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 Central Piedmont Community College, Fayetteville State, Winston-Salem State University, and East Carolina University.
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 Methodist University, Mount Olive College, Shaw University, and Pfeiffer University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Bennett and Meredith College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Livingstone, North Carolina A & T, North Carolina Central University, and Elizabeth City State.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Montgomery Community College, Mount Olive College, Edgecombe Community College, and Wilson Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Duke, Bennett, Elon University, and Johnson C Smith University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Livingstone, Saint Augustines College, High Point, and Bennett.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Duke, UNC, Elon University, and NC State.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Duke, Johnson C Smith University, UNC, and Campbell.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Bennett, Duke, Wake Forest University, and Meredith College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Guilford College • Greensboro, NC
Studying Computing And Information Technology (CMIT) (completion in 2003)
• 10/2/2011
"I had a great time, learned a lot, and had a wonderful circle of friends. In many ways, I draw on what I learned at Guilford daily, or at least several times a week."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I think that everyone needs to pick their own college for their own reasons, but I did very well at Guilford. It is not just be an IT focused degree, since there are liberal arts requirements as well, but employers may appreciate the ability to be able to write coherently, and not just do IT. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I believe it is still high-quality. I have not been involved with anyone who is familiar with the current program, so I cannot say for sure. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The courses were very rigorous and educational without being tedious. Also, IT&S hires many CMIT students as student workers to repair campus IT problems, which provides significant real-world experience. |
| Instruction | 10 | Our professors had actually been out there working in the field. They were able to prepare us for what we actually needed to know, not just what we would be tested on. |
| How Difficult | 8 | It was difficult for a general IT major. However, it was not the level of difficulty that I would associate with a Computer Science or Computer Engineering degree. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Our systems and networks classes both consisted of setting up hardware and software to connect them to different network arrangements. We never had death by powerpoint. When we did programming, most of our grade was to write an actual program that achieved a goal. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Guilford was one of the first colleges in the state to offer evening classes. A large number of police officers, paramedics, and other people who work odd shift schedules take classes at Guilford due to their flexibility. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | We had sufficient resources for our program. Tutoring and study groups are not assigned by each department, but by the Academic Skills Center. |
| Social Life | 8 | Aside from athletics, school spirit was quite high. Most students are very uninterested in athletics at Guilford. Ultimate Frisbee and Women's Rugby were more popular than our football team. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The school's career services department was not helpful in assisting me with finding a job. I have heard of other alumni who have found jobs with their assistance. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have not received much assistance from the alumni support system. I do occasionally run into other alumni which may assist with forming a connection with them, but I have not found a school maintained alumni network. |
University Of North Carolina At Charlotte • Charlotte, NC
Studying Political Science (completion in 1987)
• 10/2/2011
"In retrospect, it was good. However, it doesn't seem relevant now."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | In my opinion, I really didn't need a degree for my job. I work at a major computer manufacturer in level 2 support. None of my co-workers have degrees and are largely self taught. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I don't know any other people with my major from my school. I don't know what kind of jobs they have either. |
| Program Quality | 5 | My major didn't have much to do with my career now. I learned computers myself and then went and got an Associates in Computer Programming degree that has helped me more. |
| Instruction | 5 | It helped me in being analytical about problem solving. But Political Science isn't the first degree you think about in becoming a computer support agent. |
| How Difficult | 4 | I found it easy to get through. I think at the time, I was just wanting to graduate with some sort of degree. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Was certainly very book oriented at the time. The Internet wasn't around at the time to seek hands on work. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I don't know enough about how they are now. They used to be pretty flexible with their offerings. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | I graduated nearly 25 years ago. I'm not sure. At the time, though, everything was good. |
| Social Life | 10 | It was good at the time. Plenty of clubs and campus organizations to get involved with. |
| Placement Services | 1 | After you graduate, there is nothing. I'd like to hear about online job fairs, anything. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | They only seem to call wanting donations from me. I only wish in this economy that they would seek companies looking for experienced professionals. |
Craven Community College • New Bern, NC
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2008)
• 11/24/2011
"I was satisfied with the quality of the resources provided for my learning. I would and will be returning for additional classes."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I was pleased with the school. I think it is a great choice for people on a limited budget who are seeking to further their education. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The college has a great transfer lineup of classes to set up people who are interested in moving their studies to a larger college. This major was one of them. |
| Program Quality | 7 | It's a community college, but with that considered, they do well for technology-related topics. I feel that for the money, this was a good choice. |
| Instruction | 9 | The school had some very talented teachers in this field. I feel like I learned some quality things from them to help me. |
| How Difficult | 6 | The difficulty is more of a matter of how you learn. I learn computer-related things fairly quickly, so these classes were not really difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of my classes were very hands on. This is to be expected in Computer Science. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | I was pleased with the online offerings and the scheduling I was able to achieve while holding a job. The college was very approachable on the subject. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Labs and facilities were clean and well ordered. I was very pleased and had no trouble finding what I needed. |
| Social Life | I was there to learn and that's what I accomplished. I do not participate in anything else. | |
| Placement Services | I already had a job at the time, so I did not need this. | |
| Alumni Network | 7 | I don't keep up with these things. The support is decent. |
Cape Fear Community College • Wilmington, NC
Studying Associate In Arts (completion in 2001)
• 12/7/2011
"The school was good. The problem lies with me."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The program was not ideal for IT work. I would recommend an Associate in Science. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I have met many who took the same program. Many of them were very satisfied. |
| Program Quality | 9 | Sufficient computer courses were offered to prepare me for basic IT support. It could be better. |
| Instruction | 10 | Professors were topnotch, and not just for a community college. There are excellent instructors at Cape Fear. |
| How Difficult | 4 | The lack of a clear path within the program did make it difficult to focus on any particular career track. It was too broad. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a combination of labs and bookwork. The labs were, as you would expect, mostly for physics and chemistry. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The college has a main campus as well as two satellite campuses. This provides both temporal and geographic flexibility. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | A new library was completed in 2001. The campus has multiple computer and AV labs. |
| Social Life | 1 | I had almost no contact with other students. I attended no campus events. |
| Placement Services | 10 | I did not take advantage of this when I should have. They have a 99%+ placement rate. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I haven't heard from them since I graduated. That was in 2001. |
North Carolina Central University • Durham, NC
Studying Computer Information Systems (completion in 2011)
• 3/6/2012
"My school did a great job preparing for after college experience so I am thankful for that. My professors took the time to ensure that their messages were delivered in an effective way."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend anyone who wants to pursue a degree revolving around computers, especially for the business world, to attend my alma mater. The professors are wonderful and I can even call them now to get advice. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | My major is in the school of business so I learned a lot about computers while learning how to be professional when it comes to resume writing and preparing for interviews to help me land a job. |
| Program Quality | 10 | My professors did an excellent job preparing me for my career. They used real situations that they experienced to use as models for us to learn. The situation might have changed but the method of dealing with it is still the same so it helped us gain real world knowledge while still in college. |
| Instruction | 8 | I learned a lot from various professors. They were kind enough to even provide me with cell phone numbers in case I didn't understand anything outside of classroom hours. |
| How Difficult | 6 | The workload was not too much. I love computers so learning more about them came naturally and it made me want to know more. If anything, I had to learn better time management skills so I could deal with the classes that were not directly related to my major. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | For the classes that I took it was more of hands-on learning with the use of books to back up hands-on deliverance. It was more efficient for me to learn that way so I was thankful. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | The school offers the same class at multiple times so the flexibility is great. I was able to arrange it to where I only had class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and work all the other days. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The school has great facilities for their students. The only downside was that the library wasn't open for very long for the students to use. I would often have to go to another school to use their library. |
| Social Life | 7 | I have a great school experience. I would attend football games and organized social events. They would often be held once a month and it was during times that I was not working so I made an effort to go. |
| Placement Services | 8 | My school's career services department sends out emails about job openings, and if anyone needs help working on their resumes their doors are always open. They also always hold events that relate to preparing for graduation and how to gain employment before graduation. |
| Alumni Network | I just graduated and have yet to receive the package about alumni. They usually send that out around homecoming, which is towards the end of October. |
Western Carolina University • Cullowhee, NC
Studying History (completion in 2006)
• 3/13/2012
"Overall it was a great school. Strong educational emphasis."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | They provided strong leadership development and great resources. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | WCU is a liberal arts school so the History program is well known. Professors all hold PHD's from excellent universities. |
| Program Quality | 10 | It was a small school with great professors. Strong bond between Alumni. |
| Instruction | 9 | Professors were always willing to go the extra mile. I learned how to dig deep into issues and research items. |
| How Difficult | 9 | It was overwhelming at times. I was always challenged and encouraged to succeed. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A great mix of on hands on learning including trips to visit historical sites. Unsurprisingly, books were used heavily as well. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Small class sizes are something that the History department prides themselves on. It could be difficult to get good summer offerings. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | They have a 24 hour library and computer lab and on-site centers for tutoring 6 days a week. |
| Social Life | 10 | It was like High School spirit. Athletics are something to take pride in. Pep Rallies were held often. |
| Placement Services | I decided to travel after graduating so I did not use the career services assistance program. | |
| Alumni Network | 10 | There were local alumni groups all over. Great networking opportunities. |
East Carolina University • Greenville, NC
Studying IT (completion in 2002)
• 3/20/2012
"I really enjoyed my time at ECU. I would recommend it to my kids."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I would not recommend it for IT. It is not an IT school. |
| Program Reputation | 3 | I have never heard of ECU being a major player in the tech field. ECU could step up their tech game and pull some more talent. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I really liked ECU. I feel they provided a decent education. |
| Instruction | 9 | The business instructors were old and crotchety. The IT instruction received was very vague. Professors had no real world experience. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I understand business and computers. The curriculum was easy to follow and most professors were OK. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It's pretty much book learning and not very hands-on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The labs and library were open late. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The professors were willing to help and the labs were open late. |
| Social Life | 10 | ECU was know as a party school. It lived up to its name. |
| Placement Services | 5 | My advisor really had no idea how to place students into a career. We were given no opportunities for internship. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I get offers in the mail but it is expensive to join. The only alumni I still talk to is my wife. |
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