CompuServe Messages

Michael, Wow. I wish I'd been as prepared and focused when I was finishing HS. You're bound to get some good response from the letter you sent. Of course the colleges may sell you short on what they can offer, and the companies may not choose to take the time to answer. I would certainly visit all of the colleges that you're thinking about attending. As to which dept., it seems like you're still unsure. Here's my simple-minded opinion… Choose an undergraduate program with ties to a well developed graduate school. You may not find an institution that lets freshmen and sophomores on their $500,000 SGI's. Not when their funding is coming from outside the university. So what do you study? It sounds like you have creative needs so pick something like Film, Photography, Art, Architecture. Most likely, you won't be just a computer graphic artist. You'll have a niche or specialty. My architectural education from Texas A&M (whoop!) has made Architectural 3D Visualization much easier. Since my real love was always computers (like yours) I ate/drank/slept computers. The alternative would be majoring in Computer Sciences, and taking elective courses with artistic benefits. Let's face it, you may not learn much about beautiful images from a bunch of "chip-heads", but most of the good animators (excluding myself), know how to push their systems. I'm new to 3D Studio, and as far as being a technical genius, forget it. I'm sure you'll do fine. Good Luck, Darrin Sabin Phoenix, AZ