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 Atlantic Cape, Ocean County College, Passaic County Community College, and Bergen Community 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 New Jersey City University, Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Kean.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider College of Saint Elizabeth.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Bloomfield, Saint Peter's College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Felician.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider College of Saint Elizabeth, Drew, Caldwell College, and Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Drew, Seton Hall, Centenary, and Rider University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Drew, The College of New Jersey, Ramapo College of New Jersey, and Fairleigh Dickinson Florham.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Stevens Institute of Technology, The College of New Jersey, Rutgers, and Drew.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at New Jersey City University, The College of New Jersey, Montclair State, and Saint Peter's College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Drew, Saint Peter's College, Felician, and Seton Hall.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Stevens Institute Of Technology • Hoboken, NJ
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2014)
• 7/20/2011
"I am very satisfied with my school. Stevens provides everything that I need. The cost is an issue, seeing as it is definitely one of the more expensive schools. Other than that, this school is a wonderful hub for academics."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you are looking for a thorough education and a strong foundational base for the rest of your educational career, Stevens is a great choice. If you are looking for a school that has great job placement that can help you during and after college, then once again, Stevens is a great choice. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Stevens is known for engineering, but is also known for other technical areas, such as computer science. Stevens has a reputation for churning out good workers. |
| Program Quality | 8 | My school is a technical school. They specialize in Engineering and are also quite good in computer science. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors are all very thorough in what they teach. The curriculum is set up perfectly so that even freshmen can do internships and know enough to have a job. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Programming is one of those things where, either you get it or you don't. That is what makes it very difficult. Additionally, the workload is usually heavy. The better you are a programming, the easier it will be. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The computer science curriculum barely makes use of the books. I was able to go through my second semester without having to buy all of my textbooks. Most of the work that we are given is created by the professors and is very hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | Due to the fact that computer science is such a small major at Stevens, there aren't many options for choosing class timings and such. Therefore, there is usually only one way for the computer science classes to fit together. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The professors are friendly and very accessible. The facilities are pretty good (for computer science at least). The other resources, such as the library, are just average. The library isn't nearly as large as those of some other universities. There is a free peer tutoring program available which is a resource that many students take advantage of. The computers are also abundant in the library, and the school provides a high performance laptop computer for each student. These computers can handle multiple large programs at a time, such as Solid Works. |
| Social Life | 8 | Student Life definitely works hard to keep the students happy. There are many activities during the school year. The campus is also quite lively during the week. The weekends, however, are very quiet and dull due to the fact that most students live near enough to go home on weekends. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Stevens has a high job placement record. The computer science students especially have no trouble landing jobs. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The alumni can help students with connections. These connections can then land students in good internships or careers. |
Rutgers University • New Brunswick, NJ
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2000)
• 9/24/2011
"The education was useful, the friends were fantastic, and it was challenging yet fun. If I could do it again, I would."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Rutgers has a great reputation and compared to nearby schools, it's a pretty good value. It's big enough and the program is very intensive. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | All of Rutgers has a very good reputation because the school is very large and has many different majors to choose from. The surrounding area is high in the tech industry and businesses recruit directly at the school. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The computer science program offers a few different concentrations (networking, programming, database, etc), so you can tailor it to your interests. The classes are difficult but they not only provide a lot of information, but also are a way of thinking critically for programming. |
| Instruction | 4 | Most of the professors didn't speak English as a primary language and they were hard to understand. Some classes had guest professors who were not really interested in teaching. Other classes were mostly taught in the recitations instead of the lectures. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The program is very difficult because the classes meet more often than non computer science classes. There is reading, homework assignments, exams, quizzes, and programming assignments and no cooperating was allowed. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Nothing to do in lecture but listen to the professor drone on. Recitations involved going over the homework assignments and we were left on our own to do the programming. I would say three quarters of the tests came from the texts. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | The comp sci classes always seemed to be on another campus and either first thing or last thing in the day. They weren't offered in many different sections, and some were not offered in all semesters either. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | There are plenty of computer labs available and the dorms are wired for high speed Internet. The recitations of the instructors were usually available and helpful. Classes were usually split up into cliques for study groups. |
| Social Life | 8 | I had a lot of fun at the school, but didn't over do it to the point that grades suffered. I was involved in a few small organizations and many of the comp sci students would hang out frequently. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I have to guess because it's easy for a programmer to find a job, if you're a good one. I've never had to think about using their services. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The alumni network is interested in collecting money more than anything else. I am still getting stuff in the mail but I've never used any of their services. |
The College Of New Jersey • Ewing, NJ
Studying Computing Engineering (completion in 2013)
• 12/27/2011
"I believe that I have received an excellent education from my school. The facilities and staff of my major were excellent."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The engineering program at my school was not easy, but it was definitely worth it. My school provided me with an education that made it possible to get the job that I have today. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | My school is not very well known outside of new jersey, but it is recognized as having an excellent engineering program. Definitely the best engineering program in the state. |
| Program Quality | 8 | My school has a very good engineering program that has provided me with a great education. I wasn't completely happy with some of the professors for my major. |
| Instruction | 8 | Some of the required classes were not completely relevant to my specific major. However, the core classes that were relevant were taught very well. |
| How Difficult | 9 | My major was a very demanding one. It wasn't extremely academically challenging, but there was a very large workload. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There are many classes that have a laboratory aspect so the students can get a hands-on experience. There are also some classes that are strictly taught from a book. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There are no weekend or online classes and few night options. There are usually three of four sections for each class that are different days and times. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | There are numerous computer labs that have very high-end components and machines that are open to students. There is also an excellent library on campus that is open every day. |
| Social Life | 4 | My school is not known for sports, so there is not a lot of school spirit. There are many social events that are run by the student council that have large turnouts. |
| Placement Services | 8 | There is a career center and career network run by the school that you can upload resumes for review and job openings. There are also career fairs where many companies come and offer jobs to qualified students. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | There was no direct way to access contact information of alumni. The school of engineering is currently creating a program for alumni to mentor students. |
Rutgers University • New Brunswick, NJ
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2013)
• 2/5/2012
"Overall a nice experience and hopefully a worthy investment. I met nice people and made a lot of contacts."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | Not finished yet, but I hope it will be a good career starting point. For the learning experience I would recommend my school. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | It's a good university for a computer science major. Well known and highly ranked across the world. |
| Program Quality | 7 | Connected to industry partners. Good internship possibilities to start a career in a major software developer company. |
| Instruction | 7 | Good lectures and good professors, but occasionally too much redundant work. Impressed by the material and teaching methods. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Huge workload and high demands. Short time to finish the required assessment tasks. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Hmmm... more real life programming experiences are always welcome. Nice initial description of computer science in real-life problems. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Flexible time schedule. Nice organization of classes. Good time management offers. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Good library. Complete. Nice online facilities (access to papers/journals). |
| Social Life | 8 | Good social experience. Met a lot of people from different countries and of different cultures. Sport facilities are well supported by the university. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Good industrial contacts. Job offers all around the campus. Constantly in contact with principal industrial partners. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Not what I was expecting from the alumni community. I was not supported by them, nor guided in any direction. They should advertise more their activities. |
DeVry • North Brunswick, NJ
Studying Computer Information Studies (completion in 2002)
• 3/4/2012
"i was satisfied with it because the classes were short and to the point and not time wasters. The classes were mostly related to programming with very few unneeded classes. I was able to get an associated degree in about 2 years"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It depends on if you really want to have a programming degree. If you are unsure, you are better off going to a community college. It also takes dedication to get through the classes and get work done. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | The DeVry name has fallen a little bit. Not much is heard about it anymore and there is no buzz about it. |
| Program Quality | 7 | the teachers were knowledgeable and taught how to use the info in real life situations. I did not have to take classes that were not related to the major. |
| Instruction | 8 | I only had to take courses that were related to the major. The classes provided a lab to put the info into use instead of just reading about it and learning theory. |
| How Difficult | 4 | All the classes built on info learned in the previous classes, so it made things easier. Also, the work load wasn't too bad. I only had to take 2 classes a semester which made it easy to keep up. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the classes were hands on with a computer lab section where you put what you learned from the books into use. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | When I went to class there were not many classes you could take online, but there was a good selection of night and morning classes and weekend only classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | There were always tutors available by appointments. There was always a computer available to work on with people willing to help. |
| Social Life | There were no sports, dances, etc. | |
| Placement Services | 3 | They try too help find you a job, but there is not 100 percent placement. But they help with pointing you in the right direction. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | Once you graduate they try to help find you a job, but it is not guaranteed. Also, there is no kinship between the graduating class. |
NJIT • Newark, NJ
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 3/28/2012
"Not at all worth it. I should have gone to Drexel, which had granted me admission."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I would not want anyone else to waste their time there. Choosing a good university is really important. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | Better than most universities in the area. Rutgers definitely tops it. |
| Program Quality | 7 | Courses do not really help you. The real world is a lot different than a classroom. You need to apply what you have learned and I have learned more outside of school than in school. |
| Instruction | 5 | Some professors did not speak that well. Some lacked depth of knowledge. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Not as difficult as undergrad classwork. I expected it to be of higher difficulty. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Hands on work was very infrequent. Most of the material was taught on ppt slides. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | Multiple choices of times were given. Many courses and options. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Above average facilities. Good for a place in the city. |
| Social Life | 5 | School spirit is not that high. They lost 51 basketball games in a row! |
| Placement Services | 5 | Not that good. Most companies want residents and citizens and not international students. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Alumni are only contacted for donations. I have my own network and keep in touch with them. |
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