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 Pellissippi State, Lane, Middle Tennessee State University, and Southwest Tennessee 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 Southwest Tennessee Community College, Le Moyne-Owen College, Pellissippi State, and Northeast State.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Le Moyne-Owen College, Tennessee State, Southwest Tennessee Community College, and Christian Brothers.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Lincoln Memorial, Union University, Southwest Tennessee Community College, and Northeast State.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Vanderbilt University, Fisk, Sewanee-The University of the South, and Rhodes College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Hiwassee, Tennessee Temple University, Fisk, and Sewanee-The University of the South.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Vanderbilt University, Rhodes College, Sewanee-The University of the South, and Belmont.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Vanderbilt University, Lane, Tennessee Temple University, and Rhodes College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Hiwassee, Rhodes College, Sewanee-The University of the South, and Vanderbilt University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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ITT Tech • Chattanooga, TN
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2013)
• 1/2/2012
"I am very satisfied with my school. They make it easy to get your degree fast."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I love it here, it's an amazing school. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | The school's reputation is outstanding. We are one of the top-rated technical schools in the state. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The teachers are great. They seam to be teaching everything you would need to become a computer programmer. |
| Instruction | 7 | After I graduate I'll feel completely prepared to get any job in the computer field. I have learned a lot at ITT Tech. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The curriculum is very difficult at first, until you have learned all the terminology. They try not to put too much on you at one time, but sometimes it can get difficult between work and school. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Mostly everything we do is hands-on learning. That's why I like it. I don't learn well with just books - I have to have a visual. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | My schedule is set up in the evenings and I always have weekends off. I'm not sure bout the online options but summer offerings are great. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The school has an amazing library and there are plenty of computer labs. Advisors know exactly what you need to graduate and they are very good. |
| Social Life | 2 | We don't have any athletic teams so there really is nothing but academics here. |
| Placement Services | 9 | I'm not really sure right now as I haven't graduated and can't get a job in my field yet. I have friends who are seniors and they have gotten jobs in their fields. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | They are very supportive and will do pretty much anything to help you. |
Bristol University • Bristol, TN
Studying Computer Information Science And Business Administration (completion in 1992)
• 1/30/2012
"Given the chance, I would go to a different school today. The educational benefits were greatly out paced by the school's less then ethical policies and actions."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | They were under investigation by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The owners chose to close before charges could be brought against them. |
| Program Reputation | 1 | The school closed and left the students in a lurch. It appears that the owner was misleading several people as to validity of the school credentials. |
| Program Quality | 8 | More job placement and discussion would have been nice. Also, it would have been nice to have more JAVA training. |
| Instruction | 8 | More application driven programming would have been appropriate. Also, C+ was not touched as in depth as other languages. |
| How Difficult | 8 | We had several assignments, however, since there were only 3 instructors, each class simply built upon the last one. A broader level of experience would have been nice. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | All classes provided a basis in theory first. We then did quite a bit of practical applications. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Classes usually had night and morning options. You could always go to one or the other if you missed one. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Needed to spend more money on a computer lab. A separate PC library would have been nice. |
| Social Life | This was a business college and thus had no social options. They did have a baseball team at one time, but it was short lived. | |
| Placement Services | 1 | There were no job placement services at all. We did discuss how to do resumes and interview in some classes, but that took away from the actual training. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | There was none to mention. Also, the school closed and left the students in a lurch. |
Rhodes College • Memphis, TN
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 3/10/2012
"Overall, I loved my time at Rhodes and wouldn't trade it for anything else. It would have been nice if the computer science/mathematics department was a little larger with more professors, tutors, and students to study with."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It depends on how important the overall experience is, compared to getting a purely technical education. If they are looking for the latter, they should go to a school with a dedicated engineering school. But if they want a great all-around school with a liberal arts education, Rhodes is a fantastic place. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | It doesn't have much of a reputation in the program/major. There have only been about 10 graduates in the last 3 years from the program, so it is very small. But the school overall has a very good reputation around the country and has an outstanding reputation in the city of Memphis. |
| Program Quality | 6 | The education overall was good. However, since it is a liberal arts school, the quality of programs in a technical field aren't quite to the level of a state school with an entire department dedicated to the field. Of course, once you actually start working in the field, your knowledge and experience increase much quicker than while in an academic setting. |
| Instruction | 6 | Overall, preparation was good, although my technical areas were lacking a bit, due to being in a smaller department with less resources. But I got a job and have been able to manage my assignments well enough. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The classes themselves were made more difficult due to a small staff (so if a professor poorly explained something, there was no one to turn to for assistance), no tutors, and a lack of significant resources. The school expects a lot out of its students, and it's expected to put in the time and effort to succeed. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was a large mix, which really depended on what the class was. Classes such as Computational Theory were entirely done through the book, but other classes like Object-Oriented Programming required us to write our own linked lists, queues, and trees. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | Schedule flexibility is limited, because the student body is small. So frequently, there are only one or two sessions per class. All classes are during the week and are between 8am and about 4pm. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The library has a couple large computer labs where we would hold class on occasion. We also had a dedicated key code entry office room with a few computers, so that we could do work in peace. But compared to what other schools have, our resources are limited. |
| Social Life | 9 | I loved my 4 years there. I competed on the track and field team and lived on campus all 4 years. The actual school spirit isn't great (our football team is awful), but there is a lot of socialization. More than half the student body is involved in Greek life, and everyone is involved in some kind of organization. |
| Placement Services | 7 | They are willing to help in a variety of ways. They do mock interviews, help with resumes, give advice on application completion, and assist with anything else that might help improve a student's chances of getting a job/being accepted to a graduate program or other program (like Teach for America). |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I haven't been a part of it for very long, but I get regular emails about how things are going within the school. I also travel to the school regularly, to visit with staff and friends. |
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