The time is coming for me to make my decision about where I want to go to college (May 1 deadline, eek!) and unsurprisingly the decision is proving to be quite difficult. Before I make my choice, I'd like to get some input from people who know the industry better than me/my parents (who, In the field of music, think this issue is pretty important), so my question is this: how much of an impact does the pedigree of a college have when it comes to getting hired (Both within the games industry, and within the software industry as a whole)? I'm choosing between a school that's ranked top 10 in computer science (UW Seattle) - and appears to have quite a reputation among big name companies (microsoft, google, amazon, etc.), and UC Boulder, a school that I like better and seems to have a pretty decent program (It's so hard to judge…) but doesn't really have that same 'reputation'. It's almost certain I'll be coming out of school in debt, will I be shooting myself in the foot, and regret my decision if I don't go to the highly reputable school, am I an idiot for even considering to not go there? TLDR: How much will my future job prospects be affected by the name of the college on my degree? [Edited by - Riraito on April 20, 2010 10:40:40 PM]

Quote: Original post by Riraito
1. how much of an impact does the pedigree of a college have when it comes to getting hired
2. will I be shooting myself in the foot, and regret my decision
3. am I an idiot for even considering to not go there?
4. TLDR: How much will
5. my future job prospects be affected by the name of the college on my degree?

1. Very little. You ought to read the FAQs -- you still have 9 days or so.
2. Unlikely. But no decision is ever perfect.
3. No, stop calling yourself an idiot before you start believing it or something.
4. Nobody can foretell the future for you.
5. None. You really ought to read the FAQs.

And read:
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson25.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/m70.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/m71.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson40.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson47.htm
You have time to read those.