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 Benedict and College of Charleston.
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 University of South Carolina and Coker.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Converse.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Benedict, Claflin, Coker, and Charleston Southern University.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Converse and Coker.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Bob Jones, Furman, The Citadel, and Benedict.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Presbyterian College, Wofford College, Furman, and Bob Jones.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Furman, Wofford College, College of Charleston, and University of South Carolina.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Claflin, Coker, Furman, and Wofford College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Furman, Wofford College, Presbyterian College, and Coker.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
Sort Reviews By:Sorting by: • Show All Details • Hide All Details
University Of South Carolina • Columbia, SC
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2005)
• 7/11/2011
"I am reasonably satisfied with my school. It did, after all, award me my degrees. However, I do think they could have helped their students prepare better for the real world, at least in the Computer Science department."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I'd recommend attending a technical college/university if one wants to pursue a programming career. That way you are more likely to spend time on hands-on projects. |
| Program Quality | 5 | The computer science program at my time was extremely academic focused. It lacks connections with the industry. It does not teach popular programming languages, which I think wasted a great deal of the students' time. It will be great if the school put more emphasis on internships and co-ops, like other engineering departments at the school. |
| Instruction | 3 | Many professors have been doing pure academic research for decades. They do not seem to be in touch with industrial development. The curriculum required many introductory electives from non-computer science related departments. The required computer science courses sometimes are overkill. Some important courses are taught by professors who are very good at research, but not at teaching. Sometimes I can barely understand what they are saying. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The work load is average. The academic challenge comes from poor instructions of key computer science concepts. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I had to work a part-time job in order to gain more hands-on experience that was closer to what the real world is doing. It was my part-time job that helped me most in landing my job after I graduated. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Students were constantly placed on waiting lists. Weekend classes were almost non-existent. Summer offerings are fairly good. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | There are plenty of libraries and computer labs. Classroom space is pretty good, too. Academic advisors only cared about me filling in my class schedule. There weren't tutors in Computer Science. I have not heard of study groups either. Accessibility of professors was fair. |
| Social Life | 5 | There were enough social events. School spirit was pretty high given the school is not particularly strong in either academics or athletics. I do enjoy the campus. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The faculty seems to have improved with some younger recruits. My company has always hired Clemson graduates. It is still rare to see hires from South Carolina after being with my company for 7 years. Other than that, I'm not familiar with the school's job placement services. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I do not think there was any alumni network within the department. There was no encouragement of networking. I am always sent mails that request donations, however, if that counts as alumni support. |
College Of Charleston • Charleston, SC
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2009)
• 1/15/2012
"Overall, the college was well worth the tuition, regardless of the above average cost. The knowledge gained is invaluable and the time spent rather memorable."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | In the state of South Carolina, one cannot find a better school for the computer science field. Quite simply, nothing else comes close. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | The CS program at CofC is not exactly something that is renowned, but I must add that South Carolina as a whole is not renowned for its education system in general. I would say that as a whole, it has a "hidden gem" aspect. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The degree program is very good, however I was a little dissatisfied with the college itself. While a well rounded education is always a good thing, I don't believe 14 credit hours in the natural sciences is very applicable to computer science. |
| Instruction | 8 | Most professors were very well spoken, passionate, and knowledgeable in their subjects. In addition, they are actual people, by which I mean if ever ran into a problem they would work with me to reach a proper conclusion. |
| How Difficult | 6 | The areas not directly related were the most difficult. Given many years of prior software developing experience, the core classes were often not as challenging due to my previous exposure. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | While the theory was emphasized to a point, the hands-on aspect of computing was heavily pushed, including semester projects in most classes above the 200 level. Labs and homework were often more in the hands-on realm, yet incorporated the theoretical into the assignment. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | College of Charleston does offer summer courses, but that is about it in regards to "flexibility." Classes can be from 8 AM to 6 PM, but the flexibility ends there. There are no weekend, evening, or online possibilities. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The college maintains a well staffed department dedicated to academic and career advising, a rather large and well stocked library, and nearly all majors have free tutoring available. In addition, some departments, CS included, offer additional support beyond what is usually provided. |
| Social Life | 2 | Not to play into the anti-social geek stereotype, but that would largely describe myself. That said, while I felt the school was very socially oriented (friends had described it as a slight party atmosphere), I did not generally partake in the festivities and thus cannot truly comment on this facet of the college. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Given the close ties with the local technology industry, including regular meetings, loads of paid internships, and general networking opportunities, the CS department itself does a very good job of this. The college does maintain its own career services for the entirety of the student body, but I cannot comment on their effectiveness or merit for I never used them. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | The college maintains close ties with the technology businesses in the area. A local student chapter of the ACM holds regular meetings with students and professionals, and the seniors' resumes are sent to industry contacts by the head of the CS department. |
University Of South Carolina • Columbia, SC
Studying Electrical Engineering (completion in 1980)
• 2/4/2012
"I never questioned the quality of the school while I was there. I never compared it to another school. I was very happy to get my degree from a major university."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | There are better schools out there. My school was known, and still is known, as a party school. I would recommend others over it. |
| Program Reputation | I really don't know my school's reputation right now. I graduated over 30 years ago. | |
| Program Quality | 8 | Overall the engineering school was well run. I'm sure other schools were better, but I was happy with the school. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors were good. Some were better than others, but overall they were pretty good. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Electrical engineering is a difficult academic pursuit. However, I had the right aptitude for it, so I did well. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I never liked labs in school. I enjoyed learning from classes and books. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | It was a common occurrence to see students crying during registration. But recall, when I was there, registration was done on paper and things were very difficult to change, track, etc. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The engineering school was getting old, but I had no problems with it. They built a new one a few years after I left and that one was much better. |
| Social Life | 1 | I kept to myself - something I regret now. I had a lot of problems socially that took most of my life to get over. |
| Placement Services | I don't now how good it was. I did my job search on my own mostly. I did use their services, but they didn't get me a job. | |
| Alumni Network | 5 | They used to contact me a lot through the mail. I never responded. They don't contact me anymore. |
Online Course Finder
Find the path to your
education in 3 easy steps.