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 Community College of Philadelphia, Penn State, Drexel, and Delaware County Community College.
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 Manor, La Salle, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, and La Roche.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Bryn Mawr, Cedar Crest, Carlow, and Consolidated School of Business.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Community College of Philadelphia, Carnegie Mellon, USP, and Bryn Mawr.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Chestnut Hill, Carlow, Westmoreland County Community College, and Cedar Crest.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Bryn Mawr, Carnegie Mellon, Villanova, and Lehigh.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Ursinus College, Thiel College, Messiah College, and Allegheny.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Carnegie Mellon, Lehigh, Villanova, and Bryn Mawr.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Lehigh, Carnegie Mellon, Villanova, and Bryn Mawr.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Bryn Mawr, Carnegie Mellon, Allegheny, and Ursinus College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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HACC • Harrisburg, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1996)
• 7/22/2011
"I am satisfied. It was a good school and tuition was affordable."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes. It's a great choice if you're working full time and need to go back to school. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | It's good. The school isn't known for computer science, but the instructors are great. |
| Program Quality | 5 | It was a good school for my field. Many instructors had years of experience working in IT. |
| Instruction | 8 | I learned many languages at HACC. The concepts that were taught make it easy to learn new ones, too. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Some of the computer lab assignments were difficult and time consuming. But, they were well worth it. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We mostly went by the book, which is perfect for learning concepts of computer languages. Visual demonstrations were used when needed. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | It was great. I took night classes so that I could keep working full time. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The facilities are good. We don't have the monetary resources of big state schools, but it is what you make of it. |
| Social Life | 1 | It's a commuter college. There's no on-campus housing and no sports program. So, it lacks the typical college social scene. |
| Placement Services | 3 | We had several job fairs. But, there was no formal job placement services. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | There are many alums that work at my company. But, I don't experience a close network with them or with any other past graduates. |
Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Information Systems (completion in 1999)
• 9/13/2011
"Great school and reputation. I made good friends, and experience and network."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school is private so it's a bit expensive. But it has a great reputation in engineering and business schools and attracts some of the best minds in the world. Also the campus is nice and the cost of living is low. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | The school is very well known but the program I took my Master's in is not. This is why I think they need to focus on marketing themselves better. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The program needed a bit more guidance and to market itself better. |
| Instruction | 8 | High-class education and classes at a great school. |
| How Difficult | 10 | A lot of work with long hours. It's a difficult course in a 2 year span. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The courses that I took were mostly academic with very few labs. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | Because of so many options sometimes it was hard to balance the class schedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The latest technology in facilities, tutors, computers, speed of networks, teachers, conferences. |
| Social Life | 7 | Very poor the first year because of the work load. Much better the second year because of my experience in being able to better manage stress, work and social life. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Because of the school's reputation it was easy to get an engineering job after school. The career services know how to attract the best companies. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I kept in touch with four or five people in my program. I have not used the alumni network. |
Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Human Computer Interaction (completion in 2001)
• 9/10/2011
"CMU is a great school. I enjoyed the time there and learned a lot."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | CMU is the best school for HCI and a very elite school for computer science. The only downside is that it's very cold in winter. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | It's the best school for HCI. It has the largest dedicated department to that field. |
| Program Quality | 10 | CMU is the best school for human-computer interaction and one of the best for computer science. People recognize it. |
| Instruction | 10 | The curriculum was relevant. The professors were very good. The school has a great reputation. |
| How Difficult | 5 | It really wasn't that difficult. My undergraduate degree in computer science was much more difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | They gave us lots of experience and group work. Book learning was not emphasized. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The classes were in the daytime. I was working at the university so it was not a problem. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | They have good facilities at CMU. I never felt that we missed out on anything. |
| Social Life | 5 | Graduate school is not that much about the social experience. I didn't miss going to parties and the like. |
| Placement Services | 2 | I didn't use their placement services. I've never had trouble finding a job. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I don't have any contact with the alumni network. I'm sure there is one but I'm not that interested. |
Kutztown University • Kutztown, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 9/18/2011
"I wish the school was better known and had a better reputation. A lot of the students there gave the school a bad name. However, the CS dept was fantastic, and I learned a lot."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | Again, the school as a whole has a bad reputation, but the CS dept is great. CS grads have absolutely no problem getting jobs. I can't speak for other departments. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | The school's reputation isn't very good. The department does produce excellent students, though. |
| Program Quality | 5 | Not a whole lot of web development courses. Used a lot of non-industry standard methods (languages, tools, etc). |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors were fantastic. They were knowledgeable and enthusiastic. |
| How Difficult | 4 | I didn't struggle at all in my 4 years there. Where I am for grad school is much harder. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A lot of classes were hands on in the software development aspect. There was some hands on teaching for networking, which was well received. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | The department was small, so there wasn't much flexibility. Either you took the class when it was offered, or tough luck. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | They did their best to supply us with what we needed. Sometimes it was lacking, but they really started getting their act together by the time I graduated. |
| Social Life | 10 | Best years of my life. I ran a sports club on campus, and I love those teammates with all my heart. |
Montgomery County Community College • Blue Bell, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1993)
• 10/17/2011
"I learned how to program and thus I am satisfied with the school. I believe that I was taught the fundamentals of programming. I believe that any programming language can be learned if you have mastered the fundamentals."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school was conveniently located and was affordable. Overall, the academics were adequate for obtaining a career in the IT world. |
| Program Reputation | 3 | Again, it's a 2 year community college. I don't think it wins any awards for recognition. |
| Program Quality | 6 | The school concentrated on Cobol programming classes. This language seemed somewhat dated even in 1993. |
| Instruction | 6 | Many non computer classes were required, such as english composition and history. These classes are required for most A.S. degrees but they don't really help in the core of your major. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I don't think the program of study was any less or more difficult then other programs. Each area has its own level of expertise. If you aren't interested in a given area you will find it more difficult, and if you are interested then you will be ready to learn and "get it" more quickly. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A good mix of both instructional book based assignments/reading and lab work was incorporated. The instructors did a good job of balancing it out. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I do not recall having difficulties in selecting classes in any semester. The classes offered per semester were varied. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The computer lab was always available. Class room size was appropriate. They were never too large. |
| Social Life | 3 | Given it was a community college, no one lived on campus. Therefore, the social element of the school did not really exist. |
| Placement Services | 5 | did not utilize the placement services. I already had a full time job and attended college part time in the evenings. This was before online classes were available. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | It's a community college. There's an alumni base, but many individuals move on to a 4 year degree program at a different school. |
University Of Pittsburgh • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Computer Engineering (completion in 2009)
• 10/14/2011
"For the price, Pitt had an excellent value. I received a top notch education from professors who cared about my future. I had a great social experience and met my wife. I would definitely recommend Pitt to others!"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | As I said in the previous response, Pitt has an excellent value. They have a great cooperative program where students can work for companies while attending school and get job experience. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school's reputation for engineering is stronger than most. Students from all over apply to Pitt and it seems the enrollment increases year after year. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Most computer engineers from Pitt seem to get software development jobs instead of hardware jobs. The only thing I would recommend they change is to teach more Operating System and Hardware to broaden the knowledge of graduates. |
| Instruction | 10 | The small classes and very knowledgeable professors made for excellent instruction. If students needed help, professors were always open to seeing them during office hours. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Freshman year was extremely difficult. This was intended to weed out those who could not handle the stresses of engineering. As a student who reached senior year, things became more manageable and easier, but it was definitely still challenging. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Definitely a mix. Some classes didn't use the text at all, while in others you could read the book and get an A without even attending class. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Most classes had multiple time options. Usually these would be evening or day. Specialty classes usually only had one time. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Pitt implemented many technology improvements which made the facilities excellent. A whole campus wireless network and smart classrooms are a couple of these improvements. |
| Social Life | 10 | There are many opportunities to socialize at Pitt. I personally joined a fraternity but there are many other groups which have parties and opportunities to meet others at school. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Pitt has an excellent career development department. They have multiple job fairs throughout the year and help students get internships which lead to full time positions. They also have resume reviews and interviews on site. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I do not participate much in the alumni network, but I get a lot of contact and mailings from Pitt with alumni information. Because of this it seems average to me, especially since I have not experienced any other college alumni networks. |
Carnegie Mellon • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2008)
• 11/29/2011
"I am happy to have gone to my school and received the quality education it gave me. It may not have been much social help, but I definitely have gotten a great job because of it."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | My school provides great opportunities after graduation. My school makes a disciplined person out of someone. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I believe it is now ranked 3rd in the nation. Anyone I know who learns I went to my school has been immediately impressed. |
| Program Quality | 10 | My school was very challenging and includes a great network of people. The work needed from my school made me a better worker for the future. |
| Instruction | 7 | The professors were very well versed in their fields and in the top of their research. However, actual real-life career preparation was limited, since only basic low-level topics were covered. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Sometimes, I would be working 24/7 to finish my workload. Many students did not have any time to do any leisure activities. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The projects I had to do were very hands on. Although they didn't teach us the real-life concepts, they taught us the knowledge we needed to be able to tackle any real-life concept. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Online offerings are limited, but they are very good for a non-online school. I'm not sure about weekend or evening offerings, since I went as a regular full-time student. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | TAs were available for every class. There are computer labs open for all students. Libraries were free. My academic advisor met with me once a semester. |
| Social Life | 3 | There was not much life outside of school. The fraternities and sororities were a big part of the school, and they had many parties and philanthropic events. There is no school spirit. |
| Placement Services | 9 | They provide career counseling and interview help. My resume was reviewed by my career counselor and lots of help was given. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | There are lots of alumni events where students can network. There are also job fairs where alumni can find jobs. |
Drexel University • Philadelphia, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2005)
• 12/2/2011
"The school was good and I learned what I needed to be successful in my career. However, outside of the co-op, I wouldn't have made any industry connections, so finding a job may be difficult for others."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you work hard, this will give you the skills to thrive as a computer programmer, but it is possible to graduate and not make the connections necessary to secure a job. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | When you tell someone you went to Drexel, they will usually agree it's a good school and may or may not acknowledge the co-op program. However, it's not in the same league as a Polytech or an MIT. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The core material was great. New courses, such as databases, were slow to be deployed. |
| Instruction | 7 | Most instructors were excellent, but some instructors failed to teach the material. |
| How Difficult | 6 | Computer science degrees are notoriously tough, so most students are weeded out in the first few courses. For those who have programmed before, the courses are tough but realistic, compared to the difficulty of the real world. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The school was very hands on, i.e., go off and code this. But every course had a book for the material, so we were expected to learn the material in the assignments. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | There are so many courses for the major you are expected to take, and the schedule is fairly rigid. However, there are some evening courses you can take if you are interested in them. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | I liked the resources available. I used the writing center, the computer labs and the library. I worked with the academic advisor when attempting a BS/MS. We made limited use of the clusters. |
| Social Life | 5 | The social environment seemed well developed. They had sports; basketball, especially. They had frat houses, etc. Not being a social person, it is harder to rate them. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I actually followed up and got my job from my first Drexel co-op, so from that perspective, the job placement is excellent. However, I don't know how good the career services are if you need a job at graduation. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I don't use the alumni network, but they send information occasionally and ask for money. It seems ok, from what I can tell. |
Pennsylvania State University • Malvern, PA
Studying Software Engineering (completion in 2010)
• 1/3/2012
"I came out of PSU and put my degree to work right away. I definitely learned a lot and was able to apply it in my field."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would definitely suggest PSU to full-time workers. They made it easy to work and take classes. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I feel like PSU's program isn't too well known. PSU is known as a good school in general, but I think they focus more on business than engineering. |
| Program Quality | 6 | Some of the more relevant topics (software design & architecture) were discussed a little too briefly. I felt like the program was made from a smattering of topics, instead of focusing on one in particular. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors were engaging and knowledgeable. They definitely had the students' best interests in mind when giving lectures. |
| How Difficult | 6 | Some classes were challenging, but overall I didn't have to read or study much. The tests were pretty easy, and most grades were paper or project based. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I wished the courses were more hands-on. There were maybe three courses that had programming assignments, and nothing was done in any kind of laboratory. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | They were pretty flexible. Classes were held at night, after 6pm. There were no weekend classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | PSU has an enormous library (both hardcopy and digital). They did not have many computer labs or resources, just one. There were plenty of tutors available, but it was difficult to meet with a professor for advising time. |
| Social Life | 6 | PSU for grad school offers much less social support than it does for undergrads. For the most part, the only offerings were sporting and networking events. |
| Placement Services | 9 | PSU helps undergrads by placing them in internships (some paid). They also have plenty of career fairs and networking events. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | Penn State has an enormous alumni network. They constantly reach out to me and this network has proven to be useful in my career. |
Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburg, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 1/18/2012
"I was mildly satisfied. I would have liked to see a higher standard being held for the students and I would have liked to learn more. On the other hand, it did allow me to make some contacts (although not as many as I would have liked)."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I don't think the university lives up to its reputation. If there was a stricter differentiation between grades and the students were taught more, I would be more likely to recommend that university. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Carnegie Mellon is well known in the computer science industry as a powerhouse university. Therefore its reputation is quite impressive. |
| Program Quality | 4 | I was not very impressed with my program. This was because I didn't learn as much as I thought I could have and the competition wasn't very high so I didn't have to push myself. If I were to do it again, I would focus more on networking and less on homework given that things were graded to a massive curve. |
| Instruction | 6 | The instruction was decent for preparing us for the real world of software development. However it focused a lot on the what's without teaching about the why's, meaning there was a lot of rote memorization. |
| How Difficult | 3 | The difficulty of the program was quite easy. The competition was low and the grades were graded to a strong curve so most people got A- or above. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | As mentioned previously, the program focused a lot on the what's, not the why's. This meant there was a lot of book learning but little hands-on-experience to learn from mistakes as to why you should do it one way as opposed to another. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | There were very few opportunities to change your schedule given how inflexible it was. There were no weekend classes or summer offerings. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The facilities were pretty good. There were some excellent libraries and the computer labs were all fitted with the latest software and networks. The professors were only available during office hours though, which meant they got flooded. |
| Social Life | 3 | I was unimpressed by the social experiences at Carnegie Mellon. There was little school spirit and the parties were lackluster. |
| Placement Services | I already had a job lined up after graduating and did not take advantage of the school's job placement and career services. | |
| Alumni Network | 7 | The alumni network has been excellent. They send out a lot of information about opportunities or contacts in the general region. |
Temple University • Philadelphia, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2007)
• 1/23/2012
"I feel like I got my money's worth at this college."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | This is a school that has everything a student could need. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Lot of projects are handed down by the Government and each student has funding right from the first semester. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Satisfied with the program. University helps students with required Industrial Training and course work is kept abreast of latest technologies. |
| Instruction | 8 | All the professors are very well respected in their areas. They've done a lot of research and published multiple papers. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Had to write too many papers for each course, and the exams were considerably tough. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Very hands-on. Had labs for every course I took. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Very flexible. We have evening courses and also online versions of the same. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Professors are always available. Libraries and Labs are equipped with the latest software and books. |
| Social Life | 8 | I made good friends and gained a lifetime of experience at Temple. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I regularly get emails from Career Services. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | Very well connected, and I got my first job through the alumni network. |
Carnegie Mellon Univ. • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Software Engineering (completion in 2011)
• 2/22/2012
"Excellent transition to the industry. Excellent reputation."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Great teaching, great legacy, great reputation |
| Program Reputation | 10 | The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is top ranked in computer science. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Ranked number one in the field. Highly regarded in the industry. |
| Instruction | 10 | Knowledgeable professors. Department well connected with the industry. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Very demanding. I worked (studied) 60+ hours per week. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Very good mixture of both. Theory is put into practice through practicums. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Semesters are 16 months long (even in the Summer). The school year starts in Fall and ends in Fall. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | |
| Social Life | 5 | CMU is not considered a big partying or sports school. It's a relatively small campus, so there are not many places to party. |
| Placement Services | 10 | |
| Alumni Network | 8 |
PIttsburgh Technical Institute • Oakdale, PA
Studying Computer Programming (completion in 2008)
• 3/3/2012
"It was what it was. You got from it what you put in. I put a lot more in than was necessary to graduate, so I became successful afterwards. It gave me my foot in the door so I could make my mark."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It depends on what aspect of the field you want to get into. If you are looking for application level programming, simple data entry, and point of sale work, it prepares you well. |
| Program Reputation | I have not heard much about my school's reputation for Computer Programming. | |
| Program Quality | 5 | It's a degree mill. I already knew my trade and just needed something to get my foot in the door. |
| Instruction | 7 | We had a very good teacher, Mr. Madine, throughout the entire course who did his best to cover everything as quickly as possible so we weren't totally lost in the work force. It was the only saving grace of the school. |
| How Difficult | 8 | It was the hardest program in the school, and had the lowest graduation rate. As far as most computer science courses are concerned, it was more career orientated for web and UI to Database level applications, so it was fairly easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It is a trade and business preparation school. Everything we did was hands on. There was a lot of demonstration and learning with teacher led instruction. It is definitely a good school for people that don't learn from traditional lecture/book styles of learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | It is a very flexible school that offers classes during the day or at night. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The school was pretty nice, and the facilities were modern and well kept. |
| Social Life | 3 | There wasn't much in the way of student activities. There was softball and one fancy dinner dance, but other than that, in my 2 year program, student activities that encouraged socialization weren't common. |
| Placement Services | 9 | They are available free of charge whenever an alumni needs to find work. They actually do a pretty good job and are decent at networking, especially after you have real world experience and references. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | They offer job placement help any time after graduation along with free 2 week refresher courses. It is one of the more appealing aspects of the school. |
Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Electrical And Computer Engineering (completion in 2012)
• 3/2/2012
"Overall, I had a very good experience. I was definitely prepared for the job market."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's very easy to find work after graduation. Our graduates are also compensated very well. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Carnegie Mellon has a very prestigious reputation. The ECE and CS program at CMU are especially prestigious. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I felt that my program prepared me very well for my career. At CMU we spent a lot of time working on projects, not just taking exams, and I found that very useful. |
| Instruction | 9 | I definitely learned enough for my career. Sometimes I felt that there should be a greater emphasis on practical knowledge in my courses. |
| How Difficult | 10 | The ECE program at CMU is extremely competitive. A lot is expected out of the students and the work load is very demanding. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It could use some more hands-on learning. However, the hands-on oriented classes were very good. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | A lot of summer classes. There's also a lot of engineering electives available for students. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The library could be improved. Laboratories are very good though. |
| Social Life | 10 | Greek life is very prominent. Students tend to live on or close to campus and very few commuters go to my school. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Most students have no problem finding a job out of college. I had no problem myself. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | There are alumni events all over the world. Alumni also return to my school's career fair to recruit students. |
Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Mechanical Engineering (completion in 2011)
• 3/13/2012
"CMU focuses much on the essentials of education and was strict with students when it comes to academic learning. What is more, it provides excellent platforms both for those who wish to be professors and those who wish to be entrepreneurs."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I got a job because I graduated from CMU (alumni network). The school can equip students with excellent engineering skills which enable them to pursue good careers. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | As far as I know, the program attracts more and more attention from undergraduate students worldwide, and applications have been increasing rapidly. Moreover, graduates from this program have been well-recognized by employers in Pittsburgh. |
| Program Quality | 7 | CMU is a prestigious university for engineering. Although my major is mechanical engineering, I was able to access many computer science courses. Thanks to the programming skills I learned, I succeeded and got a job offer from a software company. |
| Instruction | 8 | The curriculum focused much on the application skills. I had various chances to participate in the practical projects. |
| How Difficult | 7 | When attending some courses on Data Structure (Java), I always had to spend more time to understand the computation algorithms (e.g. Merge Sorting), because my major is Mechanical Engineering. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Both hands-on skills and academic research were emphasized in my program. Yet different courses might involve different learning methods. For example, Numerical Method focused more on theory, while we spent most of the time in lab (programming) for Data Structure. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There are few courses available on the weekends and evenings. However, there are some courses in summer school and students pay their tuition per credit. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | We had many computer clusters with various engineering applications pre-installed. We could easily borrowed books via the "library online services." |
| Social Life | 4 | Coursework was somewhat burdensome and demanding, and I didn't have much time for social events. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Job Fairs are held on the campus each semester providing considerable convenience for job hunting. The Career Center of CMU prints brochures for students that contain comprehensive information. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | My position was first pointed out to me by an alum from the department I was studying in. Additionally, my current manager is also an alum from CMU. |
Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Electrical And Computer Engineering (completion in 2011)
• 3/8/2012
"Overall, I was satisfied with the experience. I enjoyed the people and professors I learned with. However, they set my expectations for the working world very high and the tuition was also extremely high. Much of what I learned could've been learned elsewhere, but it would've taken a lot of personal effort."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, it's a fantastic experience if you're motivated and ambitious. However, don't overlook other options. You have to be able to afford it and pay back the loan. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | The major is in the top 5 of its field. The university overall is in the top 30 or so in the nation. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The professors and the quality of education were very high. People truly cared about the work they were doing and weren't going to turn in poor assignments. However, the tuition was really high. |
| Instruction | 9 | The instructors were fantastic and provided very good coursework. However, not all of the courses were relevant to my career. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Coursework could be extremely difficult, depending on the class. To most students, it would be above average in difficulty. To me, it was more time-consuming. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The learning was definitely more hands on than book. Most of the stuff we learned was from the professors' PowerPoints, and assignments were developed by teachers. Rarely would we have assignments out of books. If we did, the books were often written by the professors. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Students had the ability to choose the classes they wanted to take in the order they wanted to. Of course, we needed to meet prerequisites. There were no weekend or online options. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | There were a number of different high-end components available in the labs for students to use. The software and servers available to students were great. However, there weren't enough public computers to use at times. |
| Social Life | 3 | The social experience was pretty lacking. There were a large amount of student organizations, but not much more than that. There were few fraternities, and sports were all mostly overlooked. The party scene was pretty poor. |
| Placement Services | 9 | They did a pretty good job in having career fairs and events to connect students and employers. They helped one-on-one to review resumes and do practice interviews. However, they were not able to enforce their offer policy. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | The alumni network is okay, but most people don't really come back. Fraternities probably get the most out of the alumni network. |
Carnegie Mellon School Of Computer Science • Pittsburgh, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2007)
• 3/11/2012
"I'm doing fairly well, especially considering the current economy, so I have no complaints. I was able to use my education to land a fairly good job that pays pretty well."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | The school is demanding and not everyone finishes the degree. But if the individual has the talent, then CMU is one of the best and positions them well for research, advanced degrees and/or professional work. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Carnegie Mellon is a recognized name in computer science. Has been in the top rankings for the last decade. |
| Program Quality | 9 | Carnegie Mellon is a recognized name and has remained consistently in the top rankings; people recognize the name. I am using a subset of the skills taught, though I would say not everything covered in the curriculum. |
| Instruction | 9 | No issues with the vast majority of my professors. Occasionally, I had ones who were brilliant researchers, but not so great at teaching. |
| How Difficult | 9 | The coursework is designed very well. There is a significant jump during junior and senior year, when students take their capstone (either writing their own operating system or network stack), that I still recall as crushing hours to complete. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Every course required some element of programming, whether it was weekly assignments or semester projects. Most courses also had a fair number of TAs who helped to make sure questions could be answered outside of normal lecture hours. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | The choice of the curriculum was planned on an individual basis, between the student and the adviser. Core courses had to be taken, but there were choices to fulfill the rest. There were no online course options, but a few select courses had summer offerings. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Faculty was topnotch. I graduated before they finished the Gates Center, so back then, the lecture halls were slightly dated. |
| Social Life | I wasn't much for social activities. However, it's safe to say that CMU is not known for our athletics (Division III). | |
| Placement Services | 9 | The job placement services were pretty good. The job fairs were filled with recruiters. I did not personally make significant use of the career assistance resources, but what I did make use of was very helpful. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | I think the school of computer science has a good network. I haven't participated actively in local events, but I do receive regular correspondence from the school. |
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