Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
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 University of Southern Maine, University of Maine, and University of Maine at Farmington.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Saint Joseph's College of Maine.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Kennebec Valley Community College, University of Southern Maine, and University of Maine at Fort Kent.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Bowdoin, Colby, Saint Joseph's College of Maine, and University of Maine at Farmington.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Bowdoin, Colby, Thomas College, and University of Maine at Farmington.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Bowdoin and Colby.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Bowdoin and Colby.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Bowdoin, Colby, University of Maine, and University of Maine at Farmington.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of Maine • Orono, ME
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2011)
• 9/18/2011
"The University of Maine is a wonderful place to go and to learn. It has a great campus, lots of very intelligent professors and lots of opportunities for graduates."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you are looking for a good school to go to and would like to go to a place that is somewhat rural rather than in a major city, look no farther than UMaine. You will be glad you did. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Most workplaces in the area recognize the university I went to and hold it in high regard. When you apply for positions out of state they are less likely to know if it. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The school that I went to really prepared me for this position. Again, I feel over qualified, but I can do my job. |
| Instruction | 6 | I have had professors who really challenged me and helped me to grow academically. I only had one that I thought I didn't learn anything from. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I think that it is hard to do if you aren't familiar with computers. However, if you are into computers it is pretty easy. Just do you work. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We always had real world problems to deal with in class. It was never simply reading a text book and answering questions. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There wasn't a lot of flexibility in the core classes. I was able to take a few electives that I could choose. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | A brand new facility was built a year ago. It is fantastic and one is able to go for free with paid tuition. |
| Social Life | 9 | There are a lot of people at the school and also lots of activities. Everyone has school spirit so it is easy to meet and make good friends. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I did not have a hard time finding a job. The career center helped me look and also fixed my resume. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I just graduated, so I don't know a lot about the alumni network yet. I do know that there are many alumni from my major, I just do not know them personally. |
Central Maine Community College • Auburn, ME
Studying Computer Technology (completion in 2009)
• 12/7/2011
"I really enjoyed attending CMCC, and have mostly positive memories about my time there. I feel like I spent my savings wisely."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I have already recommended CMCC's Computer Technology program to a couple of my friends. One of them is already working on getting prerequisites taken care of so they can apply there. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I've heard quite a lot of good things said about my school's reputation for my program of study. And I know quite a few classmates who have gone on to great places because of their degree from my former college. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The school I attended prepared me pretty well, although more hands-on learning in some classes would have been helpful. |
| Instruction | 8 | The school prepared me pretty well for the most part, in terms of applications, databases, and PC repair, to name a few areas. But I feel that my network management classes could have been a lot more hands on. It really would have helped me understand the coursework a lot better. |
| How Difficult | 8 | We had a lot of homework, and it was challenging. But some teachers were too lenient with students, which I find to backfire on those students when they meet the "real world." |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Very equal on both aspects. Only my networking class left a lot to be desired in the hands-on department. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | CMCC is very flexible; they offer weekend and evening classes, summer classes, and most recently, many online classes. Their flexibility was one of the reasons I chose to go to school there. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | CMCC has great tutoring programs (or so I've heard; I never used them), a very quiet and organized library, nice classroom space, and very accessible professors. I wish there had been more computers available, though. I know most students have laptops, but there were a lot of times I was carrying too many books to take my laptop with me. |
| Social Life | I didn't attend any of the social functions at my school. I just did not have the free time available. | |
| Placement Services | My school stopped offering job placement and career services assistance during my last semester at school. I'm not sure if there is anything offered now, though. | |
| Alumni Network | I've never really made use of my school's alumni network or support. I'm not even very sure if they have anything available, and if they do, what they have available for alumni. |
Southern Maine Community College • Portland, ME
Studying Computer Technology (completion in 2010)
• 2/22/2012
"It taught the basics of computer technology, but not much more. I've had to learn a lot of the more advanced stuff on my own."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | It was an ok school, but I'm sure there are better ones out there that invest more in computer science. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | It was a local community college that didn't stand out as great. |
| Program Quality | 5 | It was a community college. It wasn't the greatest out there, but it had a couple good teachers who ran their own computer tech companies on the side. |
| Instruction | 8 | The instructors were pretty good. They made sure we understood why something had to happen and not just that it had to work that way. |
| How Difficult | 5 | It wasn't all that hard. I had learned how to take a computer apart on my own long before, but the class showed how to properly put one together and troubleshoot when it didn't boot up. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | More often than not, we were taking computers apart and then rebuilding them, then installing an OS and drivers and troubleshooting. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | There were a lot of options when it came time to pick your schedule. Very rarely did a class only have 1 day and slot to get into. Plus, they offered summer cram courses for some of the general education requirements. |
| Academic Facilities | 3 | In the 2 years I was there, I don't think I ever met or heard from my advisor, and all the tech classes were on the bottom floor of the building classes were in. There weren't any tutors for CS; just general education. The professors were always helpful to any questions during class, but weren't around much afterwards. |
| Social Life | 1 | I don't think the school even had any sports teams or any social events. |
| Placement Services | I moved away shortly after getting my degree, so I didn't use any job placement services they had. | |
| Alumni Network | I haven't bothered with it. It was only a community college. |
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