Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Elementary School Teachers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Purdue, IUPUI, Indiana University, and Ball State.
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 Purdue Calumet, IU Northwest, Purdue North Central, and IU South Bend.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Saint Mary's College and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Calumet College, Vincennes University, IU Northwest, and Purdue Calumet.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider IU East, Grace College and Theological Seminary, IU Northwest, and IU Kokomo.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, Taylor University, and Valparaiso.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Hanover, Goshen, Manchester, and Saint Mary's College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Notre Dame, DePauw, Indiana University, and Purdue.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Notre Dame, University of Saint Francis-Ft Wayne, and Marian.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Hanover, Notre Dame, DePauw, and Saint Mary's College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Indiana University • Bloomington, IN
Studying Music Education K-12 (completion in 2008)
• 6/28/2011
"The school of music's dean as well as the professors are very supportive of all of the students. It was a very good experience to jump start my career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The IU School of Music has a wonderful music education department. You can get the performance experience as well as a really good educational experience. Music education students are placed into good classrooms to maximize their learning. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | The IU School of Music is one of the top ranked music schools in the country. The music education department has almost a 100% placement rate. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I had a lot of experiences before I even got to student teaching. My school really prepared me to work with students of all ages. |
| Instruction | 9 | I had lots of hands on experience throughout my training at school. It was very helpful to have this before I got into the "real world" of teaching. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I was trying to fit a 5 year program into 4 years. I also had to practice my violin because I was a music major, so I was very busy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | With education, you do a lot of research. However, you have to have "real world" or hands on experience to really learn what it is like in the classroom. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | There are advisers that make sure that you can get the most out of your degree. They offer summer classes so you can get ahead in your degree program. Many of the classes must be taken in sequence; especially music theory and history. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | IU has a wide selection of technology that is very helpful to students. The music library is huge and you can find lots of information that you might need. |
| Social Life | 9 | Our school has lots of spirit. Students are always wearing spiritwear and attending school sponsored events. |
| Placement Services | 6 | The music education department has almost a 100% placement rate. It is comforting knowing that most students will get a job right after graduation. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The IU School of Music has an alumni group, but I haven't received very much info about it. The entire school also has an alumni group, but I think they could do more to promote it. |
University Of Indianapolis • Indianapolis, IN
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 1992)
• 7/9/2011
"I feel that for education it is a wonderful program. I know many people who have graduated from there in other areas and I don't know of anyone who has anything negative to say about their education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I think the knowledge and expertise that the education professors have here really helps to make your experience exceptional. You will definitely be ready to enter the teaching field when you leave. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Many of the same professors still teach in the education program and are getting recognition for their excellence. I think the program is growing in its success. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The professors were very knowledgeable and had been elementary teachers themselves before becoming professors, so they were able to give us much insight. They spent a lot of time showing us how to teach, etc. |
| Instruction | 9 | I feel that I was very prepared to go out into the teaching field and start teaching. I had the knowledge that I needed to make my classroom successful. |
| How Difficult | 8 | We spent much time preparing mock lesson plans, etc. which was very time consuming. Plus, we still had our other school work to do. The time was well spent though as it made us prepared for things we would have to do when we had our own classrooms. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I feel like most of our learning was hands on. We spent a lot of time in different classrooms working with students and learning about different types of schools. We had books and learned from them, but much of our learning was hands on in classrooms. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | They had day, evening, and weekend classes. You could pick and choose when you wanted to attend. I was able to work almost full time while I attended school and still have plenty of time to study. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | They have everything you needed to accomplish your studies. You did not have to go to outside venues to get what you needed. Since I graduated, they have added even more. |
| Social Life | 8 | There was always something going on at school, some kind of activity or event and the students were very involved. We also went to many professional organization meetings. |
| Placement Services | 7 | They have a job placement program, but I did not have to use it, so I am not all that familiar with it. I was able to find a job on my own. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | They send out quarterly magazines with upcoming events and also information about things to help alumni and successes that alumni are having. They show pictures of families, weddings and new births. They take trips every year. |
Ball State University • Muncie, IN
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 2009)
• 7/18/2011
"I am very satisfied with my school experience. I would go back and do it all over again if I could."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Like I said before, it is a great school for elementary education majors. They offer a lot of different experiences, so it is well worth the time and money. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | It is still well known for its teachers program. Many people come from out of state for our teacher education program. |
| Program Quality | 10 | It is known for its teaching program. It prepared me well for the teaching world. |
| Instruction | 9 | I loved my professors. They were very knowledgeable about the content and the field. |
| How Difficult | 3 | I did not find the program to be challenging. I also find teaching to come naturally to me, while it may have been challenging to others. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | They definitely mixed the hands-on learning and book learning together well. It was a good fit for me as I learn well in both ways. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | I believe that my school has a great variety of classes for scheduling. I also took some Saturday classes in graduate school. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | We have great resources. The technology there is great, and they offer a lot of teaching experiences for elementary education majors to pursue. |
| Social Life | 8 | I had a great social experience at school. I felt that there were a lot of organized events, and I made a lot of friends when I lived in the dorms. |
| Placement Services | 1 | My school has not helped me once when looking for a job. They also would not be helpful in placing me in a job. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | There are some professors who still connect with me from time to time. The school overall, though, is not good about connecting with alumni after graduation, except to ask for donations. |
Ball State University • Muncie, IN
Studying Elementary Education With A Concentration In Fine Arts (completion in 2006)
• 7/31/2011
"I have been very pleased with my education. I hope to someday have a job in which I can truly exhibit more of what I learned."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I recommend my school to others often. If someone truly wants to be a teacher, there are no other schools that compare with BSU. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | I have heard of schools in my area that will only hire teachers who graduated from BSU. I also think that having this college on my resume is in my favor. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I love doing the job that I do right now, but there is no job security. I may be in love with this job but then be shifted to a different position next year, or even next semester. |
| Instruction | 10 | Ball State University has a wonderful teacher's college. I feel that they prepared me for a position in my chosen career, even without the cooperation of the state. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I feel that the program at Ball State University was difficult, but I was given support at every turn. I feel that it was just difficult enough to make my learning experience worth it. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Classrooms were used throughout instruction. There is also an experimental school on campus where teaching students were encouraged to teach lessons to real elementary students as a form of practicum. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | BSU offers daily or evening classes. Every student is able to find a convenient time to attend instruction. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | BSU is on the cutting edge of technology. They have great resources available to all students. |
| Social Life | 5 | I did not live on campus, so my social experience varies from other students. I was married and lived at home with my husband and child. |
| Placement Services | 5 | BSU does a good job of trying to help their graduates find positions in the workforce. It must be difficult at this time when there are so few teaching jobs available. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | I periodically receive alumni information and magazines. Anyone who graduated from BSU is able to submit articles or pictures to the alumni magazine. |
Indiana University • Bloomington, IN
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 2010)
• 7/28/2011
"Parking at IU was ridiculous... I got so many parking tickets. The sports were always fun and exciting, and there was a great party and bar atmosphere. It was a very fun school and a great academic school as well. I feel that I got a very well rounded education. I think a big downfall was that academic advisors and other faculty were very unhelpful. I went through 4 different advisors during my time there because I kept getting people that wouldn't return e-mails, messed my schedule up, told me the wrong thing, etc. I have friends that have had the same problem."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | For sure. If you live in Indiana and are looking for a good in-state college, it is perfect. You can get a great education, have a great 4 years, and do it all with somewhat reasonable expenses. (I think tuition is a little too high.) |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The IU School of Education has a great reputation - I would say the best in Indiana. The only thing I would mention is that in some of the Art classes the work was very childish. It is appropriate work for a future elementary school teacher, but when friends and other people outside of the program saw me coloring for homework, they thought the program was some kind of joke. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The IU School of Education program is highly ranked. They give you a lot of experience including one semester of student teaching which helps prepare you before you go out on your own. |
| Instruction | 9 | I feel that all of the classes I was required to take were relevant to what I am doing now. However, I would not give the program a 10 because there were quite a few classes I took that were repetitive. I think I took 3 or 4 classes that talked about different teaching styles. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I would say the program was somewhat difficult for me. For example, I have no background in music at all. We were required to take two music classes where we had to sing in front of the class and learn to play the piano. It was a challenge for me because I do not have a good singing voice, but it was rewarding also. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I say it's a dead tie. I had a lot of classes on which we didn't even have a book - it was all hands on and discussion, while in some classes we had assigned readings every night. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | There were a lot of summer school options which were helpful, but only a couple of online classes. It would have been nice to offer more online classes, because I was working while taking a full load. There were no weekend options and very few evening options. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | At the School of Ed we had two computer labs. One was called the MAC lab, which contained numerous Mac computers and printers. The other lab was part of a library which had regular PC computers and printers. The building also had its own cafeteria. The building had numerous public computers scattered about and tables to sit on. |
| Social Life | 9 | Where do I start? IU is one of the top party schools in the nation. I think at one point it was actually #1. We Hoosiers have a lot of pride in our sports - especially football and basketball. The school has a lot of clubs to join - there really is a lot to do. The only reason I did not give it a 10 is because of the Greek life. Greek life at IU is huge, however if you are not a part of it, which I was not, you start to feel left out. They have so many fun events that are specifically for them. They all wear their t-shirts around campus, and a lot of the ones I knew and met treated you differently if you "weren't one of them." |
| Placement Services | 7 | I gave a 7 because they were very helpful in placing me in a student teaching position. They have you choose three schools, and then they do their best to place you in one of them. I got my 2nd choice. The reason I did not rank them higher is because when I actually graduated, I somewhat felt like it was up to myself and myself only to find a teaching job. They did nothing to send e-mails or newsletters with advice or help. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I think IU has strong alumni networks when it comes to sports and greek life, but as far as creating connections for me in my program, I would say it was non-existent. |
Indiana University • Bloomington, IN
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 1973)
• 8/8/2011
"I think the school did its part to offer a solid program. I maybe didn't take full advantage."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I haven't been there in a while. The faculty and its mission have changed, I'm sure |
| Program Reputation | 6 | Even on the east coast, most people understand that Indiana U was an academically strong school. Indeed, lots of east coast people went there to school. |
| Program Quality | 6 | I was in college in the early 70's. Remember the open classroom? That concept was emerging then, and I had mixed levels of preparation for the classroom. I learned more in grad school after I had taught a while and could sift through the points of view I was bombarded with. |
| Instruction | 6 | While some profs were mediocre, some were stellar. I still follow their advice. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Some courses were a total waste, but others were packed with info. Because I minored in reading and special education, I had some courses in child development, language development and diagnosing reading difficulties that were demanding and technical. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | They made a real effort to have prospective teachers out in the field. There were several programs where you did more than one student teaching experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | I had no trouble fitting in a major with 2 minors. My Masters was completed in night school or summer mini sessions very easily. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | I can only evaluate the library system back in my student era. Besides a 13 story main library, each department had its own mini library with texts, reference books and periodicals, paper, and microfiche. They still had card catalogs for books, instead of online search for titles. I would imagine they have made changes to provide same quality of material online or digitally now. |
| Social Life | 8 | It was a large school, with restaurants and bars around it. It offered concerts and movies of all genres. The city had a great parks system |
| Placement Services | 5 | When I graduated, I married a grad student, staying in the college town along with hundreds of faculty and student spouses. It was difficult. I did get a job, and I think profs put in a good word. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I don't know what other large schools do: IU has an enrollment of about 30,000, so its not an intimate little school. Upon graduation, one is able to join the alumni and as long as you tell them when you move, they do keep in touch with you. |
Indiana University • Fort Wayne, IN
Studying Elementary Education And Secondary Education In English (completion in 2008)
• 8/13/2011
"I had a good experience at my college, but I do not think that I would obtain my master's degree there."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend that the student shadow a teacher before choosing to enter the program. There were not a lot of experiences in the classroom during the first two years to help determine if this was the right program for me. For someone that is set on becoming a teacher, I would recommend it. A lot of the professors are former teachers and will give great advice even after you graduate. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | I have not heard a lot of good feedback from former students that went into the same major that I did. A lot of this may be that it is very difficult to obtain a job in the education field. Another reason is that some people did not think that they were prepared well for the education field during college. |
| Program Quality | 7 | Indiana University has flexible classroom schedules, great professors, and various degrees. However, I did not get first hand classroom experience until 2 years into the program. I wish I would have had this experience during the first semester in the program to determine if it was the right major for me. |
| Instruction | 9 | The professors that are knowledgeable in the subject make the classes interesting. I have not had a professor that I did not like. |
| How Difficult | 7 | With the lack of classroom experiences that are given to you throughout your coursework, it feels like they let you sink or swim by the time you student teach. My first time actually coming up with real lesson plans and teaching a classroom for more than 2 consecutive days was during student teaching (the last semester). |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There are some professors that will teach you information beyond the book, but often you are tested on the material within the book. For science, there were a lot of hands on things to do. For education type classes, there were very few experiences in a classroom before I got to student teach. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | The schedule is flexible, although there are some classes that are only offered during one semester and not another. There were summer classes that are offered. I was able to take a lot of required general education classes and some classes not related to my field. Not a lot of online classes were offered. I was only able to take 3 online classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The library was able to obtain books from other universities if a book was not available. There are a few computer labs available to access. One computer lab is available 24 hours. There are study support groups for math and English. For the math support group, you can walk-in and receive help from the available tutors. For English, you will have to make an appointment, especially if you are having them proofread a paper. The professors have office hours but are willing to make appointments when office hours are inconvenient. |
| Social Life | 8 | I have heard that the campus has started to provide more organized social events after I graduated. While I was attending, there were very few social events. There were occasional cookouts. Over the years, athletics have become more popular. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I am able to obtain references to put on job applications, a web site with student access that list current available jobs, and there are frequent emails of jobs sent to your student email. Overall, you will have to put effort into your job search. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | After a few years after graduation, I feel like I can still contact professors to write a recommendation letter for me in a teaching position I am interested in. As for alumni, not a lot of the people I graduated with went into teaching. There are not a lot of teaching positions available due to layoffs. |
Ball State University • Muncie, IN
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 1996)
• 9/18/2011
"I feel that I got a great deal of experience and learned from the majority of my professors. I feel that my education and my school prepared me for my career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I had very knowledgeable professors, real world experience and lots of opportunities for growth. I think that Ball State should be proud of the program they provide. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | The program was well respected while I was there. I can only imagine that the reputation has been maintained or improved upon. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I had a wonderful experience. I learned a great deal and has lots of classroom experience before graduating. |
| Instruction | 8 | Many of my professors had real world experience, so it validated what they were teaching. I did have some professors who were very out of touch and difficult to learn from. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I didn't find the course work difficult. I was studying in an area that I truly enjoyed. I think that having exposure and experience in public classrooms beginning in my freshman year really helped my learning. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I was in the classroom from my first semester to my last, practicing what I was learning. Most of my professors were having us create materials that we would come to use in the classroom. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I was always able to get the classes I needed, but don't have any experience beyond being a full-time on-campus student. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | I was never without what I needed. I was able to teach in a classroom as a freshman, and get real world experience. They also had an extensive children's materials section in the college library. |
| Social Life | 5 | I didn't really attend any events. I was more focused on hanging out with my friends than attending school organized functions. |
| Placement Services | 3 | Aside from a job fair held at the school, I didn't get any support in finding a job. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I am not sure what the alumni association is doing. I haven't kept in touch with the association because money has always been tight. I assume they are average. |
University Of Evansville • Evansville, IN
Studying Instrumental Music Education K-12 (completion in 2009)
• 10/21/2011
"The music aspect and the education aspect of the school were outstanding. The rest of the university characteristics were not what I expected when I visited the first time. I don't regret coming to this school at all."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you are able to handle the work load and the great time demands, you will learn a lot of useful information from the program. I would recommend it without any reservations. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Getting a Music Education degree from my school is a great accomplishment due to its difficulty. Anyone who graduates with that degree automatically earns a high degree of respect amongst music teachers familiar with the program. |
| Instruction | 10 | The preparation for my teaching career was excellent. The courses explored many of the issues facing teaching today and made us formulate creative solutions to many of them. |
| How Difficult | 10 | The average credit hour load for my program was 18 hours; often I would have over 20 per semester! The courses were also very demanding and stringent in their requirements. This program was the most difficult to accomplish at the university according to many of the faculty, and I truly can see why. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Virtually every course in the program requires students to teach in a school setting to learn how to apply what the book says. They wanted us to see how to adapt to the constantly changing atmosphere in a classroom. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | The only reason I don't give it an extremely inflexible rating is that some faculty members offer courses outside of the rotations normally expected. Usually you have only one semester to take a course to stay on track, requiring everyone to make a plan for all four years or you may get caught in a very expensive trap. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The amount of resources we had at the university was superb. Anything and everything we required for our projects, lessons, and research were provided upon request. Facilities were accommodating to our needs and we had access late into the evening, which proved to be a great asset. |
| Social Life | 6 | For the most part, social life was fine. School spirit is definitely in play during tournaments and other functions. But there are definitely cliques formed within the different programs. |
| Placement Services | 4 | The Career Services department at the university is good for those seeking careers outside of teaching. For teachers, they basically send you elsewhere to get assistance. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | There are definitely attempts to connect others via newsletters and things, but networking amongst alumni is quite lacking. In fact, the only reason I still have connections to many of my former classmates is Facebook, and the school cannot receive any credit for that. |
Indiana University • Bloomington, IN
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 1973)
• 11/4/2011
"I think it was as good a preparation for teaching as was available at the time. Some things can only be learned when you're out there."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I have moved out of state. I don't know how it compares to other schools now. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | Back in the day, IU was considered pretty liberal and not a teacher training school. It was and is highly respected for other academic pursuits. It made a real effort to have a lot of student placement in classrooms early on, a good thing. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The School of Ed had some excellent professors who took the theories of Piaget, Gagne, Premack, and others and tried to apply them to classroom use. Others were caught up in 70s , and had fairly unstructured classes that were of little real use. |
| Instruction | 7 | As I said above, some courses were very loosely structured. Others tried to give theoretical and practical concepts about classroom management and curriculum development. |
| How Difficult | 5 | In some cases, classes were demanding. But overall, education classes were not difficult. They sometimes had lots of assignments that took a lot of time. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The education classes really had lots of projects for homework . We made games and flashcards, etc. and we worked in classrooms. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | There were lots of evening classes and summer mini sessions. I got my Masters entirely during summers and evenings. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | IU had a huge library and branch libraries. Study groups were never set up, at least not that I knew of. I know that sometimes student workers at the school I taught at asked for my advice on papers, so I think there was no support. |
| Social Life | 10 | It was a large school. It offered all kinds of activities across the spectrum. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I think the school was too large to give personalized service. Some larger cities came there to recruit. In my instance, I was marrying a grad student, staying in town, and that was a tough market. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have nothing to compare it to, really. I get the alumni magazine for just the School of Ed, but that was by choice. In a school of 30,000, it's silly to "catch up" with people I never knew in the first place. |
Purdue University • West Lafayette, IN
Studying K-12 Art Education (completion in 2001)
• 10/27/2011
"I thought the teaching program was great. My specialty courses lacked all that I hoped for. I had a school that had a lot of pride but I was a "townie" so I think I missed some of the campus community feeling."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Overall I think my school was very well rounded. Since I graduated I believe the things I felt that were lacking have been improved. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I think we have a good program especially in teaching. While I was there I felt our art program needed improvement but they have built a new building since then. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The elementary classes I took or even all the classes that focused on the teaching aspect of my degree were great. Almost all of them were taught by the professor. This is in contrast with almost all of my specialty classes in art, which were taught by TA's - I wasn't impressed with that. |
| Instruction | 8 | My teaching courses were fun and exciting with professors who had great enthusiasm. My specialty courses felt as if we were being watched by the cheapest babysitter. Many classes just had a sign in sheet. |
| How Difficult | 6 | I think the classes were not difficult. My specialty classes were fairly easy as well but I believe I have good talent in them. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My school provided several student teaching programs which was very helpful. We also visited schools in all different socioeconomic areas. This mixed well with in class teaching. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | My school offered plenty of summer classes. At the time I was there, there were not many online courses offered, I don't know if that has changed. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | My school had plenty of computers available. At the time I was there the art buildings were very old and cramped. They have since built a new building. |
| Social Life | 9 | Our school has a big football team. There are a lot of pre-game activities. |
| Placement Services | 7 | Student teaching provided me with connections. The first few months after graduation the school helped in placement. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I get emails and letters for alumni contact but nothing exceptional. I would like more alumni events, they are mostly just emails. |
Indiana University • Bloomington, IN
Studying Early Childhood Education (completion in 1997)
• 12/4/2011
"I have no complaints at all of my alma mater. I have a true sense of pride in the school I studied at. Indiana University is home to such amazing educators as Herman B. Wells and Alfred Kinsey."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Indiana University creates a safe and nurturing environment for people to study and learn and, maybe even more importantly, to fail and improve. The professors where kind but not to a fault, they allowed you to fail and helped you collect yourself and start over with what you have learned. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | There are other schools which have a much more publicized program. I have no complaints about my education. |
| Program Quality | 6 | I feel that my classmates and I were taught the basics of education therapy and early childhood education, which was a good start. Nothing at all, least of all schooling, could prepare me for the challenges of real world work. |
| Instruction | 7 | My professors tried very hard to prepare us for real world challenges. There is simply no way to be properly prepared for working within a low-income community at the time of the correct economic breakdown. The way our schools have had their funding cut is astonishing. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Working with children, specifically their parents and the communities they come from, is a challenge. I had some experience during my student teaching program, however nothing teaches like doing. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A wonderful mix of working in the classroom with professors and working in the field with students of all ages at several different schools. There was also a daycare for folks studying other lines of education. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | Summer, evening, part time and full time classes were available at the time I studied. This makes for a very flexible schedule which can work into anyone's life, including those who do not wish to study full time or year round. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Wonderful, up to date and consistently updated facilities. Indiana University worked hard to stay in touch with the newest and greatest information technologies. |
| Social Life | 10 | Being in the heart of Hoosier-land Indiana University had a strong sports program which was adored and celebrated by most of the students. Football, basketball and The Little 500 Bike Race were yearly favorites. The school also had many clubs (literature, French, religions) as well as Greek life. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Between the job placement program and the student teaching program at the time I graduated I had no problems finding a job which suits me well. I cannot speak for how things work now in our current economy. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have very little to do with my alumni network. Working outside the state I studied in has a lot to do with that. |
IU East • Richmond, IN
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 2006)
• 12/17/2011
"I am satisfied with the education I received from this school. The teachers are helpful and you receive a thorough education in the field you are studying."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend this school to anyone who wanted to study education. It is a good program with a lot of chances to get teaching experience, while giving you opportunities to get involved in activities on campus. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | They have a good reputation for this program. I have heard it recommended to those who are seeking the same degree. |
| Program Quality | 9 | This was a good program and it was enjoyable. The teachers and staff are nice and pretty helpful. |
| Instruction | 8 | The teachers were very thorough in their teaching. They were very helpful when working with the students in answering any questions. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There was not a huge workload in the classes. I would say it was about average. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Starting out, it is mostly all book learning. Then you get some hands-on experience later on in the program, once you have learned all of the procedures and practices. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The classes are not very flexible. Most of the required classes are on campus in the morning or afternoon. They do not have many of these classes available in the evening or nonlinear. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facilities are good. They have big classrooms for a lot of students to attend a class. |
| Social Life | 7 | They have quite a few clubs and organizations you can join. There are quite a few chances to interact socially and get involved on campus. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They have a decent career placement service. They point you in the right direction for where to apply for jobs. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | They have a very good alumni network. I still receive newsletters and get invited to campus events. |
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