   college + options
  Hi,I'm graduating from high school and going to a private liberal arts college Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL. Now I want to be a professional games developer in the future or at least a software developer as a programmer in both cases.I also got admitted to Illinois Institute of Tech (with 12k aid) and McGill University in canada but both stretch my parent's funding too far whereas i'm getting almost full-tuition scholarship from IWU.Being an international student, I couldn't really visit or talk to the professors about the Computer Science program there but a person told me that the Computer Science program currently has a total 20 students. This has me worried about my potential career. I know I'll score a really high g.p.a and with doing internships over the summer in chicago will I be able to get a solid job as an applications programmer/games programmer???Here's my take on this: I do a double majors in Maths and Computer Science at IWU, complete me college while also learning and programming on my own. I already know C++ and know I'd like to learn DirectX and so on. This will get me a college degree and I should have an impressive portfolio ready (hopefully).ORShould I attend a uni like McGill(in Montreal) where my parents will be too stretched financially to pay for me and leaving no money for grad school.ORshould I transfer out of IWU as soon as possible.That's another thing I wanted to ask: Is doing a Masters Degree in Computer Science really advisable if you want to be a games programmer? And I imagine I'll get into a top class grad school ( because grad schools generally offer more aid and TA's as well :D)   
Quote:Original post by dhulliHi,I'm graduating from high school and going to a private liberal arts college Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL. Now I want to be a professional games developer in the future or at least a software developer as a programmer in both cases.I also got admitted to Illinois Institute of Tech (with 12k aid) and McGill University in canada but both stretch my parent's funding too far whereas i'm getting almost full-tuition scholarship from IWU.Being an international student, I couldn't really visit or talk to the professors about the Computer Science program there but a person told me that the Computer Science program currently has a total 20 students. This has me worried about my potential career. I know I'll score a really high g.p.a and with doing internships over the summer in chicago will I be able to get a solid job as an applications programmer/games programmer???Here's my take on this: I do a double majors in Maths and Computer Science at IWU, complete me college while also learning and programming on my own. I already know C++ and know I'd like to learn DirectX and so on. This will get me a college degree and I should have an impressive portfolio ready (hopefully).ORShould I attend a uni like McGill(in Montreal) where my parents will be too stretched financially to pay for me and leaving no money for grad school.ORshould I transfer out of IWU as soon as possible.That's another thing I wanted to ask: Is doing a Masters Degree in Computer Science really advisable if you want to be a games programmer? And I imagine I'll get into a top class grad school ( because grad schools generally offer more aid and TA's as well :D)Grad school isn't needed to be a game programmer.  From what I know, McGill is a good school, and montreal has become a hub of game development with Ubisoft Montreal making a lot of great games.   ;  you know what, omit the mcgill option, I doubt i can afford it at all.   ;  This is why student loans were invented.  Just to give you a rough estimate, I finished my bachelors with around $55,000 in student loans. Supplement your parents contributions with student loans in your name, and you can goto whatever school you want.~JSlice   ;  yeah for those of you lucky enough to be born in the US. I'm an international student from a third world country. They don't give us student loans. -_-;Quote:Original post by dhulliwill I be able to get a solid job as an applications programmer/games programmer???Nobody can foretell the future. Get the best schooling you can afford, then work to build a great portfolio.How to make a decision? Make a decision grid. http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson25.htm