Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Software Engineers For Applications
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Moraine Valley Community College, College of DuPage, Northern Illinois, and University of Illinois.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Chicago State, Northeastern Illinois University, Roosevelt University, and Blackburn.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Chicago State, Illinois Institute of Technology, Benedictine, and University of Chicago.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider John A Logan College, University of St Francis, Governors State, and Chicago State.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Wheaton College, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Lake Forest College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Monmouth College, Blackburn, Knox, and Illinois College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and Wheaton College.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Saint Xavier University, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of St Francis.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, University of Chicago, Knox, and Northwestern University.
Spotlight Schools Search
Spotlight Illinois Schools Related to This Career
- Locations: Addison, Tinley Park
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
- Locations: Quincy
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Diploma
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Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate
Colorado Technical University Online
- Programs: 4 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor, Doctorate, Master
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Master
International Academy of Design & Technology Online
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Coursework, Diploma
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of Illinois • Urbana, IL
Studying Mathematics (completion in 1992)
• 7/17/2011
"U of I provides a comprehensive education. Solid academics are paired with a variety of other available activities. It's really one of the great universities in our country."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Illinois has 4 seasons, a beautiful campus, and a true college atmosphere. The academics for computer science are excellent. A great choice! |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Actually, I'm not 100% sure of their current ranking. Considering that NCSA Mosaic (first browser) came from Illinois just 20 years ago and considering how strong the program was back then, I doubt they would let it slip. |
| Program Quality | 10 | An applied Mathematics degree from Illinois provides a solid foundation for critical and logical thinking. Computer sciences courses provide a solid fundamental foundation for programming in a variety of languages. |
| Instruction | 10 | Illinois tends to be a bit theoretical oriented in Math/CS. This is a good thing, however, as it forces a much stronger understanding of the material vs. just taking programming classes. |
| How Difficult | 9 | As mentioned before, since classes are a bit more theoretically oriented, they are difficult. Abstract concepts, especially in fields relevant to computer programming like Graph Theory, Linear & Non-Linear Programming, Combinatorics, etc., are not easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The curriculum is definitely tilted towards the theoretical side at Illinois. There are courses with labs and projects, but theoretical work still dominates. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The full-time professors typically teach daytime classes. It would be hard to get a quality education without going to those classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Illinois has huge computer science labs and facilities. The NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) was located on campus when I was in college, and over the past few years they have added even more facilities. |
| Social Life | 9 | U of I has a big fraternity / sorority influence. That I did not like. However, there are plenty of bars and parties near campus as that's where all the students live, so it is a very lively atmosphere. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I was trying to get a job after the recession in 1990-1991. The school simply did not have enough recruiters that were hiring coming through. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | U of I has an extensive alumni network. They are always doing events and fundraisers, even in my state, which is not so close to Illinois. |
University Of Illinois • Champaign-Urbana, IL
Studying Electrical And Computer Engineering (ECE) (completion in 2004)
• 8/21/2011
"Parties were awesome. I skidded by and still make good money now."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | They have a good reputation and that's what you are paying for. In state tuition is cheap. The campus is not impressive...if you get into University of Hawaii, I'd go there. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | I'm pretty sure they still have a good reputation. Lots of U of I grads end up working in Chicago and the surrounding area. I think the school's ranking has dropped, though... |
| Program Quality | 8 | I have a good job now, so I can't complain. While at school, I generally did the minimum to get by, though...so I guess rating it a 10 wouldn't be fair since I could barely get into my studies. |
| Instruction | 5 | Once in the work field I applied very little of the theory I learned. The languages and general concepts of programming helped more than 2/3 of the math, humanities, etc. classes I had to take. |
| How Difficult | 10 | It was ranked high (3rd in the country) when I attended so I can only assume the work load is high. Also, I was always busy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was occasional programming, but there was way more book work that has since left my brain despite costing tens of thousands of dollars to acquire. A technical school would have probably been better but would not look as good on a resume. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | It's a normal big university schedule. There was no weekend stuff that I remember, but night classes were available (maybe not for people trying to work and attend). I held a job, though....not a 9-5 one but a 30 hour a week job, so it wasn't too inflexible (although my job was flexible to so I could work them around each other). |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Engineering library was brand new when I was there and was open 24 hours at all times. Labs were a little outdated because the university is old and doesn't buy new stuff until the old stuff is way busted... but it didn't matter since I haven't seen any of that equipment since. |
| Social Life | 10 | I wasn't very involved in clubs or any of that. I had an awesome university job in the library and was a barista for a couple years. I loved the parties. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They didn't do too much to help me - I got my first job through my dad. With that said, I only went to one job fair... but they didn't have any prep about what you should do at the job fair so I felt unprepared when I showed up. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | They just want my money. Also, I'm not too involved and didn't reach out, so who knows... maybe they aren't terrible... |
Northwestern University • Evanston, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 10/10/2011
"Awesome time, I really appreciated what I was able to do there. I got tons out of it."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is a great school. Tough to get into and can be expensive, but worth it. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I thought the program was better than how it was rated. I don't fully appreciate it yet. |
| Program Quality | 8 | My degree got my career, so it worked out great. I wish I had taken more electives. |
| Instruction | 9 | Great teachers, I really enjoyed their passion. I was fortunate enough to have a very engaging and exciting curriculum. |
| How Difficult | 8 | It was definitively hard. I was pressed for time often. It was worth the sacrifice. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | More hands-on. In this field you kind of need to be. You learn from doing. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | It was hardly ever a real problem. Some people would complain, but I never found it too frustrating. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | Great number of resources available. I utilized my TAs often. |
| Social Life | 7 | I had a lot of fun. I would have had more in a different major, but that doesn't matter. |
| Placement Services | 6 | I did my own work for employment. The services available helped a lot, but it also helps to network. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | I had a lot of help and guidance. I was able to get a hold of a lot of very experienced people from Northwestern. |
University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign • Urbana, IL
Studying Mechanical Engineering (completion in 2010)
• 12/4/2011
"U of I provided me with a great set of basic skills that I am honing at my job. U of I taught me critical thinking skills that allow me to understand/solve problems that I have little or no previous exposure to. I acquired a set of skills at U of I that is allowing me to be successful in my professional career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | For anyone who wants a top-notch education that is demanding and will challenge you every day, I would suggest U of I. We get to work with some of the best equipment in the nation and have some of the brightest minds in the world teaching us. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | The university does not get the respect it deserves. It has been consistently ranked in the top 10 engineering schools for a while now, and it seems like it is often overlooked by prospective students. |
| Program Quality | 10 | It is one of the best programs in the nation and prepared me for my job. My only gripe is that we did not do enough real-world projects. |
| Instruction | 8 | All professors were very knowledgeable on the subjects they were teaching. I did teach myself a lot of the material, because it seemed like some professors were preoccupied with their research. |
| How Difficult | 9 | I did not see any student from a major outside of engineering that had to do as much or more work than me. Most of my elective classes seemed more like a burden than a help, because they were taught at a level below my mental capacity. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The first three years of instruction were very book learning oriented, but senior year, I spent most of my time working on projects. I wish there were more open-ended projects earlier in my academic career; I think it would've helped me understand things more easily. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | It was sometimes difficult to make a good schedule, because a lot of the classes were so small. Also, flexibility was limited, because there is a set curriculum for engineering majors. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | U of I has top-notch facilities, especially the mechanical engineering department. Our department had 5 separate computer labs and all sorts of testing equipment that were made readily available to students. We had more equipment than most large companies have. |
| Social Life | 10 | Although most of U of I's athletic teams are struggling, the school still fully embraces them. If there wasn't a sporting event to go to, there was always a party. You could walk down any street on the weekend and find a party to go to. You only have to be 19 to go to bars, so there is always something to do. |
| Placement Services | 10 | There is an abundant amount of career services for engineering students at U of I. Engineering Career Services (ECS) provides things from resume reviews to contract negotiations. Also, U of I is a destination for a lot of top companies. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | I have not been out of school long enough to accurately assess this question, but I do work with 5 other graduates from the same university. A lot of alumni networks are built on sports, and U of I is struggling with most of its sports right now. |
Northwestern University • Evanston, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2006)
• 12/2/2011
"I have no problems with the education I had, even though I would have preferred one or two things to be slightly different. I'm generally satisfied."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If they are willing to study, but they also want not to be forced to their limits (considering they are capable), and if they also want to have a good social life at college, I strongly suggest my program at Northwestern. I am satisfied, and I'm sure others would be, too. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Although it's not in the top 20, I think Northwestern's program is in the top 40-50. People don't think of Northwestern when you mention computer science, but it's still among the 50 best programs, and I think that's still pretty good. |
| Program Quality | 8 | There are better computer science programs than Northwestern's, but it's up there. I had good teachers and a good education. I was satisfied. However, since I wasn't going to stay in academia, I would have appreciated if a little less theory classes and more practical, project-related classes were available. |
| Instruction | 9 | I never had any complaints about my teachers, except for the occasional problems every student at every college has, of course. My instructors were top-notch. |
| How Difficult | 6 | I didn't have any problems. It wasn't easy; one cannot just breeze through without studying, but if you study a reasonable amount, it wasn't that hard. This depends on the student's level of interest and abilities, obviously. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We definitely had both. Between theory (like algorithms) and application (coding projects), I would have preferred it to be leaning towards practice, but it was a more or less even mix. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I don't remember ANY weekend/evening options or online options. However, whenever we had class, teachers were willing to move the class schedule around, to fit all participants' schedules better. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The school didn't lack any computers or resources. I was never in awe of shockingly advanced resources or anything, but we had all we needed (which isn't much, actually; just a lot of decent computers). |
| Social Life | 8 | We had parties, and I made a lot of friends. I generally had a great time at Northwestern, in a social sense. |
| Placement Services | 6 | We did get some assistance. There were job fairs, a website, and emails about job openings, etc. But I found a job all on my own. I'm not sure what more they could have done, but I didn't exactly feel like, 'I don't need to worry; my school will find me a job.' |
| Alumni Network | 4 | Although I know of the alumni network and people getting jobs using these connections, I never had a relationship/interaction with alumni. I don't know if this is telling of my own shortcomings in networking, or the weakness or lack of reach of Northwestern's network. |
American InterContinental University - Online • Hoffman Estates, IL
Studying Information Technology (completion in 2005)
• 1/4/2012
"For the most part, I am satisfied with the school. I found UoP to be too time consuming and AIU being not enough. The courses were difficult, but I feel my grades were too high for the work I did."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend AIU, but I would also recommend doing research on other schools as well. I would recommend looking into how often the instructors are available, if live chat/lecture sessions are included, how many aspects of the curriculum field are available, and how deep the school gets into each field (quick overview vs. in-depth teaching). |
| Program Reputation | I don't know the school's current reputation. I graduated 7 years ago and never looked back. | |
| Program Quality | 8 | It was OK. I think the curriculum was a great overview, but there are too many aspects of the Computer Science field for any school to focus on. If I had to change fields (e.g. database administration to systems security), the training I received in school would not have been sufficient. |
| Instruction | 4 | I got my full education via an on-line course. I started with the University of Phoenix and then moved over to American InterContinental. I moved because the instructors at UoP were never around. At least at AIU, we had a lecture/chat session twice a week. Still, too many times, if I was stuck and needed help with something, the answer I received was "read my lecture and read your assignment." |
| How Difficult | 1 | Far, far, far too easy. I graduated Summa Cum Laude and probably shouldn't have. I think half of my class graduated Summa Cum Laude. That should tell you something right there. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | AIU definitely had a good mix of book vs. hands-on. Most classes involved labs or projects in web design, project management, database building, creating VB programs, and hands-on activities with SQL Server programs. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | AIU had both online and brick-and-mortar classes. I chose the on-line option due to its flexibility. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | I would say that AIU's academic facilities and resources were excellent. Although the course was an on-line course, AIU had an excellent library. They also had a service where you could have someone critique your work for spelling/grammar/punctuation and send it back to you. Their textbooks and references were excellent in almost all courses. |
| Social Life | Considering the fact that I followed an on-line curriculum, I have no idea what AIU's social activities were. | |
| Placement Services | I don't know about their job placement and/or career services because I had no need for them. I had a good, secure job at the time. | |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I really don't know because I never got involved with the Alumni. Seven years later, it is still functioning, as I still receive information on it. |
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