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 Des Moines Area Community College, Kirkwood Community College, Eastern Iowa Community College District, and Iowa State.
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 Iowa State, William Penn University, University of Iowa, and Grand View.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Morningside College, Drake, Western Iowa Tech Community College, and Grinnell.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Mount Mercy College and Saint Ambrose University.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Grinnell, Cornell, Drake, and Dordt.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Waldorf College, Loras, Dordt, and Central College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Grinnell, Cornell, University of Iowa, and Iowa State.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Grinnell, Cornell, Maharishi, and William Penn University.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Grinnell, Loras, Cornell, and Clarke.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Cornell College • Mt. Vernon, IA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2008)
• 7/26/2011
"I was pretty satisfied with my overall experience. The price was pretty steep, though."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If someone wanted a liberal arts degree and to pursue another major in addition to computer science, I would recommend it. Otherwise, no. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | Cornell doesn't really have a reputation for computer science. It was the college's smallest department. |
| Program Quality | 8 | It was a great program that let me develop writing skills in addition to technical skills. I would have liked assistance with finding an internship, though. |
| Instruction | 6 | There was really only one outstanding teacher. The others were very boring. |
| How Difficult | 10 | My college was on a one-course-at-a-time program. With programming classes, it was difficult due to having to learn a new language quickly. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It depended a lot on the course. Science courses tended to be hands on while humanities were book oriented. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | You get to take one course at a time and that's it. It must be on campus, no distance, etc. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Cornell had just enough resources, being a small campus. Since there weren't many students, it was easy to find help. |
| Social Life | 10 | I was in a sorority and a few other groups. There was always something to do! |
| Placement Services | 8 | Cornell has a good career services department. They helped me land my first job. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | My college is always in contact with their alumni. There are events all over the country throughout the year. |
Iowa State University • Ames, IA
Studying Computer Engineering (completion in 2006)
• 10/10/2011
"I would definitely go there again if I had to do it over. It's a great school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would definitely go there again if I had to do it over. It's a great school. Everyone I know who completed my major got a great job. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Iowa State is foremost an engineering school. It may not be "nationally" known for that, but it certainly is in the midwest. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I loved all of the computer engineering related classes I took at ISU. I also felt I was really well prepared for my first real job. Part of that was my internship, which ISU was instrumental in helping me find. |
| Instruction | 9 | I felt I was really well prepared for my first real job. I had a good grasp of a lot of different computer engineering related subjects. ISU helped me to get an internship, which also helped. |
| How Difficult | 6 | Things definitely varied over my four years. Sometimes the workload was easy and trivial. Other times it was extremely busy and difficult. The non-computer related engineering courses were fairly difficult as well. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The Computer Engineering curriculum had a lot of hands on work in labs, working with real hardware and what not. But, there could have been more "real world" type of lessons, though. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I took classes at "normal" times. 8am-5pm. I can't really speak to weekend or evening options. I never needed them. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Pretty much everything was top notch. Computer labs were regularly updated. Buildings were constantly being updated/rebuilt. It's a great campus. |
| Social Life | 10 | Pretty much any kind of activity is available. Sports, religious, academic, major oriented. More options that I knew what to do with. |
| Placement Services | 10 | ISU helped me get an internship which was really the reason I was able to land the job I did. Their engineering career fairs were also awesome. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | It seems fairly good around Iowa. But in other areas it is lacking. For instance, the alumni association doesn't even have a chapter in my state. |
Hawkeye Community College • Waterloo, IA
Studying Web Design (completion in 2007)
• 2/5/2012
"I was able to get a good job after graduation, which was my main goal. I also think I learned a lot along the way."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The program provides the education and credentials needed to get a job in the field. After graduation, a person should have no problem in the computer programming profession. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I was able to find a job that was due in large part to the reputation of my school. The school has a good reputation in general, and especially in this field. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I learned a lot in college, and feel I was prepared for the workforce when I graduated. I was able to find a job fairly quickly after graduation, in part due to the reputation of the school. |
| Instruction | 8 | I definitely learned a lot, which was directly related to the instructors' abilities to teach the subjects. The curriculum was very relevant to the field that I wanted to go into. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Although I learned a lot, I wouldn't say the program was overly difficult. It was a fair amount of work, but I found it easy to accomplish. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the learning was very hands-on. It was a fair mix, but most of the time we were working on projects outside the book. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | There are quite a few options for course times. They have courses year-round, on weekends, and on the web. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The school in general provides a good atmosphere for learning. They also have a lot of state-of-the-art technology. |
| Social Life | 5 | There were a lot of social offerings in the school, but I personally didn't pay much attention to them. There was no on-campus living, so the social offerings were during a limited time frame. |
| Placement Services | 6 | They provide a lot of listings for potential employment after graduation. Also, they have a department of people that are there to help with any individual needs. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | There are some services provided for alumni, but it is quite limited. I suppose I don't really know what to expect, but I imagine that some people would expect a lot more. |
Hawkeye Community College • Waterloo, IA
Studying Liberal Arts (completion in 2011)
• 2/7/2012
"The only real goals I had were to get a degree and maybe learn a few things in the process. I accomplished both."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's a pretty decent school, without being overly difficult. Also, the price was pretty good compared to other schools. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | They have a pretty good reputation, but not great. They are looked at as just OK. |
| Program Quality | 5 | The program was pretty much what I expected; no more and no less. |
| Instruction | 7 | The quality varied a little depending on the courses, but overall, it was pretty good. I learned quite a bit and it seemed to be relevant. |
| How Difficult | 4 | I found the program to be fairly easy. However, I tend to learn more quickly and more easily than the average person. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was a very good mix, but leaned a little more toward learning from the books. All of my instructors did a good job of mixing it up. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | There were all sorts of options for taking the classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Some of the facilities seemed a little out of date, while others seemed state of the art. I would probably rate it higher if it were just more consistent. |
| Social Life | 4 | There isn't much of a social atmosphere, which is probably due to no on-campus housing. I'm not much of a social person, though, so it worked out OK. |
| Placement Services | 7 | The services that I knew of seemed pretty good. However, I never had the need to use them. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | As far as I know, there is no such thing. If there is, they should do a better job of letting us know. |
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