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 Western Governors University, Utah Valley State, Salt Lake Community College, and Brigham Young.
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 Utah, Southern Utah University, Westminster College, and Brigham Young.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Westminster College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Western Governors University, Brigham Young, Westminster College, and Southern Utah University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Westminster College, University of Utah, Brigham Young, and Snow College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Brigham Young, Westminster College, and University of Utah.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Western Governors University.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Westminster College, University of Utah, and Snow College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Brigham Young University • Provo, UT
Studying Civil Engineering (completion in 2008)
• 8/9/2011
"My education was excellent. I would go there again and do it the same way."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The atmosphere is great, and the education was superb. The professors and staff are some of the best. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I believe BYU's computer science department ranks about average in the country. I have only heard good things, being one of those that has sat in the classes there. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I love my school for my education. I thought they prepared me well for the real world. |
| Instruction | 9 | I am not sure what else they could have done better, but I believe that the attitude of the student is also important in determining if they will learn what is being taught. |
| How Difficult | 7 | By putting in the study hours, the curriculum was doable. I was able to excel, but I put in a lot of hours. The workload was the right amount for me. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A good mix. How can programming not be hands-on? You have to write so many programs. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The classes are not really flexible. The higher level classes are more flexible because there are fewer people in them. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | They are great. The resources are there to help you succeed. |
| Social Life | 9 | I loved it. Someone else might not have as much as I did. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I did not have to deal with the career placement center much, but the career fairs they offer are great. That is how I got my current employment. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | They are always trying to reach out to me. I know that I can go back to my professors if needed for answers. |
Utah State University • Logan, UT
Studying CS (completion in 1993)
• 9/21/2011
"I think more hands on work or project work would have helped. One thing that bothered me were visiting professors who could barely speak or understand english. I was disappointed in having to pay for required courses in which I could not understand the instructor."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | In all, USU is a great school. It's in a beautiful location and provides many opportunities and seems to be highly accredited. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | I think that USU CS graduates are respected and sought after. The school itself is always making the news for technology advancements. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I feel like the professors were top notch. They really knew the subject matter. |
| Instruction | 9 | School was mostly theory and not a lot of real world development. When I entered the workforce, my education peaked. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I don't have much to compare with other than students in other fields. I was able to maintain a part time job, go to school, and have a social life. So I don't think that I was overloaded or over challenged. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Very book oriented for sure. Only a handful of classes were hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | At the time that I went to school the norm was weekday classes. There were some that could be taken very early in the morning or late in the evening. Summer school was limited to just core/general courses. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Classroom space was never an issue. Labs with advisors were open all of the time. For the most part professors made themselves available for legitimate subject matter questions. |
| Social Life | 8 | There was always something social available to do. Students also got into sporting events without needing tickets. |
| Placement Services | 7 | When I graduated jobs were tough to come by. I had to work and search hard with no or very little help from school counselors and admins. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | It seems like they try to maintain contact. I have not participated at all. |
Utah State University • Logan, UT
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2003)
• 9/19/2011
"I really enjoyed being a student there and feeling like a part of the university. I was able to participate in things I was interested in. I felt my knowledge there directly influenced me starting work in my career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I feel that students will get the information and knowledge needed in programming. I think they would enjoy the atmosphere and environment. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The computer science is taught mostly by the professors who also do research. High quality professors and a high quality curriculum give students a very good basis for entering the workforce prepared. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I feel like I got very good fundamental knowledge about programming and development. I felt prepared to enter the workforce and use my knowledge. I would have liked to have more real world project simulations to prepare me for professional development. |
| Instruction | 7 | I was taught how to understand fundamental programming techniques which I could apply to most development environments. I feel like I could have used more real world project simulations to prepare me to work in the professional area. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Most of the courses were challenging and created new learning opportunities. They taught programming fundamentals and logic that could be applied to most development environments. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the courses were taught from the book and through doing exercises on paper. There was some hands-on programming work with the outcomes being turned in as homework. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Mostly traditional schedules here. There was the opportunity to take evening and online classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | I did a lot of my work in computer labs provided by the university early on in my program. I was able to learn sufficiently with the resources provided until I could get my own. Study groups were great and each course had a tutor that would prepare study sessions. Each professor had office hours that were open to students for anything that was needed. |
| Social Life | 9 | Activities are heavily encouraged due to the on-campus housing. There are a lot of clubs and activities for enjoying the time away from schoolwork. Athletic events are big for attendance and intramural sports are available for any experience level. |
| Placement Services | 8 | The career services extended a lot of opportunities for me to pursue during and after working on my program. They helped with building good resumes and interview preparedness. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | Most of the alumni care and give back to the university. There is a smaller network of alumni than I expected. I don't get a whole lot out of the alumni services. |
Utah Valley University • Orem, UT
Studying Software Engineering (completion in 2010)
• 1/30/2012
"I dreamed of going to a better school, but at the end of the day, this school got me a job. Additionally, I've done quite well in the job with multiple raises, etc."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I've tried to get my brothers to attend and seek similar degrees. My experience was extremely positive overall, and I have no doubt anyone else attending would feel the same. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | The school is not ranked nationally. However, it enjoys a good reputation with local employers who pick up the Engineering grads as soon as they are available. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I felt the program was adequate for creating a software engineer. However, the school is unranked which means it's difficult to judge whether the program was good or not. |
| Instruction | 9 | The instructors were always willing to help me after class when necessary, and I had a total of 3 projects/internships with actual companies building real software. Most of the professors had terminal degrees. |
| How Difficult | 6 | I was able to maintain a full-time job and go to school at the same time, although it took several years. Again, the school is unranked. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the professors had terminal degrees and were academic. However, the department requires students have at least one internship/project experience with a real company before they graduate, ensuring students get real world skills. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | The school does offer hybrid and online only classes, as well as traditional classes. However, in the CS department, the professors like not working on Fridays, so many of the weekday classes go an hour and a half instead of the typical 50 minutes to offset. This makes scheduling non-CS classes difficult. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The school has multiple computer labs, robotics labs, presentation rooms, etc. Additionally, they provide all the software required, and even have a supply of laptops to loan to students in the program. |
| Social Life | 5 | I didn't participate in social activities since I was older and married. I do know they offered several clubs, including one that was building a star-trek simulation program, complete with bridge, computers, battle stations, giant main screen, etc. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Between placing me in several internships and keeping me on the mailing list for jobs long after graduation, I'd say they do quite well. I had a job as soon as I graduated, and feel like I could get another easily. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The network was quite good. I had a job as soon as I graduated. Additionally, the school maintains a mailing list which keeps grads in the loop about what jobs are available. |
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