   Game Design Major problem, please help
  PLEASE reply with your thoughts and recommendations, as I could really use some help on this one.So I got accepted into my dream school, Champlain College. Problem is, I didn't get accepted into their Game Design major. It was very competitive (they can only accept 40 our of the hundreds of requests) and my application didn't cut it. Now, I don't know what to do. After talking to one of the counselors, my only chance of getting in is transferring after 1 year, but as a result, I have to stay at Champlain an extra year to make up for it (game design is 4 years long).Aside from game design, I'm also greatly interested in Psychology, and Professional Writing. The school also has 2 other game related majors called Game Programming and Art & Animation (which I would take as an alt. but I don't want to focus 4 years of programming or art when what I really want to do is design).One of the biggest reasons I want to take the game design course: The school has an internship program where during your senior year, you can go up to Montreal and work at one of the big companies (Ubisoft, EA). This would be a huge break for me in terms of gaining connections and a possible job right out of college. So, should I continue teaching myself Maya, Action script, and other essential design tools plus any community projects to build my own portfolio while majoring in one of the other 2 of my preferred interests? (in which case I can choose not to pursue the industry at any time with another choice of careers), or should I try at all means to get into the Game Design major in better chances of getting my foot in the door as something other than a tester?Thank you!   
  In short: I wouldn't base my decision on the possibility of a cool internship. It could perhaps be one of the reasons to choose for a game design course at a particular college. But there are many ways to network and to come in contact with possible employers, being good at what you do en being able to show that are among those things.Do what you like to do, pick the best school, while keeping a future career in mind. Don't base your choice on trivialities like one class, an internship or the quality of the coffee they serve; after all, it's about what you'll be doing in the next ten, twenty or more years.   ;  You don't seem to have mentioned what course you DID get accepted for?Personlly I think spending 4 years of your life on a Game Design course is a waste of time, unless you know employers will be interested in it. If you don't want to focus on programming,  maybe you could take a combined course in CompSci and Business/Psychology?   ;  Agreed!Even for games design, a solid programming foundation can be a HUGE help for a number of reasons:-- You'll have a fundamental knowledge of what it takes to realise a design concept at the implementation level- You'll have the skills & foundation to work on your own game designs outside of school, smaller projects through which you don't require assistance & can just get them done, fine tuned & tweaked to perfection.. This would be a really good way of showing a demonstratable knowledge of design theory rather than walking into an interview & saying "I spent 4 years at design scholl so I know how to deisgn a game" & expecting them to take your word for it..- You'll be able to work on things like mods for established engines like Source, UE 3.0 etc. which is also useful..I'm going to be honest, It's not easy to get a job in the industry as a designer straight out of uni & most companies won't even look at you unless you have taken the initiative to find some way you "prove" your worth. However programming skills are an incredibly valuable asset to any aspiring industry employee & i've known many a new recruit move directly into a games design role after landing a coding position at an established company in a matter of months. Also as far as professional qualifications go, a degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering is far more widely recognised & appreciated over an design degree you can find, regardless of the position you are applying for..I remember when I first decided I wanted to get into the games industry when I was about 12.. My sole purpose for this was to be able to make the games I wanted to play & as a result I decided to pick up programming as a career path since it offered the chance to have everything one would need with respect to skills and experience to begin creating games right off the bat without having to rely on anyone else. Sure as a professional i'm not yet in a position where I can get a team on board my own game ideas but at least I've had the priviledge of having several years of experience designing and coding my own stuff in my spare time, which is probably much more practical/real-world design experience than most fresh-out-of-uni games designers will ever have..Just think about it anyways..Good luck in whatever you do..   