Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Computer Programmers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Santa Monica College, Pasadena City College, Berkeley City College, and Moorpark 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 San Diego State, Cal State San Marcos, Cal State L.A., and The National Hispanic University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Mills College, LA College International, and Humphreys.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider The National Hispanic University, Cal State L.A., CSU Dominguez Hills, and UC Riverside.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Palo Verde College, Mendocino College, Brandman, and Monterey Peninsula College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of LA College International, Pomona College, Cal Tech, and Harvey Mudd.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Harvey Mudd, Pacific Union College, Claremont McKenna, and Pomona College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Cal Tech, Harvey Mudd, Pomona College, and Stanford University.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Stanford University, Cal Tech, Pomona College, and Claremont McKenna.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Cal Tech, Pomona College, Claremont McKenna, and Stanford University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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San Jose State University • San Jose, CA
Studying Software Engineering (completion in 2009)
• 5/8/2011
"The learning was good. Some of the rules were very rigid."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I will recommend as the school is in Silicon Valley where most of the tech companies are. So good chances of getting job and good exposure. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Reputation is good as the school is in Silicon Valley. Many tech companies come and recruit. |
| Program Quality | 5 | Some of the professors are really good but not all. Assignment quality was good. Learned a lot through assignments. Some subjects are useless. |
| Instruction | 5 | Amount of learning was good. Quality of curriculum was average. Classes were of 3 hours. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It was difficult. We needed to work on new technologies and needed to learn about them. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Assignments were really good. We got to work on new technologies. Learned a lot. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | It's good. Mostly classes are in the evening. That suits well if you are already working. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Library is very good. Professors are mostly available during their office hours. Classrooms are good. |
| Social Life | 3 | I made new friends. Never participated in any social events. |
| Placement Services | 7 | They organize career fairs every term. Many companies come to recruit. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The alumni network is not that great. There is no common place where all can connect and talk. |
San Diego State University • San Diego, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2008)
• 5/8/2011
"I will be always proud to be a part of San Diego State University."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is an amazing place to study. Very highly recommended. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | San Diego State University is considered one of the best universities. |
| Program Quality | 10 | San Diego State University is a prime university for many courses including computer science. |
| Instruction | 10 | At San Diego State University, I learned a lot. It is a perfect platform to prepare yourself for your career. |
| How Difficult | 9 | The grading system is very tough. It requires a lot of attention and hard work to get good grades. But this is also similar to the quality of education we get. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It is a mix of hands on and book learning. This allows the students to grasp concepts in real life. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | It is flexible and provides a big range of options for you to pick from. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | San Diego State University has a big campus and very nice facilities. |
| Social Life | 10 | Many social and extra curricular groups you may join. Parties are full of life. |
| Placement Services | 10 | We get a lot of assistance for career placement. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | There is a big Alumni network for our San Diego State University students. They are literally all across the country. |
UC Berkeley • Berkeley, CA
Studying Electrical Engineering/Computer Science (completion in 1986)
"My college provided what it promised for my program. I was able to get the classes I wanted, to learn the material I wanted, and complete my degree in a timely fashion. The school's career center was a great start for my future after college."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | UC Berkeley Engineering was a great place to learn and meet others that I still network with today. It continues to be a great engineering school and I would highly recommend it to student looking into an engineering degree. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | At the time, I attended, UC Berkeley was in the top 3 programs for EECS. It had many of the top professors in the field. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The program offered me a lot of choices of emphasis for my major (I focused on software development by choice). There were opportunities for doing research under professors or internships with companies to get real world experience. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | I completed my bachelors 25 years ago. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The coursework was challenging and difficult for students who were used to doing well in high school. Even though it was difficult, the complexity in the material was probably necessary based on real-world job requirements. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A lot of the engineering program was theoretical. Although we did many labs on basic functions of things, a lot of material was picked up from textbooks and lectures. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | At the time I attended all coursework was on weekdays from 8am to 5pm. There were very few courses in my program that were offered during the summer. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | I found I had access to computers, media, and libraries to fulfill all my needs. The campus internet access was great for the time I attended. |
| Social Life | 8 | Campus social life was great. The diversity of people at UC Berkeley allowed everyone to find multiple groups of friends who shared common interests. My best friends are the ones I made from college. |
| Placement Services | 10 | I was able to get many on-campus job interviews through the campus program. I received 3 job offers as a result of my on-campus interview. I did join one of the companies that I met through the campus interview and stayed on with them for 14 years. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I have heard good things about the alumni program but have not made much use of it on my own. The alumni program offers social events while providing funds for scholarships and programs within the school. |
University Of California Stanislaus • Modesto, CA
Studying Computer Engineering (completion in 2008)
• 5/1/2011
"I am very satisfied with my school. I just wish budget cuts hadn't hit my campus so hard."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I have actually recommended both my brother, and aunt to this school to finish their education. I was very happy with this campus. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | My school was pretty unknown compared to the bigger schools, such as Berkeley. This campus though offers an amazing program. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The education level at my school was great. Sadly though with the budget cuts California imposed we started to lose a lot of good staff towards the end of my time there. |
| Instruction | 10 | The staff was amazing. They spent a lot of time with us making sure each student was ready for the workforce. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Programming is so intense that many people dropped the class. It required a lot of outside study. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The school fought very hard to make sure everything was a fair mix. This is why I was able to have enough experience to get the job I have now. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | Classes were not flexible at all. In fact the schedule was so tight you had to schedule your life around the classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Budgets cuts really hit my school hard towards the end of my program. Thus we lost a lot of our advanced technology, and computers. |
| Social Life | 9 | Modesto is a rather small town, and almost everyone knew everyone else. Thus the campus was very connected. |
| Placement Services | 6 | The school does not really offer job placement. In fact most jobs offered are from employers just coming on campus. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | With budget cuts being imposed now more than ever this feature has waned, thus not allowing us as alumni to communicate very well. |
California State Polytechnic University • Pomona, CA
Studying B.S. Computer Science & Engineering (completion in 2008)
• 5/1/2011
"I'm very satisfied because its a well known school in the country. And it has prepared me a lot for the field."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes it's a great school for sciences. And I think you will have a great experience at this school. It's a great school to have on your resume. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | It's a great school -- most of the top students end up working for JPL or the big defense companies like Raytheon, Boeing etc. |
| Program Quality | 8 | it has great professors and also provides a lot of hands-on experiences through the curriculum. |
| Instruction | 9 | Most of the professors have a lot of experience and have done a lot research in their fields. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Basically its is difficult because its needs a lot of math and programming and most of the people are not used to it. And it gets hard with senior courses. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Its a combination of both but the goal of the school philosophy is to give a lot of hands on experience to the students. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | It's good they provide classes for everybody. But it all depends on the budget since the economy is bad and it has probably gotten worse around this time. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | They have good facilities that help students with their assignments and lab experiments. |
| Social Life | 4 | Basically its a commuter school so everybody leaves the school after classes. There are no "downtown areas." |
| Placement Services | 8 | They do a good job trying to provide placement for the students. They offer a lot of services, and workshops. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | I think they do a good job. I think they need to reach more students . |
University Of California, Irvine • Irvine, CA
Studying Informatics (completion in 2012)
• 5/1/2011
"I am quite satisfied with my school. Without it, I probably wouldn't have the career I have now."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's a great school that offers great facilities and great experience for the field. It is unlikely that you'd find a program like this at another school. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I am told UCI has some of the top software engineers and researchers in the world. I would believe that reflects the school's success and reputation. |
| Program Quality | 8 | It wasn't perfect, but it taught me a lot, and truly prepared me for the field. The computer science major concentrated too strongly on low level programming rather than real world experience. |
| Instruction | 10 | As I explained in the previous question, the instruction I was given helped prepare me for work in my career choice. Without it, I would've been unprepared. |
| How Difficult | 8 | In a lot of ways it was like actually working, as we were given clients to work with and projects to do that could or could not be implemented by our company sponsors. We were as much at risk at failing class as we were failing our clients. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | At the beginning of the year, there was a concentration on book work. However, as we moved on, hands-on began became very important. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | There was always one class that was offered at one time, and it made it extremely difficult to do things I wanted to do (like find an internship). Given the limited faculty, however, that was understandable. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | They were exceptional, and helped further my success. All the help outside of class, especially. |
| Social Life | 5 | I was too busy with school work and actual work to take part in any social events. I socialized with close friends, but nothing that directly pertained to the school. |
| Placement Services | 5 | My school didn't help my job placement at all, although I was given advice and counseling for my career options. It helped, but it was nothing to write home about. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | It's nothing amazing, but not bad. I don't exactly benefit from it. |
University Of The Pacific • Stockton, CA
Studying Computer Engineering (completion in 2006)
• 5/5/2011
"I'm very pleased with the education I received from Pacific. It offered a great education at a great price."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would definitely recommend UOP to any student who was considering it. You'll be more than just a number. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Pacific has had a reputation for being one of the top Engineering schools without a Graduate program. While they have recently added a grad program, it has retained the same level of quality and commitment to students. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The engineering program at my school is very small (approximately 500 students). This allows for lots of personal attention and focus on students. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | |
| How Difficult | 7 | Engineering is never an easy subject and always involves large amounts of work. But I believe Pacific found a good balance of preparing students for the real world without burdening them. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most engineering or science classes have a lab component to them. This enables students to apply what they've learned rather than just reading about it. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | As long as students pass their classes and regularly meet with facility advisors prior to enrolling for courses, Pacific ensures that students will graduate in 5 years. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Pacific has several engineering only labs that are open to students. Each student is required to have a faculty advisor, to ensure that students are progressing and on track. All teachers have office hours where they can meet with student who require additional time outside of class. There are also school sponsored tutors available. |
| Social Life | 5 | As in all schools, the social aspect is what you make of it. The school is known for its basketball and volley ball teams, which enjoys large support from students. Frats/sororities also play a large part in the social scene. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I have never made use of the universities job placement or career services. However, the school does offer job placement assistance for all grads, and the Engineering department also remains in constant contact with industry and can help with job searches. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have received emails, phone calls, and mail from my school's alumni association, so I know it exists. But as of yet, I have not really been interested in attending any of their functions. |
St. Mary's Of California • Moraga, CA
Studying MBA/Systems Engineering (completion in 2000)
• 5/5/2011
"I maybe rated it overall better than the individual categories because it just all fit together. Consider for example designing an airline system with people in the group who work for an airline. Much more learning than just the project itself."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I think it's a waste of time to go to one of the University of Phoenix type places that charge a lot and have pretty low standards. If you can't make the commitment to go to a prestige school but want quality then I think St. Mary's is a good choice. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | As a minor college it's always a cut below the MIT's etc. But they do put on a good program even if not well known. |
| Program Quality | 2 | Good technical people and students and faculty also experienced in the real world. For a bachelors then technical content is probably most important but for a masters it's got to be based in the real world to be useful. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | n/a |
| How Difficult | 3 | No fooling around or faking it here. Programs had to work and be well designed and professional, not for hackers. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I give it a bit more towards hands on because of the projects we did. Much more of that than book reading and taking tests. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | Very flexible with options from full time daytime to night which is what I did. And one could mix and match if desired. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | Not much provided besides classrooms and profs. We had to use our own computers and that's not a big deal since everyone has one these days. Who needs a library? |
| Social Life | 5 | Since I was there mostly for night classes i just wanted to go home. No desire to hang out so I never did. |
| Placement Services | 4 | Only used the job placement office once to no great benefit. I did much better with networking on my own. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Didn't really make much use of the network. They were more interested in cocktail parties than useful exchanges. |
UC Irvine • Irvine, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 5/4/2011
"It gave me a good research experience and there were very good classes offered too. Even if the career center sucked, the stuff I've done sufficed to get me a good job."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend this school for a grad program in artificial intelligence or graphics or algorithms. Systems, nope. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | It's a new school due to which even though the programs are good, the ratings aren't that high. |
| Program Quality | 9 | It has a very good collection of professors and lecturers. They design very good courses. |
| Instruction | 8 | It's a research-oriented place due to which some professors don't teach all that well. |
| How Difficult | 7 | They have pretty high standards and the quarter system makes it all the more stressful. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the courses I took were very project-oriented. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | I haven't seen any of those programs offered. I would be the wrong person to talk about flexibility here because i haven’t felt the need for it. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The libraries are good and well-stocked. The professors are quite accessible. |
| Social Life | 5 | Everyone goes home for the weekend. It's a sleepy town. |
| Placement Services | 4 | There aren't that many computer science employers visiting the career fairs, and the career center doesn't do much about that. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | It's not as well-known as the bigger schools, and the alumni aren't in all that many wonderful places. |
UCLA • Los Angeles, CA
Studying Cognitive Science (completion in 2011)
• 7/8/2011
"I liked the feel of the school and the different aspects of it. It was certainly better than high school and gave a pretty good mix of different things/classes/jobs."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | UCLA is a pretty good school and is viewed relatively well. This also includes employers and I believe it helped me get internships early on. There are also a lot of people studying computer science, so that will give people the chance to meet other future programmers. There are also some good job opportunities that you probably wouldn't be able to get at a smaller school and that could be a great help later on in your career. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Because my major was very small (~60 students per year), I don't know what the ratings for it are. UCLA as a whole is fairly above average, so I would place it in line with that. |
| Program Quality | 7 | There was a lack of integration between courses in this interdisciplinary major. There was also a good degree of freedom in class choices, though. |
| Instruction | 7 | There are obviously good and bad teachers, and I would rate most of my teaches as fine. So a slightly above average rating seems applicable. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The computer science courses that I took were much harder than the majority of the classes that were required for my major. I also took psychology classes which were more on the 5 level, but the ones that leaned more towards science were much more difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Computer programming classes were very hands on, though I don't know if there could be another way to teach programming. However, in pretty much all my other classes, I would say there was almost no hands on learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | There are very few online options and none in my course of study. There are also no real night classes offered for me. During the day, however, it is pretty flexible since there are a lot of different classes due to the large size of the school. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | There are certainly some good resources, but you do have to search for them to a certain extent. The computer labs for the psych department were very limited but the computer labs for computer programming classes and computer science classes were pretty flexible. There were no real tutors/study groups, however, for regular students. And accessibility of professors was about average. |
| Social Life | 3 | I was not involved in most of the above so it was not so great. However, there seemed like a lot of opportunities for people that were looking for different activities. |
| Placement Services | 4 | I did not receive much help with finding internships or jobs through my school's job placement and career services and got my undergraduate experience without help from the career center. I had to look elsewhere for internships and jobs, even on campus programming related jobs. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I don't really know that much about my school's alumni network and support as I very recently graduated and haven't given it much thought. |
UCSD Jacobs School Of Engineering • San Diego, CA
Studying Computer Sciences (completion in 2010)
• 7/16/2011
"I am very satisfied with my school and I always miss those days of learning. It has improved my professional skills and also my social life."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | it is very nice place to learn. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | It is a famous engineering school in San Diego and very popular among the new generation because graduates are performing their jobs very well. |
| Program Quality | 9 | It was a very good school as they make let the students be creative and provide them all the best opportunities for their careers. A very helpful staff also make it great. |
| Instruction | 9 | I learned much from this school and now I am a good programmer. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It's quite difficult to be creative in programming since all things look imaginary and you have to make a program logical. So I found this field to be a little bit difficult ,but still quite interesting. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | In school they provide hand outs to the students, but mostly prefer book learning. Professors write their own books on programming and student mostly use these books. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | they are strict on the class scheduling. They do provide opportunities for evening students and also offer online short courses in programming. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | All of these things are extremely good. Tutors, library, labs - everything is awesome. Students can get maximum benefits from these facilities. Everything is connected through a LAN with the main server. |
| Social Life | 9 | It is also a good source for social relationships and provides opportunities for students to connect themselves socially by arranging different annual programs. |
| Placement Services | 9 | At this school they provide job opportunities to the students and arrange their internships in well known software houses. They also provide them with jobs in the school. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | The staff was very helpful and caring and guided the students on their career paths and also made them creative to compete with the world's challenges in future. |
UC Santa Barbara • Santa Barbara, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2007)
• 7/27/2011
"It was the best mix of academics and social interaction. The experience was amazing."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would highly recommend UCSB to others studying computer science. It is a great school. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Computer Science has been a respected major at the school for quite a while. Some very important research has come out of UCSB. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I was given strong fundamentals in computer science theory with a good amount of programming instruction. The relaxed atmosphere of the school helped me deal with the stress of a highly technical field of study. |
| Instruction | 8 | The school has a very well thought-out curriculum. A few sub-par professors lower the rating slightly. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The work load was heavy at times but never unbearable. Computer science is a challenging field. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Theory is strongly emphasized and studied in-depth. However, most learning is done though programming. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Standard university scheduling. Summer sessions are very convenient. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Computer labs are well equipped and staffed. Professors can sometimes have limited availability but teaching assistants are very helpful. |
| Social Life | 10 | It's one of the most social schools in California. The students work hard and play hard. |
| Placement Services | 8 | The school participates with local business in the field for a senior project course. Also, the career fairs are well done. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The alumni network seems to be better for other fields. I see a lot of activity on social media websites but nothing very relevant to me. |
University Of California San Diego • La Jolla, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2013)
• 7/23/2011
"Average experience. I did learn a lot."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | UCSD has a good computer science program, no doubt about it. If you want a decent salary and decent job prospects, go to UCSD. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | UCSD has a top 15 computer science program. |
| Program Quality | It provides me with interesting challenges, however the work hours and conditions are painful, especially for the eyes. | |
| Instruction | 8 | School has prepared me algorithmically for what I've had to accomplish as a software engineer. The only thing lacking is building an actual product. |
| How Difficult | 9 | It's difficult and unhealthy, sitting in front of a computer all day. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The course moves too fast for it to be hands-on. Most of it is concepts out of a book applied cursorily. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Classes are provided most of the year, but some courses are offered only during specific quarters. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Old machines at best. Generally I worked on my own machine. |
| Social Life | 5 | No real Division I athletics = no school spirit. It's a problem with a lot of schools. |
| Placement Services | 7 | Generally, UCSD CS grads with at least a 3.0 GPA find a job within the first year. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Young school. Not much of a network. |
Orange Coast College • Costa Mesa, CA
Studying Mathematics (completion in 2009)
• 7/24/2011
"I would say as far as schools go, I would repeat the experience. I was happy with the staff, facility, and the help to my career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | As a starting point, Orange Coast College is wonderful, though it all depends on how you use it. You get out of it what you put in. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I have got programming jobs based on the recommendations of my professors. Because their names carry weight in the same fields in which they teach, I would call it a good reputation. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The programming instruction received was excellent. I was given a clear understanding of the languages in the classes I took. I had an instructor who worked in the field, which helped me start. |
| Instruction | 10 | As stated earlier, my instructor was able to give me more realistic expectations about the industry. I have walked away with a strong ability to manipulate code in the languages for which I have taken classes. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Specificity and accuracy are the most difficult things, but when you make a habit of them, it make things much smoother. The results justify the difficulty. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Almost all my programming experience was hands on. Books were primarily used as references when we didn't remember something, or when studying for a test. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | For impacted programs, few classes exist, limiting the time of the class. Between disciplines, this can cause chaos with overlap, and extend the time taken to achieve a degree. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The computer labs provided me with the majority of the software we worked with, and the bookstore provided books at a discount when the they did not. Bandwidth was slow, but not terrible. |
| Social Life | 7 | I met the love of my life in the art program, though we are now separated. The school had the potential for great involvement, and had many supporters and events. |
| Placement Services | 5 | There is little screening that exists for job placement and career services. Jobs are not particularly good and there are many to sort through. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | Alumni assist the school, which in turn helps the students. I would like it if the alumni were directly hired from the program, though that is likely due to graduating from a two-year rather than four-year institution. |
El Camino College • Torrance, CA
Studying Computer Programming (completion in 1989)
• 8/27/2011
"El Camino did an excellent job of teaching me computer programming and getting me into the workplace."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, if you are serious about learning programming, El Camino is a good place to learn it. If you want to move into the workforce right away, it can provide you with the means to do that. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | Their reputation is not as good as it was years ago. Times have changed and it has been hard for them to keep up. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I was well prepared by El Camino to work in the programming world. They gave me a firm grounding in the fundamentals of computers and programming. |
| Instruction | 9 | The instructors that I had were excellent. They worked in the off season at big local IT shops like Northrop and Boeing and knew what was needed to make it in the programming world. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The coursework required a completed program every week. At the time it seemed very hard, but once I was used to turning out programs fast, it was in line with what was needed in the professional world. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This program was all hands on. There was only enough textbook work to provide you with a little background for what you were learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | There was no flexibility in the program. You had to be there when the scheduled classes were going on. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facilities were very good. They had the latest equipment and facilities and were very knowledgeable in using them. |
| Social Life | 5 | The social experience was average. They did not pay much attention to that aspect of college life. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I did not use the school's job placement program because I was hired before I completed the program. I hear that the job placement program is OK, but nothing that great. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I was hired before I finished the program and did not participate in the alumni network. People that I knew did and said that it was so-so. |
California Polytechnic State University • San Luis Obispo, CA
Studying General Engineering (completion in 2008)
• 9/30/2011
"There were lots of things I did not like, such as some aspects of the student body. But I loved it overall, and I met great people, and I learned what I'm passionate for in life."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Anything related to computers is going to be highly technical. Even if Cal Poly doesn't focus as much on creative outlets, its technical education is superb. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Cal Poly SLO is rated pretty well for engineering. |
| Program Quality | 6 | My school made it very difficult to switch majors, especially between departments. I was locked into a program I didn't enjoy. On the other hand, I was first introduced to programming in a C/UNIX that was required for my major. |
| Instruction | 5 | Something about my college/program was just a bit too technical. I'm creative, I consider what I do for a living to be creative, but I had to discover that on my own while working as an engineer for two years and hating it. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Engineering was tough at Cal Poly. I was able to take more technical electives as general, which gave me a little more freedom. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The lower level courses were definitely all bookwork, but later on we got to do a lot of field and lab work that really taught a lot. After all, Cal Poly's motto is "learn by doing." | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I was a lot more willing to take evening classes than morning classes. A lot were crowded but that's pretty typical in the higher education system today. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | They had just finished a new technology building and robotics center during my last year. |
| Social Life | 7 | The stress of classes combined with issues in my personal life let me fairly antisocial. I didn't get much into school spirit, but had a small group of student friends and we all identified strongly with our school and town. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I found a couple jobs on their employment website, called MustangJobs. One was at a winery and the other was for the Atascadero Mutual Water Company. Great jobs for being a student at the time. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | The teachers were mostly working professionals. They were nice people and offered support but, with a few spectacular exceptions, teaching definitely wasn't their calling. |
UC Berkeley • Berkeley, CA
Studying Electrical Engineering And Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 10/6/2011
"I love the place and the people and the learning. I am grateful for my time there."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It will help you learn your programming concepts, answer those algorithm questions in your interviews, and find a job. Go Bears! |
| Program Reputation | 9 | EECS at Berkeley is ranked as one of the best programs in the country, alongside MIT and Stanford. I felt like it was very helpful in obtaining a job. |
| Program Quality | 9 | It was hard at times, it made me realize how far I could push myself. At the same time, many of the skills I learned (in upper division technical classes especially) I now apply at my job. |
| Instruction | 9 | I felt like I had the best professors around, who were passionate and constantly challenging our minds. We learned computers on all levels, from individual bits up to high-level software applications. |
| How Difficult | 8 | I felt like it was very, very hard, but that's probably because I'm not a genius and have to work at things a little longer. However, EECS does have the reputation of being the most difficult major on campus. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the learning is done in projects. There is still required reading. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Class scheduling could be a little rough. They had standard class times with summer school offerings. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) and professors held regular office hours and honor societies offered free tutoring. There were lots of computer labs with decent hardware and many, many libraries to study at. |
| Social Life | 6 | My program had the reputation of being more devoted to academics than a social life, which I won't deny. I still enjoyed attending football games (Go Bears!), parties, and clubs, like Circle K and salsa dancing. |
| Placement Services | 8 | There was constant recruitment, from career fairs to info sessions. Callisto was very helpful in obtaining on-campus interviews. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I haven't taken much advantage of the alumni program. I do get pestered for donations, which I gladly give. |
Point Loma Nazarene University • San Diego, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1982)
• 10/14/2011
"I got the degree I wanted at a school I liked. It was exactly what I chose it for: a location I liked, close to home, and with a Christian learning environment like I wanted."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It was a positive experience, and I got the degree I needed to proceed with my career. My employer was happy with my degree, and I was happy with my promotion and career. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I wouldn't say that they are known especially for this major, but they're a respected school. Their reputation is more as a general Christian liberal arts university. |
| Program Quality | 4 | At the time I got my degree, they offered only two options for the Computer Science program: Math or Business. I wish that they had offered an Engineering option, as it would have been better aligned with the industry I worked work in. |
| Instruction | 7 | It was a good school, with dedicated professors and small class sizes. It prepared me well, although I was already working in the industry when I started there. |
| How Difficult | 9 | The higher math required for the Math Option was pretty tough. I struggled with it pretty badly in the 4th year, but I made it. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a lot of book learning, which was mostly intellectual. However, programming classes involved real computer equipment. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I worked half time and went to school half time while I completed my degree. My employer accommodated the school schedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | I found the facilities quite adequate. They provided all of the equipment and learning resources necessary to complete the classes. |
| Social Life | 5 | I'm an engineer, and not the rah-rah sort. I wasn't looking for parties and social events, so I didn't go to any that I didn't have to. |
| Placement Services | I never used these services. I was already employed in the industry while I got my degree, and continued with the same company (with a promotion) after I completed my degree. | |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I am always contacted for alumni activities. Plus they have a group on LinkedIn.com. They do fine by me. |
National University • San Diego, CA
Studying Software Engineering (completion in 2007)
• 10/20/2011
"NU needs to toughen its academic standards. It also needs to improve its reputation in the business world."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I would absolutely not recommend NU for a software degree. It is not reputable at all. |
| Program Reputation | 1 | No hiring manager has ever expressed interest in my university. NU does not have a good reputation for software. |
| Program Quality | 1 | The computer engineering program at National University is very weak. The academic standards are very low, so the degree is not very valuable. |
| Instruction | 3 | Some of the teachers were solid in regards to programming. The engineering teachers were very uninterested and no matter how bad the work it was graded as A/B. |
| How Difficult | 3 | Most of the engineering work was busy work. The computer programming was fairly good, however. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Work at NU is a good mix. I've read long books on engineering principles and spent many hours programming. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | Classes are very easy to find at NU. There is no shortage of time slots. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | NU has a very nice campus in Clairemont Mesa. I found it very comfortable. |
| Social Life | 7 | The students at NU were personable, if not academically brilliant. I found my time there enjoyable. |
| Placement Services | 1 | NU provided no support for the software field. Everything I've done has been on my own. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | NU has a very weak alumni network. The only contacts I receive are requests for donations. |
California College San Diego • San Diego, CA
Studying Computer Programmer (completion in 2012)
• 11/16/2011
"I gave CCSD a 4 rating because I want people to know what to expect when going to this school. It is not the best College in California at all. So look around a lot, folks, and don't make the mistake I did by looking at brochures and the pretty pictures on the cover."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | No, because if I knew what I know now, this college would have been my last choice. This school has too many bad reviews of people not getting what they expected from such a high ranked and expensive college. They don't keep their promises after you graduate. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | The computer program is average because the class is full at the beginning with about 50 people who want to learn and have interest in computers. The class usually ends up with about 20 or 30. So this college is not afraid to drop people. You do learn, and the professors are great most of the time. |
| Program Quality | 4 | I would have felt better if the school would have told me up front that they were not going to help me find a job. I was not expecting any different after the money was in their hand. I feel gypped and scammed and lied too now. I will know better next time of course, but wish I knew this time. |
| Instruction | 4 | This is not easy first of all, so if you were looking for something easy computer programming, is not for you. The professor lectures for about 3 hours so we have a few breaks between each lecture, which is great. It's a lot and it's hard to cram in that much, so I had to buy a video recorder instead. |
| How Difficult | 9 | It's a very difficult load to take on. Three hours of lectures is very hard to sit through and not fall asleep. That is why I recommend a video or tape recorder. This will help you out a lot, you will see. The homework is out of this world - so many pages of homework and studying. Quizzes and discussions are held every week which is not that bad because it keeps me on top of everything. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | ||
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The schedules are pretty flexible because you can go to class during the week, and if you missed an assignment or something you can always go check in online and finish the assignment there. There are evening and weekend options. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The school's facilities are very average at the moment. The library is huge and has a lot of great resources. The technology is awesome - a perfect ten. But the reason I gave it a 5 rating is because what is the use of all this great space in the class rooms and all this extra equipment if the teachers are short on staff? It seems like a professor is always leaving. So there were fewer professors to help us. It will take more time to get help, and by that time it's time to take the test. So, yes our classroom space and laboratories are great, but the teachers are missing. Tutors get a 10 rating because they are free here. |
| Social Life | 4 | The school spirit is very low. It just felt like every one really just had their own groups that they created and parties that they created. However, if you are not part of like, let's say the basketball team, then you will not be going to that party. So no, the parties were not organized like they should have been. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I mentioned earlier how the school didn't help us find jobs. This school reminds me of loan sharks because they work hard to get us to pay for school, but they don't work hard to find us jobs after graduation. This is unfair. |
Stanford University • Palo Alto, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 11/29/2011
"I thought I received a good education from there, and I learned the fundamentals of computer science. It was a very useful experience overall."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It provides a good education, but college is not the only thing that matters to be successful (some very successful people never even go to college). I think that all college education should be taken with a grain of salt, including Stanford and any other places. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Stanford is well known for its computer science program. It has a good reputation for computer science and other technology fields. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Stanford is well known for its computer science program. The program taught me all the fundamentals of computer science. |
| Instruction | 8 | Good teachers, and teaching assistants help out with difficult things. There are also video recordings available for many class lectures. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There is a quarter system at Stanford instead of a semester system. That means classes go fast and it's easy to fall behind. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There is not much time to read books, since classes go quickly. Thus, most learning happens from handouts and assignments. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | The schedule is very flexible. Attending lectures is not mandatory, and many lectures are video-recorded and can be viewed online at any time. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Everything that is needed for a student is available. There are libraries, computer clusters, etc. I wish the toilets were cleaner, though. |
| Social Life | 5 | I did not go to many parties or events. The study schedule is hard and takes up most of your time. |
| Placement Services | 7 | The career placement is good, similar to what other universities provide. In the end, it's about the person looking for the job and not about the career placement service. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | I do not use the alumni network. However, I have heard from others that it is pretty good. |
SJSU • San Jose, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2007)
• 11/29/2011
"I enjoyed my time there. "
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend it to people who can't afford Uni. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | It's a state university; it's not Ivy League or known to be exceptional in computer science. |
| Instruction | 7 | Some teachers were really good and caring for us; others were not. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Some classes were extremely difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We had computers available. They were not the latest/greatest. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Worked for me as a part-time worker. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | I enjoyed the facilities; bowling, football fields, etc. |
| Social Life | 8 | I was able to make friends. We hung out in study groups. |
| Placement Services | 3 | No job placement. Some advice, though. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | There is an alumni group that does activities. They send out emails, etc. |
CSU Chico • Chico, CA
Studying Computer Engineering (completion in 2010)
• 12/20/2011
"I really enjoyed my experience at CSU Chico. The one thing I am not satisfied with is the lack of industry connections."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | CSU Chico is a very fun school to attend. The computer engineering program will certainly challenge you and expand your knowledge. |
| Program Reputation | I don't know what my school's reputation for my program is. I tried looking this up, but there wasn't any relevant information available. | |
| Program Quality | 7 | This major was an excellent mix of hands-on experience and theory. I feel like I was challenged to excel in this field. |
| Instruction | 7 | Most of the teachers were excellent. However, some did not appear up to date with the modern state of the industry. |
| How Difficult | 9 | This program was very difficult. It took a lot of work to keep a decent grade point average. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Nearly every class I took had a lab section. This was where we did all the hands-on work. In class, it was pure theory. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Some classes are taught online. However, most classes are taught in the early afternoon. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The labs seemed outdated. There wasn't much research being conducted at CSU Chico, so the lab facilities contained the basics, and little more. |
| Social Life | 7 | The students were very friendly and willing to work as a team on several academic projects. There were a lot of fun activities downtown that were great after classes. |
| Placement Services | 8 | CSU Chico hosts technical job fairs twice a year. This is a great way to meet potential employers and possibly land a job. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | There really isn't much to say about my school's alumni support. I was offered insurance through my alumni association, and that's about it. |
Stanford University • Palo Alto, CA
Studying Computer Science - Human/Computer Interaction (completion in 2008)
• 1/13/2012
"I wish I worked harder and took less time to graduate – I graduated in 6.5 yrs. However, I have no regrets about choosing the program. I've met many smart people who have become my friends."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes! You might be able to learn as much from a book elsewhere, but the people make the difference. I have learned much more from my colleagues than I have from any other aspect of my education. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | In Silicon Valley, having a Stanford degree opens many doors. It's nice if you are trying to get funding for your web or mobile startup. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I got to work with some of the smartest people in the world. I felt very privileged to have had the opportunity. |
| Instruction | 9 | I had really good professors at Stanford. I also learned a lot from my colleagues. The curriculum was geared towards giving the PhD student as much freedom as possible to do what he/she wanted. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Yes, it was difficult, but in retrospect it seemed that working hard was better than "being smart." I remember sleeping very few hours per night from 2005-2006. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We had a set of comprehensive and qualification exams that we needed to take. These were to make sure we had enough breadth and depth in our computer science education. So those exams were more "book learning." But overall, the program was geared towards gaining experience working on your own research projects, i.e.. hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | For doctoral students, there were very few class requirements. You could choose as many or as few classes as you desired. They really wanted to support your research, rather than force you to complete requirements. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Funding was hard to get early on, so I had to be a TA for many quarters. Other than that, the program provided as many resources as we needed to complete our research work. |
| Social Life | 9 | Since graduate students were always so busy, we never partied much. But in our lab, we quickly bonded with lab mates. I would say I made very good friends during graduate school. |
| Placement Services | 9 | The computer forum at Stanford was a good program to pair students with companies who are hiring. I never really used the career services directly, but I know many students are a fan of the on-campus interview system, and the career fairs. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | There are a lot of Stanford graduates working on startups in the area (Palo Alto, Mountain View, Menlo Park). There is a good selection of mentors, but that I have not taken advantage of this network. |
University Of California - Irvine • Irvine, CA
Studying Information And Computer Science (completion in 2005)
• 1/19/2012
"I felt the education I received definitely contributed to where I am now. I'll have to give 1 point off for the price of the education though."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I believe the quality of the professors and the overall feel of the campus are major draws to attending UCI. If I went back in time and redid my college years, I would definitely pick UCI again. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I believe UCI's ICS program is considered one of the best in the state. It offers many different choices for students who want to specialize in a particular subject (i.e. hardware, video game programming, DBAs). Overall UCI has a really good reputation. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The teachers are great. Most of them make the classes interesting and conducive to learning. A couple of the professors were hard to understand though. |
| Instruction | 7 | I'd say I learned a great deal. However, many of the courses don't actually pertain to what I'm currently doing. Courses like documentation and software engineering do have a strong impact on career preparation. |
| How Difficult | 9 | The first few years are fairly easy, because the courses are mainly introductory university requirements. However, once I got into the upper division classes, things became tougher. Definitely need to have a lot more discipline when it comes to homework and studying. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | ICS requires a lot of lab work, which is definitely all hands-on work. However, some courses like networks and software engineering are mainly taught with the book. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Personally, I never had issues with class scheduling (aside from classes filling up too quickly and having to go into the class to add it). I took a few summer classes to catch up when I needed to. I don't think they had weekend/evening courses for my major, and no online courses either. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The school has easy access to the resources I needed. The library has many of the textbooks and reference books I needed for research. There are a few big computer labs where I did my work. The teachers assistants were also very helpful. |
| Social Life | 7 | Most of the students were very friendly. I wasn't in any club or fraternity, but I made quite a few friends hanging out in the pub and the pool/arcade room. |
| Placement Services | I never needed to use this service. I found work as an intern at a civil engineering firm and was always employed since then. | |
| Alumni Network | I don't have any affiliation with the school's alumni network. |
California State University, Northridge • Northridge, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2008)
• 1/18/2012
"The program was average, and even though the professors left something to be desired I was still able to learn the subjects. I also was able to receive a great internship and job through the school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school may not be the best, but if you are OK with working independently towards the subjects you can still come out of the program with great programming skill and knowledge. The school also has a great internship program which can help you land a job even before you graduate, like I did. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | The school's computer science program is accredited, so it has a decent reputation. The students know it is on the easier side though when compared to other schools. |
| Program Quality | 4 | The professors are not of the highest quality, and not up to date on the most cutting-edge technology. Also, the curriculum is very lax and doesn't require the amount of knowledge or skill to succeed like other schools. |
| Instruction | 4 | The professors are not of the highest quality, and not up to date on the most cutting-edge technology. Also, the curriculum is very lax and doesn't require the amount of knowledge or skill to succeed like other schools. |
| How Difficult | 2 | The classes were very easy - the curriculum for most did not provide any challenge. Also the grading was done on a curve so even those with poor grades end up with a decent GPA. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The program is more biased towards book learning and tests, and less about hands on and programming projects. There are many books for each class and extensive theory testing. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There is a wide variety of classes available to fulfill the degree requirements, which makes it easy to plan a schedule. There isn't much flexibility otherwise, with no weekend or evening class options and very few summer classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | There are multiple computer labs available for student use, and the professors have regular office hours. There is a tutoring center, but only for more generic subjects like math and not specific subjects like a computer science course. |
| Social Life | 7 | There is an active Greek system with many events. There is a lack of sports teams on the campus but there are a few that are skilled and able to rally support. |
| Placement Services | 10 | The school has many job fairs so that students can get their resume out there. They also have an honors internship program which places the best students in year-long internships with top companies for their senior year. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | The school has an alumni network, but I never knew about it until I was going to graduate. There was no interaction between the current students and the alumni. |
University Of California, San Diego • La Jolla, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2009)
• 1/8/2012
"Overall, I am pleased with my experiences at UCSD. While lacking in some areas, I was able to learn from some of the best and Computer Science has helped me professionally."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I use techniques and software every day that I first learned in my undergraduate studies. I would tell prospective students to make the most of their experience by getting involved in clubs . |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Aside from Biology, Computer Science is one of the top-ranked departments on campus. The Computer Science department receives millions of dollars each year in endowment funds allotted for research and further development of the program. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The UCSD computer science department focuses on bioinformatics, software engineering, embedded systems, and many other topics that are applicable to real operations at the professional level. The skills I obtained from working on projects in classes have carried over to my present job. |
| Instruction | 10 | UCSD computer science professors are some of the best in the world. My personal professors held PhD's from institutions such as Yale, MIT, and Brown. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Our program is extremely difficult. I used to have to spend hours in the computer labs completing assignments. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most classes are solely book learning. Sometimes we would have to do computer lab studies that were more hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Classes are very flexible, allowing students many options if they plan to take their classes in the morning or night. All classes have their syllabi posted online along with course assignments. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The UCSD computer lab is extremely nice with plenty of computers for students to work on. TA hours are not that useful and are often cancelled. |
| Social Life | 7 | Unless a student makes an effort they will not meet very many people. I joined a fraternity and was able to meet a lot of people that way. |
| Placement Services | 9 | We have a career services center that is helpful in preparing students for interviews based on their major. There is a job database that has job listings in cities all over the country. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | Our Alumni program does nothing more than ask for donations for undergraduate programs. I have an alumni account but only ever receive emails about opportunities for me to donate. |
University Of Southern California • Los Angeles, CA
Studying Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering (completion in 2011)
• 1/28/2012
"I had a lot of fun and made lots of valuable connections."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It really depends on the student. They must be willing to become part of the community. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The program is developing. There is a lot of new research funding. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Good professors. Good industry links. |
| Instruction | 10 | Professors are very understandable and approachable. They have reasonable expectations. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The program has a lot of requirements. There is little opportunity for part time students. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This can be tailored to a student's desires. There are many extra-curricular projects to work on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | There is a set progression of classes. There is little support in lower division classes for part time students. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Some labs are getting old. The newer labs have the latest equipment. Excellent IT support. |
| Social Life | 10 | USC Trojans and the Trojan family. Huge greek community. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The staff is indifferent. They don't help find many good job opportunities. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | Very friendly. Always willing to help with job leads. |
University Of California - Irvine • Irvine, CA
Studying Information And Computer Sciences (completion in 1981)
• 2/5/2012
"The education gained provided me with the basis to explore multiple career disciplines. The theoretical grounding allows one to learn the basis of computing which allows one to apply it to a variety of jobs."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The education allows one to take the knowledge and apply it to many areas of work. It is broad and exposes one to many areas of computing. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I believe it's respected. At the time, in comparison to graduates of 2 local colleges (Long Beach St and Cal State Fullerton), the UCI graduates seemed to be higher valued. Perhaps it was because of the dedicated program (it was in its own school), whereas the other 2 were part of the mathematics dept. The knowledge gained seemed more computer science based and because there was a theoretical basis, it could be applied to many disciplines. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The school provided a theoretical grounding of computer science. The knowledge could be applied to many fields. |
| Instruction | 8 | Instruction was rigorous. It consisted of books, lectures and exercises all intended to teach a particular subject. Because it was theoretical and broad, one could apply the knowledge in a variety of fields. |
| How Difficult | 9 | The computer science program itself is probably an 8. However, I was studying pre-med also. Together with biology, chemistry, physics and the humanities, there was little room for electives. I participated on the track team and also had a part-time job of about 20 hrs/week, so it was demanding. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Good balance of book work and lectures. Hands-on exercises (programming, group projects) helped to impart practical knowledge and experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Because the number of students was not large in each class, the number of classes with regard to multiple offerings throughout the day and at various times of the year was not many. Also, because they tended to be sequences, they started in the fall. A few might be offered in the summer. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Professors were accessible. The computer lab was open 24 hours/7 days/week. PCs were not used at the time, but students had accounts on a minicomputer. Tutors and lab help were available. Students formed their own study groups as necessary. |
| Social Life | 5 | Social activities were provided in the dorms. Fraternities and sororities existed. Locally, there were few outlets for students. There were a few NCAA sports - basketball, baseball, track/field, but no football. School spirit was not strong. |
| Placement Services | 9 | They invited recruiters for on-campus interviews. They had information on companies. They assisted with resume preparation and provided information about interviewing. |
| Alumni Network | One exists. I get mailings, but I am not a member. |
UCSB • Santa Barbara, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2008)
• 2/27/2012
"It wasn't bad. It taught what you needed to know for the field. Definitely not the first choice for a CS major."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If it's the best overall school, then yes. Otherwise, go to a more prestigious school, even if it means paying more, like USC or another private school with a better alumni network. |
| Program Reputation | 3 | Definitely not known as a CS school. More known for partying, marine biology and tons of Nobel-Prize-winning professors who don't do much teaching. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The fundamentals are fine at UCSB. The instructors could've been more available to the students. Too heavy with Java over all other languages. |
| Instruction | 6 | Not that much preparation for a career in web programming. But since the fundamentals were sound, those who know how to solve problems have no problem in the real world. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Not too difficult, but not a complete cakewalk. Still need to put in time to work on the assignments, but no impossible assignments. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was a good mix, but it leaned a bit more towards theory, which was fine. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | Not very flexible. Most classes are catered to regular full-time students who live nearby. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The hardware is there, so I have no complaints about that. The instructors could have made their time more available. |
| Social Life | 6 | Very little school spirit. No football team, and the basketball team was not great. Lots of parties, though. |
| Placement Services | 1 | Nonexistent. Waste of time going to school's job placement office and website. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I have received absolutely no help from the alumni network, yet they keep calling to try to collect donations. |
USC • Los Angeles, CA
Studying Computer Sciences (completion in 2010)
• 3/11/2012
"At the time, they didn't know if they were going to keep the program open. They were flexible with students and asked for our feedback on the program."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you can afford it, which I was very fortunate to have been able to, it is a fantastic school. They are friendly and good to the students, and they uphold education standards seldom found elsewhere. |
| Program Reputation | This degree field is extremely small at USC. | |
| Program Quality | 9 | There is a lot of support and communication available to students. It was easy to find help. |
| Instruction | 10 | I'm not very good at math. The teachers in the math department were incredibly easy to understand and were very helpful. |
| How Difficult | 8 | For those who don't understand computer interfaces naturally, it's extremely difficult. It is also difficult for people who struggle with math. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Given my field of study, I did not engage in book learning as much as other students. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | This school does not offer evening courses, except for astronomy. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | USC does not skimp on student resources. Libraries hold long hours and have every book known to man. There are extensive computer labs and chemistry rooms available as well. |
| Social Life | 9 | Football, friends, great classes. What more could you ask for? |
| Placement Services | I did not use their assistance in finding work. | |
| Alumni Network | I am not in contact with any alumni programs. |
Wyotech • Long Beach, CA
Studying Computer Engineering (completion in 2014)
• 3/29/2012
"Overall I am satisfied with my school. I am satisfied with my career"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It definitely places you in the career of your choice. Very great school. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school is known for placing people where they belong, although the number of students has been decreasing. |
| Program Quality | 8 | School prepared me well but it was a bit pricey. |
| Instruction | 7 | For the most part, teachers seemed to care. I was not in school for a long time. |
| How Difficult | 9 | It was a very difficult program, but nothing was impossible. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It depended on the teacher. The class would either be book oriented or more hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | It was flexible in terms of when the classes were given. Not much variety to chose from, though. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Many resources, including tutors and counselors. They never say no. |
| Social Life | 5 | You do make a lot of friends, but it is not much of a party school. |
| Placement Services | 7 | Everyone that I know of was placed in a job, but I have heard of people that are unemployed. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | Most of the time the school seemed to care. They helped when I really needed it. |
University Of California Berkeley • Berkeley, CA
Studying Computer Science And Cognitive Science (completion in 2011)
• 3/23/2012
"Overall, considering the caliber of the education I received, despite its flaws, and the life-changing, hilariously enjoyable time I spent at the International House, I would say I am very satisfied. There are things I wish could have been different, but I feel overall that Cal has helped me along the path to achieving both my professional and personal goals."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you are a really serious CS nerd, Cal will do well by you. You can get as theoretical as you like, nobody cares if you spurn Architecture for Algorithms and Combinatorics, and you will find many of your own species here. If you are smart but not as nerdy as the afore-mentioned types and really just want a good job after graduation, Cal can still work for you. Just having that UC Berkeley name on your resume does WONDERS for your job search. I've had interviews where they hardly bother to ask technical questions and end up offering me serious money, I can only assume based mostly upon my degree more than anything. The fact that Cal is a massive, comprehensive university rather than a nerd-tastic technical school provides you with vast opportunities outside of whatever major you choose, so I would say go for it! |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Cal is a habitual resident of the upper regions of college ratings institutes' top universities lists. The UC Berkeley EECS department in particular enjoys a strong reputation worldwide and is, I believe, considered to be among the top three in the world, competing only with Stanford and MIT. |
| Program Quality | 7 | Cal obviously is quite famous for computer science and I found that the work was sufficiently challenging. However, for me it was lacking in applications: the emphasis was always somewhat more on theory than actual practice, which I consider a disadvantage for what I want in a career. |
| Instruction | 6 | The material was generally pretty good, but the quality of the instruction fluctuated wildly, from EE professors who truly lived in other worlds and were inaccessible to students to a Head of Software Engineering at a web video company who actually showed us real software his company was developing and brought fresh, real-world experience to the classroom. There could have been much more hands-on, practical instruction and assignments starting from the lower-division classes. That developed later on in upper divs, but too late, in my opinion. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Cal was challenging, for sure. Exams were brutal without exception and assignments were often large and complex. That was the good kind of difficulty, the kind that forces you to get off your rear and really think and sweat over the thing. Sadly, we had a lot of the bad kind of difficulty too, the kind that is caused by professors and GSIs ignoring questions and teaching badly and getting things wrong and letting students suffer for it. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | As I mentioned before, Cal tends to lean towards a theory emphasis. Of course, we were always coding, and later on in upper divs things would get more hands-on, like making an Android app from scratch or building web apps for groups on campus, but it should have been more like that all along. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There was more flexibility in my Cognitive Science major than in my Computer Science major, probably because the former is a less rigorous program. For Cog Sci, I found a fair amount of flexibility with the order in which I could take courses and with summer availability. For Computer Science, it was a much more rigid progression, with only one summer offering I was able to take advantage of and not much to speak of in the way of online and evening options. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | One of the things that most baffles me about Cal is that we are this huge, renowned academic establishment and yet so many of our computer labs and libraries and study spaces are so ugly and rundown. Students were routinely subjected to agonizing waitlisting due to no other reason than that the classroom that semester could only hold X number of people. Yes, for EE there are extensive labs and equipment, but many of those for undergrads are super old and lacking in basic things like enough soldering irons, sufficient selection of resistors, etc. |
| Social Life | 10 | My rating is almost entirely due to parts of my life outside of academics. Although I double majored, Computer Science was so much more demanding than Cognitive Science that Cog Sci was more like a little side project I squeezed in between programming projects. I spent a lot of time with Computer Science classmates, and with only five or six exceptions, they were all super nerdy or just not interesting. Consequently, my social life was acted out in my living community, which I wisely chose to be the international housing community for the university, International House. With its crazy mix of people from literally every corner of the world, undergrads, grad students, and researchers, and a persistent, heady atmosphere of adventure and holiday, the International House was the best, most exciting, most wonderful experience of my life. I met amazing people and went to insane parties and did awesome things. My Computer Science classmates came into this other world very rarely. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I visited the Career Center only once and was unimpressed by the career counselor's efforts. Much better are the career fairs that Cal holds every semester, including general ones as well as EECS-specific ones that are always very large and informative. |
| Alumni Network | As I have just graduated (last December) and haven't come across a reason to contact alumni services for any reason, I can't speak to this. The most I can say is that they made it easy to forward my email address. |
University Of California, Riverside • Riverside, CA
Studying Computer Engineering (completion in 2012)
• 4/1/2012
"School was very fun. I learned a lot of career applicable skills as well."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school has very good professors in the field. It is easy to get undergrad research. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The program is very good. It is newer, however, and doesn't have the pedigree that other programs do. |
| Program Quality | 8 | There were great research opportunities. I liked my professors. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors were experts in their fields. They were fair in their assessments of students. |
| How Difficult | 9 | The projects were very time consuming. The material was very difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was lots of learning from slides. There was also a lot of projects. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | They did not always follow the schedule that students were supposed to follow. They often opened up extra classes when necessary. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The school has adequate servers for everyone to have virtual computer space. The labs that do research also have ample server time. |
| Social Life | 7 | School spirit was rather low. The spirit amongst engineers, however, was high. |
| Placement Services | 7 | The school has lots of career fairs. They have many on campus recruiters. |
| Alumni Network | I have not used the alumni program. I have heard from others that it is very good. |
Palomar College • San Marcos, CA
Studying CS (completion in 2001)
• 3/31/2012
"I'm satisfied that the school wasn't too expensive, and it accomplished filling a spot on my resume. Upon entering, I already had experience in the field - this was largely done to complete certification and open up job opportunities, not for the sake of education. If I were seeking to further my education, I would likely look elsewhere."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would suggest Palomar to others who are seeking CS certification of various sorts, in two situations. Either they would be beginners in the field, and possess good outside influences to help open up their mind about the field, or else they would be in the situation I was - seeking an inexpensive certificate track, and already familiar with the materials being presented. I would not, however, suggest it to someone with some prior experience who was seeking to expand their knowledge. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | In my experience in the industry, with the exception of a few standout schools, degrees and certs are largely interchangeable. Work experience in the field and interviewing well tends to be a primary concern, and with thousands of CS programs around, smaller colleges barely merit a glance at a resume. |
| Program Quality | 5 | As a local college, the program was passing and covered normal systems programming. However, the selection of courses was limited and not particularly challenging, and the faculty was not terribly engaging, showing little interest in involving the students. |
| Instruction | 5 | Curriculum focused largely on rote tasks in C and Java, many courses showing their age. In my opinion, languages learned are less important than concepts. A wider variety of languages more capable of expressing core concepts would be valuable in the long run. |
| How Difficult | 3 | While some tasks were difficult through convolution or unrealistic conditions, the majority of them focused on well understood problems. Students with a prior programming background, including myself, generally had dealt with these issues in the past and quickly put together standard solutions to them. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The curriculum was quite formulaic and based heavily around the prescribed texts. There was very little room for creativity or exploration, which in an engineering field, is a shame. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Online courses were only just starting to be offered when I was in attendance. The vast majority of classes were offered at multiple times through the day, however, facilitating ease of a flexible schedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The campus libraries offered extended hours, which was always helpful, and the students formed fairly large and focused study groups, which made for a strong support network. Professors were less accessible than I would have liked, however. |
| Social Life | 5 | During my time at Palomar, I rarely had time for socializing (working and attending full time left me little free time). The student body seemed fairly friendly, and a large amount of nearby cafes (on and off campus) and restaurants seemed to encourage gatherings, at least. |
| Placement Services | I would rate this average or so, however I did not avail myself of any of the school's job placement services. I moved into a position working with a former colleague, and had no need of them. To the best of my knowledge, most of my classmates moved on to jobs fairly quickly, however. | |
| Alumni Network | I've moved across the country, and have had little contact with fellow students in the interim. While the occasional alums would speak, I haven't heard of any organized activity for alumni. |
California State University Sacramento • Sacramento, CA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 3/26/2012
"I feel my education has prepared me well for my work. It allows me to solve new problems and expand my knowledge at work."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school is very good for IT related fields. Several companies have strong CSUS alumni recruiting presences in their communities. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | The school has a good reputation in the local and surrounding area for IT. Several IT leaders and several oil and gas companies recruit for IT from CSUS. |
| Program Quality | 5 | It was easy for some students to skate by doing less work. They did not use industry standard languages (used Java as opposed to C++). |
| Instruction | 5 | Some were good, some were bad. A few had language problems and it was hard to understand them. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Some elective classes were challenging. Most of the core programs were easy to at least pass. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We had several classes that required us to implement actual software for volunteer clients. I feel that these classes offered essential experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There were always night classes, not so many weekend classes. The classes tended to fill up fairly quickly. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | There was a fairly large number of resources, both electronic and in the library. There were many study groups and the professors were always available during office hours. |
| Social Life | 4 | The school was not very adept at any sports. I did not attend any athletic events. Most people just wanted to get through school. |
| Placement Services | 6 | The career fairs were very good. The career department hosted sessions with employers as well. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | There is some support. I am not very connected with the association. |
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