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 Moraine Valley Community College, College of DuPage, Northern Illinois, and University of Illinois.
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 Midstate College, Chicago State, Northeastern Illinois University, and Roosevelt University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Midstate College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Saint Augustine College, Chicago State, Morton College, and Prairie State.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider John A Logan College, University of St Francis, Governors State, and Saint Augustine College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Wheaton College, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Lake Forest College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Monmouth College, Blackburn, Knox, and Illinois College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and Wheaton College.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Saint Xavier University, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of St Francis.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, University of Chicago, Knox, and Northwestern University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign • Urbana-Champaign, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1993)
• 5/8/2011
"My experience with the program at my school was overall positive. I wasn't too keen on the geographical location -- basically in the middle of nowhere with the nearest interesting geographical place several hours away. I also really detested the school's ludicrous racist sports mascot. But the people I knew and interacted with socially at school as well as the program itself made for a very good experience overall."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would as long as I thought they could handle the difficult workload and didn't mind living in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn't recommend it for someone who needs more of a smaller, intimate educational experience as this can be a very large, impersonal university if you let it. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | The graduate program in Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a tremendous reputation and many distinguished alumni. It is generally rated in the top 5 in the country for such programs. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The graduate Computer Science program at my university is generally rated as one of the top 5 programs in the country. I found the curriculum to be quite challenging and interesting. The computing facilities were excellent. Strong faculty and very intelligent student body. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | |
| How Difficult | 8 | A couple of the core requirement courses one had to take and get a B in to graduate were VERY difficult, particularly the course in algorithm analysis. I can recall taking 10 hours to do a week's homework assignment. I answered only 2 of 7 questions on the course final and still managed to get a B, the material was so difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The computer science program required both very strong theoretical understanding of the subject material and very strong practical programming skills. I would say there was a fairly equal emphasis on both aspects. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | I'm not sure about weekend and evening offerings, but I know the school provided a fairly large course offering during summer sessions. I also know that more recently they have become one of the leaders in online options. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Generally excellent facilities were provided for the computer science program. The strong faculty brings in a lot of money so there is considerable funding for equipment and facilities. The library system at the university is fantastic -- large, modern and with great resources. Lab space was never a problem in my experience. |
| Social Life | 6 | The social experience was good mainly because of the high quality of students in my program. Highly intelligent people make for a fun and interesting crowd to hang out with. |
| Placement Services | 6 | I can't say much about this because I never availed myself of my school's job placement or career services assistance. I do know, however, that I have received communication about such services on a fairly regular basis since graduating. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I receive fairly regular communication from the alumni association. Some of it involves solicitation for donations but much of it also provides opportunities for career advancement and networking. |
Illinois Institute Of Technology • Chicago, IL
Studying MS Computer Science (completion in 1977)
"I marked "attended more than 5 years ago" since I graduated in 1976. But overall, I would have ranked it 7 or 8."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, it was a good school for me to go to. I look back on it favorably. I always mention it in my resume. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I think IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology, not to be confused with Indian Institute of Technology) is pretty-well regarded. I am often surprised how many people have heard of it. |
| Program Quality | 7 | It was a good technically-oriented school, and had a lot of Bell Labs employees as students when I was going there. My thesis advisor was nationally recognized in his field. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | No rating, graduated in 1977 |
| How Difficult | 7 | I had a 4.0 average, but usually only took one course at a time (it took me 5 years to get my MSCS). Some of the math courses e.g. linear equations were pretty difficult and I had to work hard to get an A. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We had a lot of textbook reading (such as Knuths' 3-volume "The Art Of Computer Programming"), but also lots of computer lab work using the university's mainframe (Univac 1108). They added dial-up access shortly after I graduated. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I was able to attend at night while working full-time. They opened a second campus out where I was working (western suburb of Chicago) about the time I graduated. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | They had an excellent library, and also a new (for its time) computer lab. I never had problems seeing professors when I needed to. |
| Social Life | 5 | I attended night school and was a graduate student, so I made no use of their social facilities. Assuming they are at least average. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I was already working full-time while going to graduate school, so I never made use of their placement services. Therefore assuming they are at least average. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I get contacted by them all the time asking for money, but rarely contribute. They occasionally have events in my area but I haven't attended any up to now. |
University Of Illinois • Urbana-Champaign, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1991)
"N/A"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Just the prestige of going to the school is worthwhile. Not only will a student get a good education, but it will be valuable to have the UIUC name on a resume in the future. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Having the school on my resume has opened opportunities that I might not otherwise have gotten. I've also had coworkers treat me with a certain level of respect once they found out where I graduated from. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I feel that I received a solid education from the college I attended. UIUC is a prestigious school in the industry and have helped open doors to new opportunities. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | |
| How Difficult | 8 | The program I was in required a lot of work, often resulting in all nighters. There was also a good degree of filtering out of unqualified students in the first two years. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of what I learned was from books and lectures rather than hands on. The professors were also not very helpful, so most of my learning was through TAs or by myself. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | I didn't really take care about weekend or evening class options. However, signing up for classes was like a lottery because you didn't know if a class you wanted would be too full and you wouldn't be accepted. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | There were many resources available, such as libraries, laboratories, etc. The professors were not very accessible and did not seem to care much about undergraduates. |
| Social Life | 6 | Academically and professionally, I'm glad I attended UIUC. However, my time there was pretty boring. There isn't much to do on campus since the college is located in the middle of nowhere. |
| Placement Services | 5 | When I graduated, I attended the school's job fairs. However, the school didn't provide much guidance or help in landing a job at one of the participating companies. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I get occasional mail from the school. Unfortunately, most of it is to solicit donations and not much in the way of news. |
University Of Illinois • Urbana, IL
Studying Computer Science / Mathematics (completion in 1989)
• 7/6/2011
"I thought the University of Illinois gave me an excellent education. I was well prepared for the workforce and could easily have gone on to graduate school if I had wanted to."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The University of Illinois computer science program is one of the best in the nation. The campus is beautiful and the people are friendly. One wouldn't think one would find culture in the middle of Illinois, but with the Krannert Center and the diversity of the student population, you'll be able to do just about anything you want! |
| Program Reputation | 10 | The University of Illinois has an excellent reputation. It is always rated as one of the top schools in computer science and engineering every year. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The University of Illinois computer science program was great. It had great teachers, a great campus, and opportunities for work as well. |
| Instruction | 10 | Everyone knew their stuff. We learned theory as well as practical things. The segue into work was easy. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The classes were challenging and there was a lot of studying to do, but it was worth it. There was no lack of courses either, you could take just about any computer science course you could think of. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I'd say the excellent library access tilts it toward book learning. Lots of the classes had hands-on labs and every computer class class had homework that used the computers. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | I was able to eventually take all the courses I wanted over my four years. This wasn't due to weekends or evenings, just the size of the university. I didn't look into any of the other offerings and there weren't any online options when I went to school. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | We had computer facilities everywhere. The libraries of the university are some of the best in the country. Tutors were available and you could easily get to work with professors on extra projects. |
| Social Life | 7 | If you wanted, there was a great ACM group. The athletics facilities and program were excellent. The school is known for it's greek houses so there were always parties to go to and the music scene was great, too. |
| Placement Services | 6 | I didn't take too much advantage of the job placement offerings except for the job fairs. It was easy at the time to move from the class to a job in the industry since there were many startups looking for workers. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I get newsletters every six months. Honestly, I'm just not that interested in the alumni network, though, so I wouldn't know much about any of their other offerings. |
University Of Illinois At Springfield • Springfield, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 10/23/2011
"With my schedule and circumstances, I needed to complete my degree online, and it is very difficult to find a computer science Bachelor's degree online from a reputable school. I like that my degree is from a public university instead of a for-profit degree mill. I went from knowing an ounce of computer programming before starting to school to a wealth at the end."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I know how difficult it is to find a Computer Science Bachelor's degree online, so I would be glad to let others know about it. I am happy with my choice of school and wouldn't change anything if I were to do it all over again. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I'm not exactly sure of my school's reputation of Computer Science. I know it is becoming well known for its online program. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I was able to complete my Bachelor's completely online and from a distance, which I think is amazing, especially considering it was a Computer Science degree. I do wish the school had more prestige. |
| Instruction | 7 | The program is java based which, while practical, it isn't as rigorous as non-object oriented-based programs. Other than that, I learned everything I needed to know to land my first job. |
| How Difficult | 5 | As stated above, the program could have been based on a more difficult programming language. I am glad that it was average in difficulty, though, because I did have a family and job while I went through school. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My program provided a good mix, slightly more hands-on. Hands-on learning is good when it comes to computer programming. I had to take a few math and logic courses. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | I completed my degree online, at a distance. I did not have any set times or days where I needed to be at my computer. I was able to complete my coursework that was due at the end of each week at any time throughout the week. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | My school gave remote access to its databases so I was able to work with many different types of software that I otherwise wouldn't have available. This is obviously very important in a Computer Science degree. Other than that, it is difficult for me to rate this category because my schooling was completed online. |
| Social Life | 1 | I completed my degree online, so I was not able to partake in any social on-campus activities. This would go for any online program at any school. |
| Placement Services | 5 | There were job listings posted online. I am not really sure how that compares to other schools. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | Because I completed my schooling online at a distance, there was not really much networking available to me. Job listings were posted on the school's website. |
University Of Illinois • Urbana, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 12/14/2011
"It gave me a good education and a brand name on my resume. It was a pleasant experience."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend this school to others if they are not able to go to better schools, like MIT and CMU. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | In the top 5 schools for Computer Science. It should be good. |
| Program Quality | 10 | One of the best schools for CS. Great facilities, faculty, etc. |
| Instruction | 9 | Tell recruiters you are a CS graduate from UIUC, and they will probably be willing to take a look at your resume. Curriculum is not exactly tailored to industry needs, but it does give a good foundation otherwise. |
| How Difficult | 3 | It was easy for me. I spent about 5-8 hours a week on coursework. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I prefer book/theory-based classes rather than hands on, though it's up to the student to choose the kind of class he or she wants to take. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Most classes are during fall/spring semesters during the day. Most classes (especially the smaller ones) have limited timeslots (1-2 choices per week). |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Relatively new CS building. 24/7 labs and 24/7 libraries. |
| Social Life | 10 | Not much else to do in Urbana on a weekend, other than go out drinking. Football is a big thing at UI. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Very wide range of services provided by the career services. From mock interviews and resume vetting to pay negotiations. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | We have alumni in big tech companies and startups. They often come down to give career recruitment talks. |
American Intercontinental University Online • Hoffman Estates, IL
Studying Information Technology In Programming (completion in 2007)
• 12/13/2011
"I was very satisfied with my school. I would have rather taken a physical class within a physical classroom while completing my degree, but I have a family and a child that I had to work to take care of while I was enrolled in school. I found that this made it a lot easier to obtain my degree and have a full-time occupation at the same time."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, I would recommend this school to anyone who has a family and would like to obtain a degree without disrupting the family environment and work environment. For some, the opportunity to obtain a degree was not possible until universities such as American Intercontinental University made it possible; it was one of the pioneers of online learning. I would completely recommend any online university to anyone! |
| Program Reputation | 5 | My school does have a high rate of dropouts and non-compliances to the degree programs. I found it difficult to understand why this was happening, when the guidelines for the curriculum are rather lax, and assignments are due weekly instead of every other day, like more online universities. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I enjoyed my time at AIU and look forward to finishing my current degree program, which is a master's degree in Information Technology in Project Management. I am completely satisfied with the means that AIU has provided for me to help accelerate my career. |
| Instruction | 9 | My career requires that I have the knowledge of a couple different languages, and that is what my education has provided me with. Unfortunately, in my career, I have not been given the opportunity to highlight my knowledge or to introduce another language. |
| How Difficult | 8 | My degree introduced a number of challenges, such as the rate at which I had to teach myself a language. With that, the degree program introduced factors that were not clear in the curriculum, and the knowledge had to be obtained rather quickly. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | In the degree program, the use of books was the main resource for completing assignments and obtaining the knowledge of other points listed within the curriculum. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Classroom flexibility is fairly simple. There are chat rooms during the week that are not mandatory, but are available to help understand the material. If someone would like certain information explained to them, then it is imperative that they join the chat room discussions to provide their input. They might just find out that what they are requesting might help not only them, but a few other students who might not have realized they needed assistance with the same thing, until it was mentioned by others. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | AIU provides an online resource guide with information pertaining to every assignment for every degree program. Since it was an online program, the use of classroom space was not needed, but online discussions are much better if more than a few students join and participate. |
| Social Life | 1 | The degree program that I was in was online, so there was no reason for school events, school spirit or athletics. There were actually a few social events for alumni. There is also a physical campus for students to physically attend classes instead of a virtual environment, if that is something someone would be interested in. |
| Placement Services | 3 | AIU does not offer job placement services, but they do offer services such as resume preparation and interview preparation. The also offer information about certain job listings located on the web that fit my education pathway. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The alumni network at my school is fair. I have heard little from my school or from the instructors, although I have been in touch with a few fellow students that I look forward to one day meeting in person, and I would like them to one day be my fellow coworkers. |
Illinois College • Jacksonville, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2006)
• 1/3/2012
"I was satisfied when I graduated, but now that I've been in industry for several years I really realize that there's a lot we didn't ever cover. It was pretty much basic how-to-program stuff and a few classes about networks and databases."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I don't want to be overly negative but I really feel like a different school would probably have done a better job to prepare me for a career as a programmer. I have remarked many times that I learned more from the freelance jobs I took the first year after I graduated. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | The school I attended is very small and is not well known. In my experience this has rarely hurt me in my career, but it's also never helped me. |
| Program Quality | 3 | Illinois College is a very small school with a very small Computer Science department. I probably would not have chosen to attend Illinois College for a Computer Science degree if I'd known then what I know now. |
| Instruction | 3 | There was very few advanced classes offered. I would have preferred more advanced classes. Very little is applicable to my day-to-day work. |
| How Difficult | 4 | The difficulty was mainly due to poor instruction. Very little challenging material was offered. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We mostly spent classes working on assignments out of the book. We did very few projects outside of the books. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | The more advanced classes were only offered every other semester or even every other year. I was not able to take all the classes I wanted to. No online, night, or weekend classes were available in the computer science area at the time I attended. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | Professor access was very good, due to small class sizes. Tutoring was also available. However, there was generally poor access to support materials. |
| Social Life | 6 | The student activities board offered a lot of activities and concerts to attend. Nothing that really interested me, mostly local bands and birthday party entertainment. Athletic spirit was high but none of the teams were good. |
| Placement Services | I have never made use of my school's career services. Therefore, I do not feel that providing an answer would be appropriate. | |
| Alumni Network | I have never made use of my school's alumni network or support. Therefore, I do not feel that providing an answer would be appropriate. |
University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign • Urbana, IL
Studying Math And Computer Science (completion in 2012)
• 1/4/2012
"UIUC's computer science program is rigorous, difficult, and useful. It provides great preparation for a job in computer programming. The social atmosphere is also great."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Computer science at UIUC is rigorous and very hands-on. The program is highly-ranked. Many graduates get nice jobs. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | UIUC has a top-rated Computer Science program. I've heard that Bill Gates once mentioned that his company hires more Computer Science majors from UIUC than from any other school. |
| Program Quality | 8 | UIUC has one of the highest-rated computer science programs in the world. The faculty are excellent, and many past/present faculty have been involved in significant developments in computer science/electrical engineering. |
| Instruction | 6 | Lots of classes have too many students and thus the learning environment is very impersonal. In these classes it is difficult to get to know the instructors. However, smaller classes provide a more favorable environment for learning. Also, some courses and their assignments are dreaded because of their immense difficulty and/or lack of practical application. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Computer science has been traditionally considered a "difficult" program, but I think it depends on the person. Many people have a natural skill with computing problems and therefore do not find it too challenging. The workload, however, is large and time-consuming regardless of how intelligent one is. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Computer science at UIUC is very hands-on. Nearly every computer science class has multiple "Machine Problems," which essentially involves writing a program to do what an instructor asks for. Some classes still require a lot of book learning, though, such as classes covering theoretical topics. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | There isn't much flexibility in course offerings at UIUC. There are few night classes and almost no weekend sections. During the summer, a decent number of courses are offered, but they cost more than during the fall or spring. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | UIUC has Wi-Fi available almost everywhere on campus. There are 8 or so labs only for engineers, each with an average of 40 computers, most of which have 2 monitors. Libraries are useful but often packed. Some courses provide extra assistance/tutoring, but not all. Most advisors are also faculty, so this allows for a link to a professor in the department. |
| Social Life | 8 | There is a large Greek presence on campus. Athletics play a big role in the social life, with football and basketball games taking over the campus. Hundreds of student organizations exist for many different interests/hobbies. UIUC is a "party school" but also has serious academics. |
| Placement Services | 9 | UIUC has a large online job board where tons of jobs are posted. There also is an engineering career services office, which provides resume critiques and mock interviews. Overall, it is very useful. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | Tons of old graduates from UIUC's CS program come back to the school to find fresh CS majors to hire. LinkedIn and social networking websites are becoming the norm for alumni networking these days, so the school's network is not as important. |
Lincoln Land Community College • Springfield, IL
Studying Graphic Programming (completion in 2011)
• 2/19/2012
"Very, very cheap option, and you get a lot for your dollar. However, the school does not have dorms, so living arrangements are a problem."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | LLCC is great for getting an associate's degree. They are cheap and provide a good education. The credits earned are also transferable to most other colleges. |
| Program Reputation | 2 | Not a great reputation, because it is a community college. Personally, I do not think it should matter, because the professors there are much better than most schools. |
| Program Quality | 9 | LLCC is very cheap, being a community college. They also have very smart and experienced professors. It is just a small step down from a good state school like University of Illinois. |
| Instruction | 7 | A good way to learn programming languages, and an excellent way to get into Java. I wish they would focus on more than the graphics, though. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Relatively easy workload. The time it takes to finish a program depends on your programming level. Therefore, homework could take as little as 15 minutes or as long as 4 hours. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Very hands on. The teacher will explain, and we are expected to understand and write a program with what we have learned. The textbooks are only for when we are having a problem. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | They have a fall semester, a spring semester and a summer course. There are no online options, although that could easily be done, because it is a computer programming class. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | The library lacks good resources, but the computers are new. There are plenty of tutors and study groups around. |
| Social Life | 2 | Not a big school for social activities. Their sports teams are awful, and they do not have on-campus living areas. |
| Placement Services | 6 | Some local job suggestions and a few internships. Nothing big; just some small companies. Can get you placed right away, but you won't be making as much as you can. |
| Alumni Network | LLCC has very few alumni programs, and none for any of their programming classes. |
American Intercontinental University • Schaumburg, IL
Studying Information Technology - Concentration In Information Systems (completion in 2010)
• 3/13/2012
"I acquired a great deal of knowledge from attending American Intercontinental University Online. I now know how to code in different languages which I learned from attending college."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I recommend AIU to anyone pursuing a degree that can work for them and gives them ample time to do other things while studying on the go. The school has a above average rating in the field I chose to receive my degree in. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school currently has a 7.3/10 on online degree reviews for IT degree fields. This level is an accurate number in my opinion for the school. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The school provided the essentials for the program I entered. The academics were on par with what I expected in the field I chose. |
| Instruction | 7 | For the most part, teachers and staff were helpful. Some things could have been better, but for an online degree program it worked fine. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The program required a lot of research on the student's part. If you are willing to research the information on your own time, it makes a huge difference in overall difficulty. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The school was a mix of hands on and book learning. The hands on came from coding (programming) on the computer while using the books to adapt examples into programs. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | The courses are online and this gives you ample time to complete school work. They give you a deadline (Sunday by midnight) and two assignments per week to complete. You have time to work and also spend time with family. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The school had a great online library and online tutoring program. Professors were only an email away and also had certain hours for student calling or personal chat with the professor. professors also held 2 weekly chats which usually consisted of them using audio. |
| Social Life | 3 | Since the school was online there were no athletics or social events beside group chats during the live chat sessions. We had a thing called the virtual commons where students could mingle (similar to Facebook). |
| Placement Services | 10 | The career services are outstanding. Before you even graduate they are calling and emailing you with ways to prepare a resume and interview tips, along with job leads. Although I did not get a job through career services, I can rely on them in the future if needed. |
DePaul • Chicago, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 3/11/2012
"I don't think I would change much. It was expensive, though. If I had to restart my life, I would go to DePaul again."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I learned everything I needed and had help getting a job. That's about all you can really ask for when going to college. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | DePaul's name holds some weight when trying to get a job. It has a pretty big reputation, especially in the Chicago area. |
| Program Quality | 9 | My school prepared me fully for working in the field. Although much is learned on the job, I feel I was given great experience from taking classes, working in programming teams and learning many languages. |
| Instruction | 9 | All my instructors were professionals who had years in the field. They knew what it took to be hired, and thus fully prepared me for working as a programmer. |
| How Difficult | 8 | I was challenged the entire program. That being said, it was too over the top, to the point where I didn't want to complete it. I was taught to think critically (what programming is all about), and actually doing the work came naturally. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It's a tossup. There are plenty of classes where you just sit through lectures. But then you also have quite a few classes where you are always involved. This is true when working with teams, programming something. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | There are a fair amount of classes on multiple campuses, online, and at night. However, when getting into the senior classes, some are only offered at one time. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | There are tons of computer labs with great equipment. Advisors are great and always willing to help. Accessibility is usually great. We have email, many professors are also on Facebook and Skype, and the lectures are recorded. |
| Social Life | 5 | The urban environment makes it hard to organize many social events. Also, it doesn't help that many students commute to school. There are good clubs in terms of programming and whatnot, but the basketball games don't draw a large crowd. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Everyone was extremely helpful at showing me opportunities through their website and constant emails about openings. It genuinely feels like they want to help you succeed. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | I have my job because of my networking options at DePaul. I was given many opportunities from professors and other alumni, even before I graduated. |
University Of Illinois Chicago • Chicago, IL
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2000)
• 3/10/2012
"I think I received a well-rounded education. This allowed me to choose the path in the industry that I wanted to take. Also, UIC taught in C first, unlike other schools that taught in Java as the first language. I believe that by learning C first, I have a better knowledge of computer programming in general."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is a good education for the price. The teachers are good and it is a well-respected school that gives you a well-rounded education. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I believe that UIC has a good rating, but there are others that have a higher rating. UIC does have some research projects that I believe make the school very well respected. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I felt that I received a very good education, but I wish that the school was a little more current. Object-oriented classes were in C++ or Smalltalk, and I would have preferred Java. The instructors were excellent and there was a wide array of class offerings. The computer labs could have been updated. |
| Instruction | 9 | I had many wonderful professors who challenged and inspired the students. The projects that were assigned were always new and interesting, and often fun! |
| How Difficult | 5 | The work was challenging, but I always managed to complete the projects. They had teachers' assistants available to help if I was having problems, which helped. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I had computer projects that I needed to complete, as well as tests to prove book knowledge. I cannot recall a class that did not have a mixture of the two. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | UIC offered classes over the summer, but the selection was limited. They lacked in the number of classes offered at night, and at the time I attended, they did not offer any online courses. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The computer labs were outdated. Professors kept office hours and would make themselves available to students. I was not aware of tutoring options, but they may have existed. |
| Social Life | 4 | I was a commuter student, so I did not have as many options to participate in school activities. It did seem like the students living on campus had a great social experience, though. |
| Placement Services | I did not use their job placement services. I was already employed while in school. | |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I have received emails asking me to participate in various activities. I have not yet had the time to do so. |
Rock Valley College • Rockford, IL
Studying Personal Computer And Information Specialist (completion in 2002)
• 3/28/2012
"I was just looking to graduate with a certificate, but it ended up being a good experience. I also attended it for a minimal amount of money out of pocket because of grants."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I had a good experience at RVC and would recommend it as I have in the past. We have hired a few other graduates on my recommendation at my job. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | They have expanded their program offerings and are now a popular school for Associates programs in computers. They are accredited as well, not like the local business college. |
| Program Quality | 6 | I went to school as an office application specialist, but got a job as a content assistant. That lead to a developer position. |
| Instruction | 6 | RVC had some very good instructors. They were always approachable and were very willing to help students. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It took me a long time to get my degree due to having to work full time. However, I did complete my degree with honors. It was hard work, but not overly difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My courses were an equal balance of book learning and labs. Towards the end of my courses it was almost all lab work. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I attended evenings and it was very nice to be able to get all my required classes in at night. The classes were typically once a week, so that helped too. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | We had top-notch hardware in the machines in the labs. I only used the library for core classes, and it was adequate. |
| Social Life | 3 | We had a good football team, but I never went to any of the games. I was there to learn and get my degree. Also, I had to work full time. |
| Placement Services | I didn't take advantage of their program because I already had a job lined up. My job was dependent on my graduation. | |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I haven't had to take advantage of any alumni benefits. I do go to the seasonal plays they put on to support the school. |
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