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 Support Specialists
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Quincy College, Harvard, Bentley, and Wentworth Institute of Technology.
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 UMass Boston, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Worcester State, and Salem State.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Wellesley College, and Simmons College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Roxbury Community College, Atlantic Union, Endicott, and Mount Wachusett Community College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Atlantic Union, Fitchburg State, Framingham State, and Greenfield Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Harvard, Wellesley College, MIT, and Smith College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Bard College at Simon's Rock, Amherst, Williams College, and Mount Holyoke College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Harvard, MIT, Tufts University, and Amherst.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Harvard, MIT, Amherst, and Williams College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Williams College, Wellesley College, MIT, and Amherst.
Spotlight Schools Search
Spotlight Massachusetts Schools Related to This Career
- Locations: Braintree, Burlington, Westborough
- Programs: 4 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor, Master
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Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
- Programs: 5 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor, Master
- Programs: 3 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
- Programs: 17 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor, Doctorate, Master
- Programs: 5 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor, Master
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
Keiser University eCampus Online
- Programs: 3 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Boston University • Boston, MA
Studying Journalism And Philosophy (completion in 2000)
• 8/15/2011
"I loved my time at BU and felt I learned a lot. At the same time it was a very expensive school. I graduated with a lot of debt and no help transitioning into full time employment."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | Computer Customer Support is not something you get an undergraduate degree in. Most undergraduate computer courses focus on programming or engineering. If it is a field you are interested in, try to get a job at your school's help desk while you are an undergrad to build up experience and see if it is a good fit for you. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | BU is generally considered a fairly competitive university with high quality academics. Neither Journalism nor Philosophy are among BU's most competitive or challenging majors. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I love BU and the classes I took, but they did very little to prepare me or place me in a job. I have used almost none of what I learned in college in my jobs. |
| Instruction | 8 | I had a number of truly excellent professors, and only a couple of poor ones. Most were passionate about the subject they taught and communicated well. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I was in the honors program and the core program which provided an added challenge. Most classes were easy to pass, but difficult to excel in. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This depends a lot on the class. The humanities classes are very book oriented, as were the Philosophy classes. All science classes have a required hands-on lab section. Journalism classes were all based on writing and research, and all hands-on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | They do offer summer and evening classes. It would be difficult to complete all of the requirements for a degree without taking several regular weekday classes during the standard semesters. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | I always found academic advisers to be a problem. I never saw the same one twice, and they were often unaware of any programs outside of their department. The libraries were excellent, and the classrooms were well equipped for the subject matter. |
| Social Life | 6 | Being in downtown Boston led to an excellent social and activity life. Most of it was outside of official school activities, but there was never a shortage of things to do or explore. |
| Placement Services | 3 | They have a number of resources to help students find jobs to help pay for college while they are students, but I did not find any support in getting placed in a full-time job after college. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | They have regular alumni events and an alumni magazine, so they do try to stay in touch. The school is so large, though, that I don't go to any of the events, since it is unlikely I would know any of the people there. |
Berklee College Of Music • Boston, MA
Studying Music Business (completion in 2008)
• 9/22/2011
"I don't think I could have gone anywhere else. If I did go somewhere else, my completion of the program would have been in doubt."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If you want to be regarded as a hero while you work very hard and are underpaid... this is great starting position. Eventually, with a MIS or something there are high rewards there..... |
| Program Reputation | 7 | My High School teacher liked this school. Others responded well when I told them I would be attending this school. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I loved my major. I loved my school and its curriculum. Wasn't exactly IT related, however it gave me Mac, PC, and Linux skills, which I use. |
| Instruction | 10 | They have great teachers at my school. They are very knowledgeable about the industry, and their lack of IT knowledge provided a very hands on 'real world' learning experience. |
| How Difficult | 7 | If you are very talented, this curriculum is a perfect fit. If you are somewhat talented, there are some challenges. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Lack of instructor knowledge helped in this regard. The books are made by the Berklee press, so they're pretty standard (limited resale value). | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | School schedules are what they are. There really is no way to work full time and go to this school full time. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Since it is music oriented, there were plenty of performance places. Moreover, there are plenty of recording studios open 24 hours a day. |
| Social Life | 5 | It's a college. College is college - haha! |
| Placement Services | 3 | Excellent in Boston, MA. Not the greatest outside of this, although it is getting better. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | Alumni Network? What's an alumni Network? |
Blue Hills Regional Vocational Institute • Canton, MA
Studying Computer Programming (completion in 1984)
• 10/1/2011
"I was able to get the degree but only through my own hard work. I worked a lot with other students."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | The school is closed, so I cannot recommend it to anyone. |
| Program Reputation | 1 | It is closed. It can't be rated now. |
| Program Quality | 5 | It was ok. There were too many students for each teacher. |
| Instruction | 5 | It was average. Not a lot of time for 1 on 1. |
| How Difficult | 5 | It was not difficult once you learned the basics. A lot of time was spent waiting for others to complete their work before moving on to the next part. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was mostly hands on. A lot of working on the computers and writing. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | There was no flexibility. Classes were all scheduled for the semester. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | There was enough computers for every student. There was a very small library. |
| Social Life | 3 | There really weren't any social activities. The social activities were all organized by students if there were any. |
| Placement Services | 1 | There was no placement help. The only career services is what students put on the bulletin board. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | The school is closed so there is no network. There was no network at the time either. The instructors worked jobs after school so there was not a lot of support from them. |
Quinsig Community College • Worcester, MA
Studying Applied Arts (completion in 2007)
• 11/10/2011
"Overall my experience was quite positive. I have excelled at the jobs I have received."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend the school and program as they were both great. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | As far as I am aware it's still a well regarded program. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The program is not 100% applicable to my current job, but the skills I learned have served me well. |
| Instruction | 6 | All professors had good experience to share and offered either a pragmatic or idealistic approach to content. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Content was challenging, though work load was average. They had good resources for assistance on campus. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The majority of our classes were lecture and hands-on, very little book work. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | The majority of program classes were only offered one time of day (and some offered either only Spring or Fall). There were plenty of options for electives, however. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Resources were excellent. Very modern lab with good support staff and resources. |
| Social Life | 3 | It's a community college so the social atmosphere is minimal. |
| Placement Services | 6 | Job placement was mediocre, but I am not sure if that was simply due to the job market at the time. |
| Alumni Network | I have never utilized any services after graduation. They mail me magazines which I promptly deposit in the recycling. |
University Of Massachusetts • Amherst, MA
Studying Computer Systems Engineering (completion in 2000)
• 11/11/2011
"I'm happy with my degree, and the job I got right out of school. I would certainly recommend Umass to students who wanted a larger school. The Computer Science and Computer Systems Engineering programs were very strong."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It was a good experience. I was able to balance the fun (parties) with the work (engineering). I would certainly suggest that somebody looking to get into computers get a Bachelor's degree in a related field. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I'd say the school probably has an average reputation. It's not a technical school, and doesn't focus solely on technology, but it is a strong university in general. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The Computer Engineering program at Umass Amherst was very good. It was a mix of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at first, and then focused on Computer Engineering. I liked how it allowed me to see both software and hardware classes. |
| Instruction | 8 | I was able to take classes that directly helped me to get a job after college. Being able to use Unix machines in school was a plus, and helped me find a job quickly. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I would say that most schools are as hard as Umass when it comes to engineering. Maybe it is a bit harder than some community colleges, or technical schools, but as far as universities go, I'd say it's just as challenging. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I would say that for my program we had a good mix of both. We did a lot of work in the labs, so it was a good mix. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | It was a big university. They have classes for all types of people and all schedules. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | They had good labs. Equipment was newer while I was there. The teachers all had good office hours, and were available. Overall, I'd say the Computer Systems engineers had a lot of support. |
| Social Life | 9 | Umass was a great party school when I was there. You could find a party any night of the week. |
| Placement Services | 6 | They had some career placement services, and a few people dedicated to help people. I'd say they do a little bit more than some schools. |
| Alumni Network | The alumni network seems to be good, however I really don't participate in it. I can't say much because I try not to get involved in alumni activities. |
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