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 Manhattan Community College, ASA Institute, La Guardia Community College, and Kingsborough 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 Maria College, Farmingdale State College, Touro College, and New York City College of Technology.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Barnard College, Maria College, and Mildred Elley School.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Medgar Evers College, Monroe College, Monroe College-New Rochelle, and Bronx Community College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Maria College, The Graduate Center, Mercy College, and Sage College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of United States Military Academy, Columbia, NYU, and Vassar.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of United States Military Academy, Hamilton College, Vassar, and Union College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Columbia, Cornell, Hamilton College, and Vassar.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Columbia, United States Military Academy, Cornell, and Vassar.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Vassar, Hamilton College, Union College, and Yeshiva University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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SUNY Binghamton • Binghamton, NY
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2006)
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would definitely recommend this school to others. It is cheap and has a great reputation. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Binghamton was and still is an up and coming school, with more and more people realizing its potential. |
| Program Quality | 10 | My school helped me get a great job. I also had a lot of fun in college |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | |
| How Difficult | 10 | My course load was very high. There were many nights when I got no sleep at all. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There were some class where we did everything by doing stuff and others where we used books a lot. I would say it was a good mix though. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Taking prerequisites was annoying but I never had to go to school on the weekends. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Classrooms were never very crowded. If you went to office hours with your teacher you were pretty much always were given a good grade. |
| Social Life | 6 | A lot of really smart awkward people. However stick with it and you will find people you like. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I got my job by myself. My school didn't really do anything. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have never used the alumni for support. However, I hear it is decent. |
New York University • New York City, NY
Studying Film/Television (completion in 2011)
• 5/1/2011
"I was pretty satisfied. I wish I could have done a few things differently but mostly I am fine with it."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Definitely I would. For either film or programming NYU has a lot to offer. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | NYU is very prestigious for its computer science department. It hosts a number of events that bring many guest speakers. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I enjoyed the film program. I do wish I had taken more programming classes however. |
| Instruction | 9 | There are many good professors at NYU for both film and for programming. It is very important to choose the right ones and do your research on the best classes to take. |
| How Difficult | 6 | The film classes were very easy but often demanding a long work time because there were many extended projects. The programming classes were rather standard some having more work than others. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Definitely a lot of hands on work at NYU so that is good. The books can be somewhat useful in certain classes though the teach will tend to let you know if they are necessary. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | You can choose your own schedule if the classes allow it. Some film classes though are very specific in the times allotted. You could be stuck with a night class. Programming classes are two days a week and in the middle of the day, rather standard. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The computer labs are okay for the programming department. They are well made computers and versatile for the necessary work but the layout of the facility is just kind of cramped. |
| Social Life | 4 | NYU is a surprisingly social school relative to what people expect however compared to other schools there is definitely a smaller community. It is hard to maintain a cohesive college environment in a busy city but considering that NYU does a pretty good job. |
| Placement Services | 7 | NYU is great at teaching networking. They don't really "place" you in any work locations though. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I am not really sure yet. Having just graduated I have only become an alumni recently. |
NYU-Poly (Polytechnic Institute Of New York University) • Brooklyn, NY
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 5/5/2011
"I wish I made some better choices in school. It's not a bad place if you planned your future well."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It's a well recognized school. But I don't think the tuition is worth it. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | It's pretty well known. Most of the people I speak to know about it. |
| Program Quality | 7 | It's a good school. But not great. |
| Instruction | 6 | Finding a job was extremely difficult. I wish I was better prepared with things the market wants. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I didn't find it too difficult. Few tough classes here and there. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It had a good mix. Balanced both theoretical and practical. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | I had some tough schedules. Some general classes are offered only once every semesters. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Campus is too small. Need more facilities. |
| Social Life | 5 | Not a place for party. I wish the social atmosphere was more lively, although it is an engineering school. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They can get you interviews. But I wish they got me some good internships back in the days. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | It has some presence in the social networks. Not bad. |
New York University • Buffalo, NY
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2006)
• 5/5/2011
"I loved the time I spent there. It was great to learn so much and make such wonderful friends."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is one of the best universities in USA. They take care of non US students really well. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Its quite good. It may not be as great as Harvard but yea with a little hard work you can match with the best. |
| Program Quality | 8 | They provided me with an excellent learning environment. It was very practical oriented. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | |
| How Difficult | 8 | It was quite difficult. We had to present a lot of assignments and case studies. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was a proper mixture of books and hands on experience. The industry exposure was great. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | The focus on attendance was great. However my teachers especially helped me with my part time work schedules immensely. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | I found the facilities to be of top grade. The computer lab was high tech. |
| Social Life | 8 | I was a part of the college Badminton team. There was a lot of opportunities for extra curricular participation |
| Placement Services | 8 | I was placed from the campus interview. They have a good network with software companies. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | They have a great network. Many of the Alumni sponsor programs and also mentor the juniors. |
Rochester Institute Of Technology • Rochester, NY
Studying Information Technology (completion in 2009)
• 7/22/2011
"It was excellent. It provided me with a well-rounded exposure to the IT field. The facilities were well kept and up to date. It also attracted the smartest people in the field, thereby exposing me to people that helped me learn."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It provides everything you need. It is, however, very expensive. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | RIT was the first school in the world to offer an IT degree. They do it well. It is considered a top school. |
| Program Quality | 9 | RIT had an excellent program for IT. They have very new technology to work with and a great teaching staff. They are very up to date on what they teach. |
| Instruction | 9 | They had a great blend of theory and practice. Their programming classes used theory followed up by practice. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Much of it was tough, especially in the beginning. Programming is difficult to grasp at first. It is an unnatural way to think, but once I got over that hurdle it became easier. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Sometimes books were not even required. Much of what we did was online. Being that it was a computer programming education, there had to be a lot of hands on work. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I began as an evening student and changed to a full time student. The classes were from early morning (8am) to late night (10pm). I could make it work well with my job. There was some difficulty with certain classes that were not offered year-round. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The computers were new and the library was quite large. They received millions of dollars in grants to keep things updated. |
| Social Life | 7 | I believe there were opportunities but I was preoccupied with family and work. There were a lot of things occurring but I generally did not participate. |
| Placement Services | 10 | They have a great website for helping you find a job. Their staff helps with resumes and interviewing. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | They keep in contact with me, whether I want them to or not. They allow you to go back and look for new jobs, as well. |
New York University • Nyu, NY
Studying Film/Television (completion in 2011)
• 10/6/2011
"I definitely was satisfied with my school and classes. I would recommend it to anyone pursuing either a film or comp sci career (or both!)"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, I would definitely recommend NYU. It is great for most career paths. It is very robust with a lot to offer in both education and facilities. The best part of all is that it is located in the best city in the world. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | It definitely has a good film and programming reputation. I have yet to hear anyone have a problem with "only" seeing NYU on a resume. |
| Program Quality | 8 | NYU is both one of the top schools for Film as well as Computer Science. I was lucky that I could study both at a school that does those curriculums well. |
| Instruction | 9 | The film classes were hit or miss but I enjoyed every programming class I took. Some (like Data Structures) were a little duller than others (like iPhone Programming). |
| How Difficult | 8 | The film classes were far easier than the Comp Sci classes. In some of them, again like Data Structures, you really had to put in the effort to get work done. With a class like iPhone programming or even Python classes, it is just a little easier to get the work done and it is definitely more fun. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There is both book learning and hands on learning in both the film and comp sci programs. This, I find, is the most important and best way to learn a skill. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | In one or two semesters I only had class 3 days a week. It was quite convenient for working outside jobs or just getting work done in general. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The comp sci labs were sufficient and ran well, but they weren't too extravagant. They did have a state of the art motion capture room that they shared with the Film program as well. The film program's facilities were fantastic overall. |
| Social Life | 8 | I definitely enjoyed my time at NYU. I only wish I could have managed to double major. |
| Placement Services | 7 | For these curriculums there is not a lot of job placement help. They are more about helping you find internships while in school, and from then you're on your own for the most part. Unless I'm missing something... |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I only recently graduated in May. I have yet to take advantage of everything the Alumni program has to offer. |
Cooper Union • New York, NY
Studying Mechanical Engineering (completion in 1993)
• 10/9/2011
"A free education. Highly respected institution. Prepared me for the real world. What's not to love?"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Even though I have an engineering degree, there was enough practical programming to prepare me for a career in designing and developing software. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Consistently rated in the top 3 specialty schools. Very exclusive since all students are awarded full scholarships. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Cooper Union was an amazingly challenging program. It prepared me not just for engineering, but gave me confidence that I can tackle any challenge. Most of the people I graduated with have moved beyond engineering. |
| Instruction | 10 | Professors challenged students to learn presentation skills. They gave an excellent foundation in many skills, including programming. |
| How Difficult | 10 | High drop out rate. I was only able to succeed by quoting part time work and dedicating 80+ hours per week just to school work. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Teachers did experiments. Labs during the second half of class allowed for real experimentation. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | Very small school. Classes were only offered once per week. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Excellent labs on site. Only advisors were professors themselves. Relied on other students for support. |
| Social Life | 2 | There were no dorms when I went. Commuting to school made for a limited social experience. |
| Placement Services | 2 | Only had a few interviews during senior year. No real support after graduation. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I have no real alumni involvement. But, I know there is an active alumni network that I am not a part of... |
Rochester Institute Of Technology • Rochester, NY
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2009)
• 10/17/2011
"The two reasons that I went to RIT were that they had a great reputation and that they more or less guaranteed job placement out of college. I felt like I got a great education and have a great job, so it worked out for the best."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you can't make it through RIT, then you probably don't have what it takes to be a good computer programmer. If you're lazy or untalented, you just won't make it through because the school won't coddle you. You have to work hard and learn a lot. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | In the Western New York area, RIT has a very strong reputation for producing quality graduates and many companies will have multiple graduates. The cooperative education relationships that many students build with local companies help further this reputation and generally encourage the cycle to continue. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Rochester Institute of Technology provided me an excellent technical base of JAVA and C++ programming skills on which to help bridge the transition into the corporate world. Better yet, they insist on a cooperative education model in which students are required to take up to a year of internships as a prerequisite for graduation. This practice provides host companies a low-cost opportunity to farm talent and gives graduates a leg up on graduates from other programs who only have a degree. |
| Instruction | 8 | At the higher education level, the amount one learns is tied directly to how engaged you are as a student and how relevant the material is to your interests. Personally, I found that because RIT allowed me to focus on my interests I was able to learn a great deal. I did have a few professors who were poor, but they were not in my major classes. RIT may have the best career preparation of any technical university. There was a effort to freshen the courses to keep them relevant with changing technological standards and practices, although I felt like the base level of instruction was solid. |
| How Difficult | 10 | RIT operates on a Quarter calendar system (although this is changing to a semester based calendar) and this promotes short and data-packed courses. There is no opportunity to catch up, so you can't afford to miss anything or do poorly because there are so few assessments. My experience is that the high pressure environment prepares you work very well in a software field with many of the same stresses. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A Parallel Programming course I took my senior year illustrates this well because my professor had published a book, but he also published exercises and a complete JAVA implementation of several well known libraries that were written in C previously. I developed several parallel programs for clusters and multi-core devices. All Computer Science classes were mixed evenly between book and hands-on experiences. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | The online, evening, and summer classes comprised somewhere on the order of ten to fifteen percent of offerings. I took five online courses, several summer courses, and two evening courses during my four years at RIT. Course scheduling is often quite easy, the trick being to get a good time and the professor you want. At points I was taking a full course load, but only on campus two (very long) days a week. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | As a computer programmer, you really only need a laptop and the school has wifi. The library is respectable and there are some dozen computer labs just for the computer science and related majors. The labs are varied and updated regularly. Professors are very accessible and lab techs are always floating around the labs. |
| Social Life | 4 | RIT is not a party school, but the Hockey games get pretty fun. They are building a new rink for them following their Frozen Four appearance in April 2010. The intramural sporting is quite competitive and the athletic facilities are top notch. Social events are more in the domain of the groups and organizations that one belongs to at this campus. |
| Placement Services | 10 | When I selected RIT, they were claiming a job placement of over 90 percent within six months of graduation. I had an offer 1 month out of my program and it holds true for many of my classmates. The cooperative education requirements help connect prospective graduates with companies and there is a dedicated office to provide assistance matching them up. Help is also available to Alumni if they wish to make use of it. Prior to my current position, I was able to use their career services to produce a competitive offer which I was able to use as leverage in negotiations. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | Other than the school's D1 Hockey team, there is no real continuing relationship with the alumni other than a envelope in the mail every few months. The university does well to advertise the "Brick-City Homecoming" but in my experience only the parents really come to town. |
Stony Brook University • Stony Brook, NY
Studying Information Systems (completion in 2009)
• 10/25/2011
"For the education that I received and the price I paid, Stony Brook provides good value. I was very satisfied because I cannot imagine how I would do my job without the rigorous training that I experienced in school. Student morale is up there I would say. You would not feel like you've wasted your time."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | For those living in New York State or areas surrounding and interested in Computer Science I would definitely recommend it. The tuition is great being State- owned-and-operated but it also provides value being one of the best programs in the state and even country. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Last I checked, Stony Brook's CS department was rank #2 in New York State. There have been many alums who have gone on to prestigious programs in Stanford. It is definitely easy to find a job once you graduate with a degree in CS or IS. Recruiters from companies such as Google are always hiring Stony Brook graduates. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The department is actually really great and have trained a number of highly skilled computer scientists. However, there are two majors: Computer Science and Information Systems. There aren't enough programming related courses in the I.S. major's curriculum. Most classes focus on Java instead of C#, which is a problem since C# is usually more useful in the real world. |
| Instruction | 9 | I feel Stony Brook's CS department has prepared me well in my current job. Right now I design and build databases. Although I'm working exclusively in a software called FileMaker, the skills I've acquired in MS SQL in class has directly helped me in my job. Overall, I feel like I've learned a lot about programming and also understanding the business side so I can build more useful systems instead of coding so that it only makes sense to the programmer. The business courses in the curriculum definitely covered that aspect. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Class averages were usually 60-70%. I feel like there weren't enough programming classes in my major, but for those that were, they were really demanding. I guess it's really the only way to learn. They require you to be really involved such as the amount of reading and coding that must be done, lots of labs to attend just to name a few requirements. It is so difficult that they consider having more than 2 computer science courses as being a heavy work load. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The CS and IS majors are very demanding. There is a lot of reading that needs to be done every day or else it becomes very difficult to keep up in class. It is also very hands on for obvious reasons. You really cannot learn programming until you code away your life and burn the midnight oil for assignments and bigger projects. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Sometimes I feel the students don't really have much of a choice when deciding their schedules. Only freshmen will have some flexibility because there are more sections for the lower level classes. But from sophomore year on the classes get harder and more specialized in areas of CS, there are usually only 1 or 2 sections for a course and if you are interested in taking that course, you will have to commit to the time of day. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Stony Brook has computer labs everywhere on campus. They all use relatively new workstations and are almost always accessible up to 3am the latest. Academic advisors are lacking, though. I don't think I've ever seen mine. Classroom sizes are average - most of the lecture halls are saved for lower level courses where there are more students. Teaching Assistants are abundant - there are at least 3 to 5 of them per course from my own experience. |
| Social Life | 1 | Stony Brook is well known to be a dead zone on the weekends. Half of the residents usually go home on Thursday night. All parties occur on Thursday night. Not much school spirit - football games are never that packed. |
| Placement Services | 9 | Career fairs happen all the time and alums always reach out to current and graduated students. There are also mock interviews and resume workshops conducted everyday to help students. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | Stony Brook has one, but I don't ever see them holding any events, if at all. Sometimes alums will send email out to all the CS and IS students but very rarely. They will send emails when their employers are hiring which is good, but there's not really that much networking. |
New York University • New York, NY
Studying Interactive Telecommunications (completion in 2005)
• 12/13/2011
"I really enjoyed the program. I wish it allowed more time for students to focus and specialize. I would have preferred a little more theory and reading along with the hands-on projects."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | For those who want to go into computer programming specifically, I'd recommend a more traditional computer science program. For those who want to work with many different types of technology and work on innovative projects, I'd definitely recommend my program. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | The program is highly regarded in the field of interactive media arts. It is well known in New York City, but less well known in other parts of the country. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I went to a multidisciplinary program where I learned programming, along with many other things. I really enjoyed the creative and experimental nature of the program. Sometimes I feel that I am at a disadvantage, compared to people who went to more traditional computer science programs. |
| Instruction | 8 | The core faculty was very good. Some of the visiting faculty, while well known in their fields, were not very talented teachers. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The workload was huge, but depended a lot on the amount of time each individual chose to devote to projects. This was not an academically challenging program. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A very hands-on approach. Books are very secondary. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | This is an in-person, hands-on type of program. There are evening options, but no online or summer options. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The program is generally well funded by private corporations for computer equipment. There is very little space in relation to the number of students, however. The facilities at the university in general are very good. |
| Social Life | 7 | There were a lot of social activities among students, many of them unofficial. More organized events often included talks from industry leaders and networking time. |
| Placement Services | 3 | Very little appropriate job placement services. The larger institution has some services, but they tend not to be relevant to people from my program. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | There is a great informal alumni network. The university itself could provide more support. |
Clarkson University • Potsdam, NY
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 1/22/2012
"I loved the learning environment and the friends I made, although I was not pleased with the surrounding area the school was in."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Clarkson University is a top of the line school and you will profit greatly by coming here. You will have life long learning. And the Hockey team is great. GO GOLDEN KNIGHTS! |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Clarkson is ranked very highly and is a tier one university. However, Potsdam is a very cold town. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The program was amazing - I learned so much. The school's facilities were great. They had a computer lab in which every computer could run both windows OS and Linux OS. |
| Instruction | 7 | Some teachers were very devoted to their jobs and had many available office hours. However, some were more concerned with their research. |
| How Difficult | 6 | It's hard because of all the different computer languages you have to learn: basic c, c++, FORTRAN, MATLAB, etc. However, once you learn them all, it is just simple math. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A great mix of both. Not too much theory and not too much lab work. The Hands on portion is meant to accompany the theory and it does that nicely. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | You choose your schedule. There are enough sections so that even if you don't get the one you want, there are plenty of other open ones. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | There are at least 14 fully equipped computer labs on campus that run two operating systems. The library is small but still has everything you need. The labs and research sector is high end and the technology is state of the art. |
| Social Life | 5 | The student body is mainly nerds (however nice ones). The male to female ratio is horrible, but it is getting better. |
| Placement Services | 10 | We have a 93% career placement rating. Even after you graduate, the career center does not stop looking for jobs for you. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | The alumni network is great. We have our own alumni building. They host many events and parties and the networking is very valuable. |
Queens College - City University Of New York • Flushing, NY
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2009)
• 1/28/2012
"I felt I got my money's worth. I took extra classes, learned skills that I use today, and overall am happy with how the college treated me."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's a great college. Clean, good value, good faculty, good staff, lots of resources, and everyone is there to help you. |
| Program Reputation | 3 | It's actually a well kept secret. When you think of CS, you don't think Queens College really. You think MIT, UC Berkley, Stanford. |
| Program Quality | 10 | CUNY overall is a very good value. I wouldn't say its the best school, but tuition is very cheap in comparison to other schools (currently $4000 a semester after a massive rate hike). The staff here want you to succeed on some level, but it is more important that high quality graduates are made. |
| Instruction | 9 | You do have to pick and choose which professors you get, but overall the faculty in the department are here to help you learn. I always felt as a student that they were focused on prepping me for the future, and I use a lot of the things I learned today. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Overall I felt I excelled in college. I took more credits than average and still managed decent grades. It wasn't particularly difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It's really dependent on the faculty you get. I personally had a mix of both at my time in College. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There are night classes, which are limited but available. Weekend classes exist for liberal arts requirements (but not CS required classes). |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Pretty good. They have a campus with various resources. Library, computer labs, free space, advising centers, free tutors for basic material. Anything you really need, there's probably a center for it. |
| Social Life | 1 | The college's weakness is its social culture, as this is a commuter school. They recently installed dorms, but they're too expensive. We have maybe 1 or 2 sports teams which are official. |
| Placement Services | 10 | There's a career center to help both current students and alumni find jobs. They help with job searches, professional development, and resume writing. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | There's a career center to help both current students and alumni find jobs. Every couple of years they invite alumni back to visit. |
University Of Rochester • Rochester, NY
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 1/31/2012
"I loved my undergrad, and think it trained me well in becoming a programmer. I would definitely return to the school for graduate studies or to get another bachelors."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If you're planning to go into graduate school and then into programming, UR would be great. For students on just the career path, you can make it, but you'll need to do a lot of learning in the first couple of months on the job. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school ranks highly in research. Since Computer Science is in the engineering school, the program is more rigorous than at schools where CS is in the liberal arts program. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The school has a very rigorous program and requires you to take many classes. I think I gained more programming skills at UR than I would have at many other schools. |
| Instruction | 7 | The instruction was good, and the majority of the professors presented the material in an interesting and engaging way. However, many of the classes were not practical for students on the career track, since the school is a research university and most of the professors encourage students to continue on to grad school. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The work load is extremely high, with several projects for each class during the semester. I found it difficult to complete work on time, and there were many group projects that were hard to organize and complete. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Since it's programming, there were many projects (hands-on). However, the lectures and tests were almost all based on the material out of the book (book-learning). | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | To my knowledge, there were no weekend classes. I've taken classes that occur during the evening, but it's the early evening (3:25-6:00), not after normal work hours. I don't think they had summer classes, either. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | There is a specific library for computer and engineering students (Carlson). We had an undergrad lab that was accessible at all hours, and we could get tutors through the department secretary. Most professors were willing to work with undergrads. |
| Social Life | 7 | I was in a sorority, so there were many planned events. I did not participate in athletics, but I know many people who went to watch football on campus. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I went to resume-building workshops, but never benefitted too much from the advice provided. I applied to my current job by myself, without assistance from school. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I have not received any benefits from being an alumni since graduation. I have also not participated in any alumni events, as there are few in my area. |
Rochester Institute Of Technology • Rochester, NY
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2012)
• 2/3/2012
"The school prepared me for the workplace extremely well. Additionally, I had fun and learned quite a bit during my time there."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend RIT to anyone pursuing a CS degree. It can't be beat for work-related experience and networking, and it has a decently challenging/respected program. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | RIT has an excellent CS program. This is well known, and it is the premiere program at this school, along with a few engineering programs. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The school provided a solid background in general CS concepts. The teachers for this program are very good, and it's one of the premiere/most popular majors at the school. |
| Instruction | 9 | Career preparation was exceedingly good. Not only was the classwork relevant, but RIT provides "Co-Op" learning, which forces students to take paid internships at various workplaces, which certainly helps with career preparation both in skill building and getting a foot in the door for other jobs. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There are a few more difficult programs here, like computer engineering. However, overall, the program is intellectually stimulating and cannot just be skated through. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Schedules at RIT are rather malleable. While freshmen may be forced to sign up later and at more awkward times, upperclassmen will have no issue constructing zany schedules of their own choosing. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The CS program has plenty of funding, and has the correct amount of computer lab spaces and computing resources allocated to it. There is an academic advising office, and tutors and interpreters are available if one requires them. |
| Social Life | 7 | Like all colleges, the social experience is a key part to the overall college experience. The campus is split into liberal arts folks and engineering/computing folks, which has an unfortunate side effect of amplifying the nerdiness of the engineering/computing group. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Job placement is greatly eased by having forced previous work experience in the form of co-op education. These co-op education blocks both build a network of businesses and establish a background for a student. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The alumni network is good, and there are newsletters and many reach outs/publications. However, on the negative side, they tend towards spam/asking for donations far too often and blatantly. |
SUNY At Buffalo • Buffalo, NY
Studying History (completion in 2004)
• 3/12/2012
"I believe I got a very good education, especially for the money that I put into the system. If I had to do it over again, I would definitely go back to UB."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I have recommended this school to all of my younger friends. I have also recommended this school to their siblings when they were old enough to choose a college. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I have traveled extensively for my job and everywhere I go people have either known of SUNY at Buffalo or has great respect for the SUNY system. Also, in a lot of the southern states, they have a great respect for the whole NY public school system. |
| Program Quality | 8 | SUNY at Buffalo has a great CS department. I changed to a History Major (Minor CS) because of time constraints. |
| Instruction | 8 | SUNY at Buffalo has a great department and a very good grasp on what methods people are using out in the workplace. I would recommend it to anyone going into CS. |
| How Difficult | 5 | There is not a lot of extra work, but the work that is required is challenging and can be entertaining. If you like the work you get there it will help prepare you for real life. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The introduction classes are very hands on. The more advanced classes are more book oriented. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | I went from a 5 day week to a 2 day week. It is as flexible as you want or need it to be. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Everywhere you go there are computers available for you to use. There are a lot of Microsoft programs that allow you to get the software you need to progress as a student. |
| Social Life | 7 | I did not really go to school events. There was a lot of school spirit though shown by a lot of the other students. |
| Placement Services | I never used the job placement assistance from UB. I was able to find a job within a week of looking for one. | |
| Alumni Network | I don't participate in the Alumni network. They have contacted me multiple times to 'join' the Alumni society, but I really don't have an interest. |
SUNY Buffalo • Amherst, NY
Studying Engineering (completion in 2006)
• 3/13/2012
"I am very satisfied with my school. I would go there again if the opportunity arose."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Definitely, it was a great place to learn and begin your career. I hope to someday take additional classes there. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I think that it is regarded well. I have heard good things, and have seen high rankings. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I learned real world skills. I made connections to help my career. |
| Instruction | 10 | Curriculum was relevant to the job market. I learned a lot. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Program was very challenging. Many people did not succeed. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Labs were hands on and lectures were book oriented. They provided a good mix. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | I was able to take classes when I needed to and around work. I took evening classes, summer classes, and online classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Reasonably good. Sometimes professors don't respond to emails, but they always have time in their office or after class. |
| Social Life | 5 | I didn't live on campus, so it was hard to engage in all social activities. But there were plenty of events for those that wanted to participate in them. |
| Placement Services | 10 | They work with local companies in the area to find internships. They also help with resumes and interview skills. |
| Alumni Network | I don't participate in a formal alumni network. |
Alfred State College • Alfred, NY
Studying Computer Information System / Web Development (completion in 2010)
• 3/28/2012
"I feel like I graduated as a well-rounded web programmer. I definitely felt like I was ready for the real-world."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Definitely, especially if you have an IT background straight from high school. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | When I was attending school, I heard my major was within the top 10 SUNY programs in NY |
| Program Quality | 8 | I took a lot of programming classes in Java, VB, & C++. My major included a variety of skills. I just wish they focused a little more on how to develop your own Web business. |
| Instruction | 9 | I learned a lot and my instructors were very thorough. My Web Development professor was head of the department and taught us less like a class and more like a group of employees, which really helped when I joined the workforce. I graduated with a very solid foundation. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Programming is almost always hard in the beginning, but when you get the hang of it, you realize that every language is the same, just with different syntax. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My lab courses were mostly hand-ons, which I believe is the best way to understand and debug programming. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | My program was based on mostly labs that were given every other semester, so it was not really flexible. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | My program provided all the necessary media and programs for completing labs. |
| Social Life | 5 | I believe there could have been more activities and social events during my 4 years there. |
| Placement Services | 5 | My school didn't assist me with finding an internship as I already had one. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I don't really hear from the alumni association. I hear more from friends on Facebook than the alumni network. |
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