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 Normandale Community College, Anoka - Ramsey, University of Minnesota, and Inver Hills 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 Globe University, Metropolitan State, University of Minnesota-Crookston, and Minnesota State Moorhead.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider College of Saint Benedict and St. Catherine University.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Saint Paul College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider White Earth Tribal and Community College, St. Catherine University, The College of Saint Scholastica, and University of St Thomas.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of MacAlester, Carleton, St. Olaf College, and Northland Community and Technical College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Carleton, St. Olaf College, Gustavus Adolphus College, and Saint Johns University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Carleton, MacAlester, St. Olaf College, and Gustavus Adolphus College.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Carleton, MacAlester, University of Minnesota, and Augsburg.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Carleton, Gustavus Adolphus College, MacAlester, and White Earth Tribal and Community College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Capella University • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Information Technology Specializing In Project Management (completion in 2010)
• 8/15/2011
"I am very satisfied with Capella due to the fact they have a ton of resources and great instructors. The fact that they prepared me for a position as a head webmaster for a large school district and that I got the job after the first interview was huge. Not many people can say that. I beat out people with 10 years of experience in the corporate world and with an education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If online education is what they are looking for, then I would recommend Capella because it is not some "paper mill." They do challenge people and teach you well. I personally know people that thought online would be easier than a traditional college and failed their courses. The only warning I would have is make sure you are disciplined if you go the online route. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | My first job was very impressed with my degree from Capella. I landed my first job after my first interview. Also, when I speak to other online education students, they are more impressed with Capella than with their schools. |
| Program Quality | 10 | They challenged me on the subjects. Most of the work was project based so they made you learn the information instead of just repeating it. |
| Instruction | 10 | They prepared me well for the workplace in regards to preparation and documentation on the project management side. The IT side prepared me more for general IT, which was very good. |
| How Difficult | 8 | It wasn't extremely difficult for me because I already had two degrees in the field. I also had work experience in the field. However, the work load was a lot more than a brick and mortar school school gave and the grading was harder. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We of course have to learn through book, the internet, etc. just like any other college. However, the grading isn't based on tests and repeating the information - it is all projects. For example, in one of my final project management courses my project paper ended up being 47 pages long full of IT diagrams and the works for a large project. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Online education is the future due to the flexibility. I can log on any time to retrieve my work and learning materials and submit them. Usually discussion postings are done weekly and all the assignments are given at the beginning of the course with no surprises. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The online library is huge. I never went to a brick and mortar college and had this much information at my fingertips. There is always plenty of time to communicate with the professors and it appears Capella makes them adhere to the policy of responding within 24 hours. |
| Social Life | 10 | I have made many contacts through Capella. We have helped each other with concerns of work, education, and, at times, family matters. I am not a very social person online (I don't use Facebook, for example). But this college has you interact with each other so much that it becomes second nature. |
| Placement Services | 10 | They provide a lot of information on interviews and the hiring process. Also they have many lists of job postings and give you the tools needed to become an online instructor as well. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | They contact us regularly by email. Also there is a large social network setup for us as well. |
University Of Minnesota • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Cultural Anthropology (completion in 2011)
• 9/13/2011
"I received a quality education. The price was too high, though."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | A college degree is not needed for my career. I am underemployed. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | They have some professors that publish quite often and are well known. The department is not funded well and lacks outside donors. |
| Program Quality | 8 | While it was nice that the chair of the department invited me and a few other students to lunch a few times each semester, the department needs better funding. |
| Instruction | 6 | I participated in a Business Anthropology Seminar. I also did ethnographic fieldwork inside corporations. |
| How Difficult | 7 | A lot of reading. A lot of writing. No multiple choice tests. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was mostly in class instruction. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | The university focuses on full-time traditional students and pushes students to graduate in 4 years. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Students have access to all needed resources. Facilities and classrooms are excellent. Faculty discouraged study groups. Tutoring is available if needed. |
| Social Life | 10 | There were too many social activities available. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The school has 50,000 students, so there's no way to do job placement. Career services assistance is available but students need to know how to navigate the university system to get help. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | Very good alumni network for the business school. Very poor alumni network for school of liberal arts, though. |
St. Cloud State University • St. Cloud, MN
Studying BCIS (completion in 2005)
• 10/7/2011
"I got a job. I am doing what I went to school for."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend my school and am very happy with it. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I hear good things about it everywhere I go. The reputation seems to be getting better. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The school has great real-world application and provides a well-rounded education. |
| Instruction | 7 | We had several adjunct professors who were great teachers. One of the requirements for instructors was at least five years of practical experience before teaching. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Not sure how difficult it was when compared to other schools as I have only attended the one school. I thought some classes were difficult and others were easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We had some classes that were hands-on and some that weren't. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Seemed to have a lot of online classes. I took several night classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | They had some good labs. Their technology was a little out of date. |
| Social Life | 1 | They did away with homecoming. No school spirit except for the hockey program. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I got a job, and am not sure how other schools compare. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | They send constant follow-up emails with regular invites to alumni events. |
Dunwoody College Of Technology • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Computer Networking Systems (completion in 2010)
• 10/15/2011
"We got to keep our books and I still learn a lot from them everyday. I am very satisfied with my school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend this school to anyone who wants a degree in computer programming because the teachers are great and you come out with a solid foundation of computers. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | As stated before it is the best place to go to learn about computers. After all, it is a technical college. |
| Program Quality | 9 | It is a technical school so it's definitely the place to go to learn this. Plus the teachers are good at what they teach. |
| Instruction | 5 | Although they teach well they take a while to give feedback. You could be doing well or bad and wouldn't know because it takes them a while to grade. |
| How Difficult | 6 | There are gigantic books they give you. These books have all the information you need but it's a lot of reading. Very time consuming. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We did have books to go through and read but they applied to programming on the computer so we would always end up doing something with our hands. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | There were certain classes you had to take. There wasn't any choice over the date. It went by quarters on a set schedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | We had two study centers and laptops issued to us at the beginning of the quarter. Tutors were always available. |
| Social Life | 5 | There weren't many social events. But I had a solid group of friends within the classroom. |
| Placement Services | 8 | When I went there I believe they had a 97% placement for people to get jobs after they graduate. I know it dropped a percent or two but a lot of the people I know that went there actually have jobs in their field of study. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | The alumni network is very good. If you've already graduated and need to find a job you can still go to their career center and receive help. |
Dunwoody College Of Technology • Minneapolis, MN
Studying CNTS (completion in 2010)
• 10/23/2011
"They helped me find a job. They have very good instructors and nice, relaxing, comfortable places to study."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | For anyone who wants to study or has an interest in computers, I would recommend this school. These teachers know what they're teaching. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The reputation of Dunwoody is great. They have a 96% placement rate. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The school was very helpful in many ways, including helping me find a job, being hands on and helping me learn. |
| Instruction | 6 | The instructors were good at teaching but not as good at providing feedback. The instructors were there to help whenever you needed it and often provided examples as to how to complete a task. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It's not too hard, but it's not for those that do not like to read. There's lots of reading within this program. The best thing though is getting to apply what you've read to a computer. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Definitely a mix. There's a lot of reading but once you're finished you have to apply it to the computer which is hands on work. So it's a mix. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | They are just like any other scheduled school. There's a certain pace you have to follow and the classes have to be taken at the scheduled time. You may ask to take it at another time but that is only if the class is offered with multiple options. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | They really don't have a computer lab because students are given laptops. They also have a tutor section that has tutors available for every subject. They're amazing. |
| Social Life | 7 | My social experience was very good. I made very good friends at Dunwoody. Even became a godfather to my friend's son. |
| Placement Services | 8 | 96% placement rate. Their career services assistance is awesome. I created an amazing résumé with their help. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | They help those who graduate but only if they have time. They're average, just like any other alumni support but they did help me find a job. |
Metropolitan University • St. Paul, MN
Studying Computer Information Systems (completion in 2002)
• 12/3/2011
"Metro State was a great school that allowed me to finish my degree in a little over a year. I started college and never finished, Metro transferred in most of my credits and the program was thorough and affordable."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, I would recommend it. Since I graduated they have evolved and advanced their curriculum even further. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Metro State had a good reputation as an accredited university for working adults. I have encountered many alumni in my working career. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Metro has a very good computer science department with electives in multimedia and web development. I was also able to take Spanish courses as a liberal arts requirement. |
| Instruction | 7 | May program was more application-based and I had trouble finding a job out of college without experience. I didn't know a lot about hardware going into my job. |
| How Difficult | 9 | The program was very challenging, lots of math and programming. Classes also focused on project management and had projects due every two weeks. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a good mix depending on the course. Much of the work I did in school has helped me for projects I worked on in my career. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Classes were offered on evenings and weekends. You could also take independent study or internet courses. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Computer labs had plenty of computers and all were new. Classrooms were spacious and modern. |
| Social Life | There wasn't a campus life like other universities since the school is for working adults. I did make several friends, many of whom I still see on a regular basis. | |
| Placement Services | 7 | There was no job placement service. There was a good career service center that would help you with your job search. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | The school is geared towards working adults so campus life wasn't as abundant as other universities. There were clubs, groups and intramural activities you could join. |
Northland Community And Technical College • East Grand Forks, MN
Studying Computer Networking (completion in 2014)
• 12/21/2011
"I loved the teachers and other faculty. The classes were smaller, so we got more individualized attention. Also, there was enough variety in classes that you could take a few fun classes along with your normal class load. My only complaint would be that the financial aid department was understaffed (they seem to have fixed that)."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | In fact, I have! My fiance is currently enrolled in the CCNA program at NCTC - he's loving it! |
| Program Reputation | 9 | The school's reputation for the computer networking program is great - more and more students have enrolled. Also, I have seen a lot of students transfer to NCTC from the neighboring university. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The school was pretty good, but the teachers who ran the CCNA program were absolutely amazing. I have and will remain recommending them to anyone I think would be interested. |
| Instruction | 7 | What I learned was really good - however, my degree isn't in computer services; it's in networking, so it may not be as relevant as it could be. It did better prepare me for this career, though. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The Cisco CCNA program is not an easy program. However, if you pay attention, attend class, and study, it's not that bad. It really helps prepare you for pursuing a field in networking. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a lot of book learning in this program, but there was also a lot of hands-on work, from learning the ins and outs of computer hardware, to making different types of cables, to working with software. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | The school does offer some night classes, and they also offer certain online courses. I didn't take any, but the types and amounts of classes keep growing. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The lab where we worked on computers was great - it was clean and well organized (as well as a room full of computer parts can be). There was also a separate room for lecture classes, so that was nice. Each room had the materials that we needed to learn. Also, the instructors were very helpful and always met with me when I needed their attention. |
| Social Life | I wasn't all that social, but for a small tech college, I think the social aspect was good. They had BBQ's, LAN parties, and other events; I didn't normally attend, as I worked full time. | |
| Placement Services | I had a job offer right out of college, so I didn't take advantage of the career placement services. | |
| Alumni Network | I've never worked with the alumni network, and I'm not sure this tech college really has one. |
University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2002)
• 1/12/2012
"It was a good school. My degree has proven valuable."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, my degree got me a job. I have made some good friends. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The reputation will help you get a job. It is one of the better known programs in the Twin Cities. |
| Program Quality | 6 | One of the good things about UM-Twin Cities is that there were a ton of other people there who were taking Computer Science so it was easy to find people to help me with homework. The professors were also helpful. |
| Instruction | 5 | Most of the professors were fairly competent. Unfortunately, a lot of them were not up to date with the latest networking techniques, specifically Cisco-related. |
| How Difficult | 6 | I found it to be easy because I've been around computers my whole life. A lot of my friends failed at least one course though. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Since you're working with computers everywhere it really doesn't involve books a lot. The books we did use were often outdated. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | There are a wide selection of classes, but they fill up quickly. It is difficult to reschedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The university had everything I could have wanted. The library I lived closest to was often really crowded though. |
| Social Life | 3 | There aren't many girls in the computer science program. I had to work hard to find parties to go to. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They will help schedule appointments with you. There also host regular IT career fairs. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I had no trouble contacting other IT alumni. There were helpful in giving me job searching tips. |
Minnesota School Of Business • Lakeville, MN
Studying Information Technology (completion in 2012)
• 2/1/2012
"I really enjoyed this school. I am planning to finish my Bachelor's degree there."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I think it is a good school if you require a flexible schedule. It is expensive though. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | From what I've heard in the field it is average. There may be better schools for this particular field. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I am very happy with the education there. I enjoyed the small classes and feel I learned more with them. |
| Instruction | 7 | Some of the instructors were inexperienced, but his was made up for by the ability to work one on one with the instructor. |
| How Difficult | 5 | It wasn't really hard. But it was hard enough that some people didn't complete it. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We used both styles of learning. I enjoyed the hands on learning and think it helps build experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | They offer day and night classes. This fit well with my schedule and allows me to work full time while attending school. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Everything is very nice and well-maintained. The computers are also kept up to date. |
| Social Life | 4 | Because it is a smaller school there weren't many events. I did become good friends with others in my field though. |
| Placement Services | 10 | They're always helping keep my resume up to date and with job searching. They also are great at helping me get ready for interviews. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | So far I have been very pleased with them. They are always willing to help with my job search. |
M State • Detroit Lakes, MN
Studying Computer Networking/Help Desk Support (completion in 2001)
• 3/3/2012
"The school gave me some of the basic knowledge I needed to obtain a job. It could of had better instructors though."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I have been out of school too long to know for sure. I know there have been some instructor changes. The students coming out of there seem to have had better experiences than I did. |
| Program Reputation | I am not sure. I really haven't heard anything about it. | |
| Program Quality | 7 | The teacher of the networking side was a good person but didn't teach much on networking. We also had some bad instructors who didn't know how to teach. The Help Desk program was awesome. |
| Instruction | 5 | The teacher of the networking side was a good person but didn't teach much on networking. She also read out of the book and really didn't teach from experience. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The homework was ok. It wasn't too hard. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The one instructor basically read out of the book. Even though one of my programs was networking, we didn't even touch any of the equipment during classes. I had to go back to school a couple years later for stuff I should have had in the beginning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | We didn't have the online option when I went there. That would have been nice. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The library was open a lot. The help desk was handy. |
| Social Life | 2 | The school tried but there wasn't much done. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I got lucky and found jobs without having to use their service. I was about the only one who had a job when school ended. I know a few people who didn't get jobs in their field of study. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | They haven't contacted me since I graduated. |
ITT Technical Institute • Eden Prairie, MN
Studying Information Security (completion in 2010)
• 3/30/2012
"I was very dissatisfied with the decision to attend a for-profit tech school. It cost way too much money for too few results. Graduates of these programs are sometimes belittled."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | Private, for-profit institutions care too much about attrition rates and making money. Their reputations are horrible and employers are often turned off by seeing them on a resume. |
| Program Reputation | 2 | For-profit tech schools are looked down upon. Employers tend to choose graduates of standard universities/colleges over these schools. |
| Program Quality | 4 | IT was a decent program, but some bad teachers made it less beneficial. We had inadequate training in certain areas. |
| Instruction | 4 | Some were decent. Many were earning credit hours of their own and did not know enough about the subject matter to be teaching it. |
| How Difficult | 2 | It was too easy. This school is intended to turn a profit and failing too many students is bad for business. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | They did a pretty good job of keeping it evenly split. Good mix for the program. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | These schools are known for this, but they did have to kind of keep all of the students in certain programs on the same track to staff as little as possible. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | We had lots of equipment, but many poorly-planned lab exercises. Some shoddy proprietary versions of textbooks customized for ITT that differed from normal schools. |
| Social Life | 3 | These schools aren't really known for social activities. We had a barbeque once. |
| Placement Services | I have not used these services but heard they were decent. | |
| Alumni Network | I never used their services. They annoy me with letters to come back, though. |
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