Was just thinking... For next year, didn't you have to apply last September? That's what all the people at my school did.
nah you have till january 15th to have all your UCAS stuff done.. In my college we didnt even have access to apply to ucas (as you need your college / school buzzword) untill the end of october
Plus you more likely to get a job in a field you enjoy working than spending a good chunk of your life doing something you hate.
I agree with everyone saying to stay away from game design. You are probably better of doing Computer Science imo
I agree with this, everyone at school just spends all their lesson time on facebook etc if they have their netbooks out however I don't thnk you need to go that far to control yourself, it's a simple case of self restraint, I manage it fairly easily.
I prefer not to use Laptops in my lectures. I write down the notes, and then type them out on my computer so I can have the information pass through me again. But then, I'm doing Geography, not Computer Science.
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/ If your really interested in getting into 3d/games. Its expensive but to be honest the best thing you can do if you want to get into games. Decide on what you want to do early. Get to know the programs that you will need to use to do that. And the next bit i cant stress enough....Get a kickass portfolio. If you can show that you know how to program or use a 3d program, youll be ahead of the game.
Excellent thread with lots of good advice. The only advice I can give you is check out the Open University. You'll miss out on "the university experience" (read getting pissed and other similarly worthwhile pursuits), but you will have far less debt and fewer distractions (like having to live away from home) so you can actually get the most for your money and time. I'm studying IT and Computing with them and although I'm only in my first year, I'm loving it. One of the best things is the sheer mix of people in my tutor groups - I could probably learn as much from them as I do from my course. If you're serious about studying, definitely check out the OU.
Hey, I'm at Uni at the moment - In Derby studying Computer networks having an incredible time! Very good Uni for computing would suggest checking it out if you can. I work for part of the student marketing team, we kind of go to schools give presentations etc about courses. Have game design and modeling along with a good range of programming and IT degrees. Also do a DIY type degree where you choose a set of modules and go from there. So you could pick up some game design modules but also some other specific IT stuff. I thought I would throw in my 1p, didn't mean it to sound like an advert but kinda did...sorry Oh I got a HP touchsmart for Uni. Performs well word processing wise and the apps for my course, but then looks like a book when your writing so the lecturers don't get hissy about going on facebook!
I have been in a very similar situation while deciding what to apply to study at Uni next year. In the future I'd love to go and work for Nvidia or AMD doing Graphics Architecture work. Unfortunately there isn't a course for that. Last year (AS) I got Maths (A), Further Maths (A), Physics (A), Chemistry (D) (We'll ignore that one) and Decided to apply for Comp-Sci at Oxford, Imperial College, Bath, Royal Holloway & Reading. I got an Interview at Oxford a couple of weeks back (you get to live there for 3 days) which was great fun but unfortunately didn't manage to get a place (probably that damn Chemistry ) I have however got Offers from all the other Uni's I've applied to and of them really liked Imperial College. They treat Comp-Sci as an Engineering Subject rather than Just a Science so have more of a focus on High Performance Computing. Bath on the other hand have no Hardware focus. Something I only found out *after* I applied. Royal Holloway I didn't like because it felt like a big Sixth Form College and I haven't visited Reading. What I'm trying to say here anyway is you really need to research which Uni's you apply to because their course content is going to vary (often alot) I hope you find this somewhat useful and find a uni to do what you want to. * as far as laptops go I'm saving all my wages to try to buy one of These . Superlight and Portable, Powerful, 10.5hr Battery, Great Display, Nvidia GPU for doing some CUDA programming, The Works All the Uni's I've visited have said Mac's are a No-Go for Comp-Sci Students(Cos you'll be Dual Booting Linux/Windows most of the time) But Imperial College have Macs you can use and Borrow
This is definitely true for many careers, games design probably included (though I can't speak from experience). Aim as high as your grades will let you, as often it's not the course but the name above the door that can get you an interview. Plus, if you change your mind about your career half way through the course (which happens more than you would think) then you're still in a great position. Imperial's great but you might find the gender balance a bit disturbing, especially in Computing
Or the death profession. Both work. You'll always find work feeding, curing, shagging, killing, and burying people. If you mix them up together or do a really bad job of some of them, you can make much more money
just to add some info "computer sciences" has one of the worst employement rates after leaving uni within the first 12 months or something. its like 60% of people who do the course dont get a job.
actually, the best way (i think) is to go for the most well known faculty in the industry of your choice, so it should be: 1. what you are going to study 2. then what faculty is most well known in the industry 3. apply to that university. for example, ECS in Southampton Uni is the best known faculty in the electronics industry. if you wanted to do Electronics (such as learn about CPU architecture, device design, IC design and work for Intel/nVidia) going to Southampton uni is your best bet. disclaimer: graduates usually will promote their university. i graduated with MEng from Southampton Uni in Electronics.
honestly google around computers sciences is up there with media studies and creative arts. The degree doesnt mean anything its very general and no job requires it as professional qualifications and experience are much more preferred. people with computer sicence degree do not command a very high salary at least not in the uk. Having looked recently for jobs in the IT sector and graduate IT market most jobs want MS qualifications or/and several years of industrial experience. even graduate jobs that say "science related degree required" are only paying around £13-18K. IT just doesnt pay anymore unless your a web developer/designer.
