I'm asking for advice for you guys out there who have gone through this process already.

I'm a Senior in high school right now, and I'm looking to go to college after I graduate this Summer. Since I was little my dream has always been to be a video game designer with my own company. Video game design doesn't really require (to my knowlegde) a specific type of degree. So I'm planning on majoring in Computer Science, and maybe a minor in business.

I've applied to about four colleges so far. (I live in Ohio, all of them are in-state). Miami University, Ohio University, Bowling Green State University, and Wright State University. My girlfriend has also applied to all of these colleges but Wright State. We both like them all very well and decided it would be nice if we could end up going together. Anyway, the problem is, I'm the first person in my family to actually apply to a four-year university. So no one in my family has been able to guide me or help me with this in any way, because they don't know anything about it. Up unil half a year ago, I didn't even know what an ACT or SAT was!

My girlfriend on the other hand grew up with her parents constantly pushing her towards college and pressuring her on her education. She knows a lot more about it in general than I do, so she's been very helpful in guiding me along. I'm just worried that things aren't going to work out so well and we won't be able to go to school together, and that will pretty much be it for us, which is heart-breaking because we've been together for about 4 years. When I first started high school I always had it in the back of my mind that I would go to college, but I never really acted on it. In fact, I had HORRIBLE grades. I went to a $5000 a year private high school. My parents withdrew me, deciding it was a waste of money, and sent me to a public school. My class rank after I withdrew was 55 out of 55.

After I went to a new school things gradually got better as I gained more maturity and took school more seriously. I finished my Junior year with a 2.9 GPA for the semester, and a cumulative of 2.0; not huge, but it was the proudest moment of my life. It was only this past summer that I started taking action to get into college. My problem now is that I don't meet some reccomendations for college admission. For example, most places require 2 years of foreign language. I hadn't taken ANY, just because I didn't know I needed it. So I signed up for Latin I this year, meaning I'll only have one year of foreign language. I also don't have an impressive Math background. I have a year of "Integrated Math" which is like prealgebra or general mathematics, a year of Algebra I, and have a year of Geometry. Most colleges reccomend Algebra I, II, and Geometry.

I could go on but this post is too long already. I'm just scared out of my mind right now that I'm just not good enough to get into the places I have my heart set on, even though I'm working hard as I can. My family always told me you can do anything as long as you put your mind to it. But I think I put my mind to it far too late.

So what do you guys think? What do you reccommend I should I do? Tell me about your own experiences with application. My high school never required anyone take foreign language at all, so I don't think it's fair to me that I could miss out on college just because I didn't know how things work.

Wow, well what exactly do you need help with? First of all, the internet is a helpful tool. Go to the website of the university that you would like to attend. I suppose you can check the necessary GPA, SAT scores, and other things that it looks for in prospective students. If it turns out that they won't accept you right away, then enroll into a two year community college, and take courses that transfer over. That is what I am doing, and I'll probably be studying pharmacology. When you go to community college, make sure you do as well as you can. Also, could you elaborate a little more on what exactly you would like to know?

Speaking of game design, whatever happened to Lysander, the creator of "A Blurred Line"? Didn't he show some company his games and their success then instantly he worked for them? I don't know the whole story, hopefully someone can fill me in!

If you want to learn to do game design your best bet is Canada, i'm serious. We have a university over here with actual courses specifically for game design, any graphic designs actually. It's also a country right next door, but thats only if you can afford it.

Thanks for all the input, guys. It's been helpful.

I've applied to 7 colleges so far. To each admissions office, I sent a letter which includes my college admission essay, a small record of my activities and job during high school, and an additional letter that talks about my academic record. I explained to them about my lack of foreign language credits, talking about the fact I am the first in my family to go to college, and that my high school never required any foreign language to graduate. My admissions essay consisted of what I want to do in college and beyond, why I believe I'm ready for college, and about my personal developments since I first entered high school as an immature kid.

Now I'm having all my transcripts sent off and sitting here with my fingers crossed.

I admit, a lot of the places I've applied to and actions I've taken are because of my girlfriend, just so we can be together. Yeah yeah, it's stupid. But I figure I really don't have much to lose by trying to stay with her, because there's nothing I could really miss out on. All the places she likes, I like just as well; they all have great computer science programs. Her and I recently had a long talk about it, and I told her it may end up that we can't be together because of my mistakes. She doesn't want to admit that I'm right, though.

Hopefully though, I'll get into at LEAST one of the 7 colleges I've applied to.