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 UW Milwaukee, UW Eau Claire, Cardinal Stritch, and UW La Crosse.
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 Milwaukee Area Technical College, UW Parkside, Carroll University, and Lakeland.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Alverno and Mount Mary College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider College of Menominee Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Concordia, and Milwaukee Area Technical College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Cardinal Stritch, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Concordia, and College of Menominee Nation.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Maranatha Baptist Bible, Beloit, Marquette, and UW River Falls.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Beloit, Ripon College, Maranatha Baptist Bible, and Saint Norbert College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Wisconsin, Beloit, Marquette, and Ripon College.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Cardinal Stritch, Mount Mary College, Maranatha Baptist Bible, and Milwaukee Area Technical College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Beloit, Nicolet Area Technical College, Silver Lake College, and Southwest Wisconsin Technical College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of Wisconsin - Milwaukee • Milwaukee, WI
Studying IST - Information Science And Technology (completion in 2012)
• 9/28/2011
"In my experience, UWM is a top-notch institution. Even though it may not have the reputation, they've gone out of their way to help me succeed. And the fact that the entire IST major can be done online is incredible."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes! I feel like I've learned a lot and I believe that UWM has prepared me for a new career once I graduate. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | My first two years of college were completed at UW-Madison. This school had an excellent reputation for Computer and Information Science. UW-Milwaukee does not have as good of a reputation, but in my opinion I've learned more at Milwaukee than I did attending Madison. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The best thing about the IST program at UWM is that it can be completed entirely online. Before I started this program, I assumed primarily liberal arts and business degrees were available online. Learning online is a perfect match for an IST major. |
| Instruction | 8 | I've had excellent hands-on instructors that really "get" online schooling. These classes really help me prepare for a career and make me feel like I've actually learned something. However, I've also had a couple of professors who don't get very involved and used the online curriculum to have students take the lead. This is ok, but it always feels like something was missing. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Most of my classes have a lot of work, in most cases more work than I remember being required for on-site classes. However a lot of the work is easy and is designed to encourage participation. I like this format because it seems like the focus is on learning, not testing. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There is a lot of reading involved in online classes, even more than I was expecting. The trade-off is that the focus seems more on learning than testing. So we get the opportunity to put our skills to use. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | UWM not only offers all of their required classes for the IST major online, but they also have numerous electives available online so you never have to step foot on campus if you don't have to. Can't beat that. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | I can't speak much about the libraries, but they have excellent online resources. They even provide free software for IST majors (Microsoft Windows, Adobe Products, etc). My academic advisor is excellent. She responds quickly and helped me get into all the classes I needed. She even got me into a class that I needed, but was wait-listed on, before I could even contact her for help. |
| Social Life | 7 | Since I'm an off-campus student, this doesn't completely apply. However I was very surprised by the amount of socialization in the online classes. There are a variety of students taking classes online, and it's easier than I thought it would be to get to know them. |
| Placement Services | 7 | UWM has an excellent career services department and they work hard to help their students get jobs. That said, some other well-known schools may have more companies eager to hire their graduates and may not need to work as hard. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | UWM is a large university with many alumni. However, in my experience the alumni don't seem as involved as compared to other large universities I've seen. |
University Of Wisconsin - Milwaukee • Milwaukee, WI
Studying Information Science (completion in 2009)
• 1/29/2012
"I am very satisfied with my education. I put a lot of time and effort into my degree and I am working full time in a very sluggish economy."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would likely recommend my program to others looking to enter this field. However, I would add that part time work and internships are necessary to land a job in this field - degrees and coursework alone will not be sufficient to land a job. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I believe UWM's Information and Library Science program is recognized nationwide. The Library and Information Sciences school has brought in faculty from all over the world. |
| Program Quality | 7 | UWM provided an excellent background for my career. A variety of classes were offered in the major, including web design, project management, and information theory. |
| Instruction | 7 | Related to the rating above, UWM provided a variety of coursework to support my current career. I believe the quality of instruction is directly related to the effort a student is willing to put into a class or program. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I had entered the information science program at UWM with a working knowledge of technology and computers, so some of the entry level coursework was a bit easy. Once I entered the 300 level and above courses, the program became much more challenging. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The learning truly was a mix. Some classes were strictly theory oriented and focused on readings, textbooks, and lectures, while others were almost entirely lab based or hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | There were several sections offered for entry level classes. Upper level coursework was often offered online, which provided quite a bit of flexibility for students. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | I found the amount of lab and library space to be more than adequate. I cannot think of a time when I was not able to find an available workstation or space to work. I did not utilize any of the available tutoring or study groups on campus, but they were plentiful and easy to locate. |
| Social Life | 5 | The school encouraged spirit through advertised events and athletic promotions. Being an adult/working student, I rarely had time to go to such events. |
| Placement Services | 6 | UWM provides a job board for both current students and alumni. However, I haven't utilized any of their services in the last few years. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | There is an alumni network that provides job searching tools and support, but I haven't utilized it. I suppose these services would be more valuable to me if I put more time into using them. |
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College • New Richmond, WI
Studying Computer Information Systems - Network Specialist (completion in 2005)
• 1/13/2012
"While I may not be satisfied with the current job market and how it views associate's degrees, I am, however, satisfied with my schooling. It provided excellent hands on training and a teaching method that allowed me to absorb knowledge at a faster rate than I normally would have."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | WITC was always trying to expand and provide greater resources for their students. I would expect that now, 6 years after my graduation, they are still up to date in what they are teaching their students. |
| Program Reputation | I haven't been in contact with anyone at the school. I have also not lived near the school for some time now, so my knowledge of their current reputation for the program is virtually non-existent. | |
| Program Quality | 9 | The course was very good. It focused on a great system, Cisco, in order to develop the general knowledge in the students while providing them with a specialized curriculum. |
| Instruction | 9 | Instructors were very knowledgeable in their fields. They have spent many years both working and teaching in their fields. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The main focus of the curriculum was Cisco training. Cisco equipment is very difficult to learn to program as are all the metrics that have to be calculated before hand. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Very hands on teaching, more like training. The use of books was extremely involved as well. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | WITC is a technical school and is not very large. Therefore, for specialty classes there was generally only one time available. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | As the school has a few great programs in the computer field, the computer resources were very good. There was a library available, but being a computer student it was not something I needed to use. |
| Social Life | 3 | There were some events that were for the whole school, but they generally took place during a limited time during lunch breaks and not everyone could attend. If there were clubs, I was not aware of them. |
| Placement Services | 3 | I did not use them to find a job. The jobs that our instructor did e-mail out were not very good fits. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have rarely used the alumni network. However, it is available if I choose to and seems to be pretty standard. |
University Of Wisconsin, Platteville • Platteville, WI
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2001)
• 2/27/2012
"I chose a smaller school because I wanted smaller class sizes, which worked out, but I think I sacrificed a tougher education and accreditation at the school I went to. A larger school, I believe, would have forced and pushed me further into something where I could have made more money."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I still had a great time and learned a lot at my school, even though it was smaller. I would recommend it to anyone interested in a smaller school to study computer science. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | It's a small school in Wisconsin, there are bigger/better programs out there, but I was not interested in those. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The program at that time was a lot of programming in C+ which wasn't really my cup of tea. I liked taking apart and building computers and the advancements in technology every year. |
| Instruction | 8 | Instructors were good and competent. I learned a lot of programming that I never really got to implement when it came time to get a job. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Programming classes were difficult. The others dealt with technology and computer science and information technology and were great fun. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Some classes were lab and lecture and some were both. Some were more lab based; especially with computers, you have to be in front of one to do your work. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Summer/Winter classes were available. If you ran into conflicts, your advisor or other staff members were good about assisting you in getting what you needed. |
| Academic Facilities | When I was there things were average. As I was about to leave, they got better, but I never got a chance to use them as the finished after I had left. | |
| Social Life | 9 | Extremely fun, you're only as bored as you want to be. One street of bars makes for easy picking once you got to be of age. Lots of house parties. |
| Placement Services | 5 | Frustrating because they said they would host interviews with companies but when you would call them they would say they weren't your job hunter. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | If you want to get involved you can join a lot of alumni groups. I still keep in touch with some of my old professors. |
University Of Wisconsin, Eau Claire • Eau Claire, WI
Studying Management Information Systems (completion in 2000)
• 3/13/2012
"My education was good and the school has a good reputation for that. I can speak of my school with pride."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It depends on what they want to do. It depends on where they want to live. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | It is in the school of business which is highly reputable. It is taught with a good mix of management and IS. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The education was great. My lack of career is due to where I live. |
| Instruction | 8 | Quality was good as it is up to date. The professors did their homework and were all from the field themselves. |
| How Difficult | 9 | It was a tough major for females, the minority. The courses were designed for males. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was all textbook except for coding. There were more lectures than activities. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | I wasn't able to work one semester because the classes I needed were so spread out. There are limited options. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | There is good ample space for technology usage. The availability of tutoring help is evident. |
| Social Life | 5 | I had a child and did not have time for this. I did not see a fit for me in this. |
| Placement Services | 6 | I did not use career services. I found my own job. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | They have one. There is no proactive effort to maintain alumni relationships. |
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