to be a big decision for me. If you want to email me any info let me know. Thanks a bunch.

I've looked a lot at the recommendations of people who hire in the industry and not too many of them seem to care what school you go to. The reocurring answer is "it's what you do outside of class, we don't wanna see school projects." University however is a great experience, so I'd recommend that you go to the school that you want to and learn game programming at home. Most bachelors programs offer pretty lame courses for graphics compared to what you'll need to know. If you can afford to go somewhere like MIT, go because it'll make you a better individual. But I wouldn't rely on university to teach you game programming. Game programming is more of a life-style than an education.

Like aaroncox1234 said, your experience counts more than your school. What a good school offers you is more chances to gain experience in terms of contacts and resources. But, in the end it is still up to you and what you do on your own time. College teaches you how to think, not how to make games/web pages/what have you. I went to West Bumble U., and I did not have any trouble securing a programming job before I even graduated. Companies don't care where you went to school. They are going to have to train you anyway. At the end of the day, they just want to know that you have the ability to learn. A college degree is a good way to demonstrate that. They also want to make sure you have some level of knowledge in the area you would be working. A good demo takes care of that. It is that simple. College is not the rest of your life. Just pick one that you think you can tolerate for the next 4 years or so and get on with it.

MIT, Stanford, Purdue are all big name CS schools. If you have a shot at those (particularly MIT) go there since you don't want to hit up a trade school. I personally went to Digipen and am now working in the industry at a very successful company, but a regular college w/a CS program will be easier on the eyes of the recruiter.

The advantage of Digipen & Fullsail is that you're doing game code immediately instead of at the end of your education (or worse not at all), but the downside is that not all companies are taking these schools as seriously as established ones. You'll be given a coding test no matter where you go, so if you have the skills you should get it regardless of what school you choose.

That's my advice, take it or leave it, no worries ; )

-J

First, get the best education you can afford.
Second, keep your options open. It isn't easy to get a job in the video game industry. If you limit your education to video games and you can't get a job making video games, then you'll have to get a job making fast food.

Thanks guys I appreciate it. I have wanted to make games since I first played NES when I was six and still hold that dream at 17. I have learned programming and DirectX/OpenGL, and I guess the best thing to do would be to shoot for Ivy League/a good all around school to keep my options open while learning gamedev on the side and working on a demo. Thanks for the help, and I still welcome any input.
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Yes I think that you are on the right track. I would also suggest staying away from "game schools" until after your undergrad degree. I hear people all the time say what does learning about operating systems, binary search trees, algorithm analysis, etc. have to do with programming games? Well, if you can't anwser that you have no business making a video game. I think that with a pure CS degree you gain a better understanding of how computers, os's, compliers, etc work, which makes you a better programmer overall. And game programming is just another kind of programming, not "harder" but generally (but certianlly not always) more complicated. Also, you should think about grad school. You can work on your gradute thesis as a side project while you are in school and then boom, you are half way there when the time comes! Also, try to get hooked up in the department you choose, becuase you never know when you will need a favor and also independant studies are a great way to get credit for something (like hobby game programming) That you would do anyway!

Good Luck!

The best advice I can add, besides what other people have said, is to go to the college that is right for YOU. Don't shoot for Ivy League if you don't really want to be subjected to work, work, and more work for the majority of the next 4 years of your life. I've been solicited by many top colleges myself (though I don't have your grades), but I do not want to attend any of them. I would rather go to a place that can not only educate me, but provide an overall enjoyable and meaningful experience. Just something to keep in mind.

My experience has been that once you get a few years experience, your education fades into the background, and unless you maintain a healthy list of contacts, even your experience won't make any difference. I have a BS in Computer Engineering and 8 years of experience as a software developer, and I've spent the last year on unemployment, followed by 5 months working at Target for 7.35/hr.
Now I don't have an unemployment check or a job. My degree isn't worth the paper it's printed on, and don't even get me started on offshoring. If you want any kind of job as a software developer 5 years from now, you should seriously consider moving to India (no joke...)

Not much to add about what's been said above, except that personally i'd choose MIT (if I could afford it ;) ) since I like the structure how the SE/CS degrees are constructed. But it is also true that world experience can fast forwards your knowledge tremendously. Everything really depends on how much effort YOU put in, not in what is asked of you on a school-level.

Quote: Original post by pook
If you want any kind of job as a software developer 5 years from now, you should seriously consider moving to India (no joke...)

I doubt jobs will consistently disapear that fast but it is true that asia boasts an incredible workforce (quite scary when China itself can determine inflation on a world-scale)... but one bad thing about indian devs is they're really not keen on testing their software, at least not yet.

Regards,