Quick pick, LA Tech. Having spent 14 years in higher education, I've got a little advice. Think hard about what you are really interested in and find a program that do just that. Are you really interested in creating art or computer code? If it's art, look at art schools that have computer works built in. If it's computers, look for computer science programs with good graphics work. Some things pay better than others, but you won't be happy if you don't like what you are doing.
You can't figure it out in advance but you can narrow it down to a specific program. Check out the student catalogs and read their course descriptions and program requirements. You can eliminate programs that way. The catalog, by the way, is your contract with the school. They have to honor those requirements for as long as you are there. A fried of mine got hooked into Mechanical Engineering at LSU by, of all the silly things, the mini baja project. He ended up grooving on thermo and now does heat calcs for Lockheed Martin. He actually read the catalog in advance and liked everything he saw. What he actually got into came later, in graduate school and on the job. When you figure out what you want, base your choice on school quality and forget the rest of it. LA Tech is a good and respected school. Georgia Tech it better but don't overlook LSU which might not be as good as LA Tech for computer science but has a great school of arts. Don't worry about physical comfort, it only lasts four years and you will be happy to have slimmed down your needs when it comes time to move to your dream job and build a life. Better schools have places you can hang out and get your work done. Even LSU had places to hide (school club offices, and the physics building). The tech field is competitive and unless your are some kind of genius you won't have much time to play or visit home while school is in session. If you have a good chance at getting into a good school but have missed application deadlines, consider skipping a year to apply. Even if you can't get into the best school, reading their catalogs will give you an idea of what good schools teach. The devil is in the details though. My little brother's courses at GA Tech kicked LSU's ass because everything, including the math, was part of the engineering school and specialized for his discipline. Going to the school and looking at the text books in the book store can help you there. Asking this list for opinions of what schools are good was a good idea. For engineering, LA Tech might have an edge on LSU right now, and surely beats the rest of your list. You can have an interesting career regardless of where you go, but you should go for the best you can get. The quarter system makes it easier to take co-op jobs, travel and even visit home. Schools like GA Tech have great co-op opportunities and that's important. You get experience, money to pay for things and time off to cool your brain. Do take jobs when school is not in session. Only take campus jobs and not even those if you can avoid them while school is in session. The web thinks highly of MIT (you know, the people who made X in 1993 =;) and others: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22computer+science%22+ Some people think they know which programs are good: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22computer+science%22++rank I'm sure you have already looked at these, but here they are anyway: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/ http://www.latech.edu/tech/engr/cs/ The best advice I can give is the advice I gave my wife. Work your ass off your first year. You can "come alive" anytime but earlier is better. The reputation you earn with your teachers will help you out about as much as the things you actually learn. They are more willing to help people who show effort. This is especially true in arts programs. Her high school record was anything but impressive, but she made herself an A student at LSU and stayed that way. If you don't make those good grades, it will be very difficult to get a co-op job. Don't worry if in 14 years you still can't spell. On 2003.04.13 21:36 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hello, > > We (myself, my Mom, and my dad) went to LA Tech (in Ruston, Louisiana) > yesterday, (for their open house thing) and after talking to my dad, I think > that he is going to let me take 3d animation, as long as I minor in something > that deals with computers (don't know what though). That is fine with me > since that is what I was originally planning to do. > > Now I have to decide where I want to go. LA Tech has one teacher that > teaches a 3d animation class, and University of Lafayette has a 3d animation > courses. Does any one know about Southeaster? LA Tech is 5 hours away, so I > probably will be going to University of Lafayette since It is only an hour > away, and Southeastern is also an hour away. I can't decide though sincethey > all seem the same to me. Also, I need to have the ability to have a single > room since I require a lot of workspace. > > Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? >
