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 CNM and University of New Mexico.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider University of the Southwest, New Mexico State, University of New Mexico, and Eastern New Mexico University.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Luna Community College, Northern New Mexico College, New Mexico State Grants, and New Mexico Highlands University.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Santa Fe Community College, San Juan College, New Mexico Highlands University, and Luna Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of College of Santa Fe, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, New Mexico Highlands University, and Western New Mexico University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico Highlands University, and New Mexico State.
Excellence
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of the Southwest.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Western New Mexico University, New Mexico State, New Mexico Highlands University, and Eastern New Mexico University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of New Mexico • Albuquerque, NM
Studying Elementary Education - Emphasis In Reading And TESOL (completion in 2009)
• 7/6/2011
"I think I got the foundation for teaching. Of course, things could be better, but I think they are pretty similar to other schools."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | UNM is a great place to earn a bachelor's degree in education. The faculty are very knowledgeable in research. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I think UNM is a good school for the price. It gives you the degree necessary to become a teacher. |
| Program Quality | 8 | My education was helpful in a theory stand point but did not prepare me for life in the classroom. Student teaching did provide some of the real classroom skills I needed. |
| Instruction | 7 | The professors were excellent researchers but were disconnected from the classroom. The amount I learned was a lot about theory and there was not a lot of hands on work. |
| How Difficult | 4 | I thought the workload was pretty easy for me. I felt as long as I turned something in I got a good grade. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I think teachers need as much hands on as possible! Hands on should start freshman year! | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Sometimes too flexible! I wanted traditional class times at the main campus and struggled to find them! |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | I know they have now gotten rid of the children's library which is a shame! They do have practice labs now. |
| Social Life | 8 | Everything is provided, it is just what you chose to participate in! |
| Placement Services | 5 | I liked that they came to our seminar and provided resume writing tips during the last semester of methods courses. The educator fair is also excellent. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I have not utilized any alumni support. |
St. John's College • Santa Fe, NM
Studying Education (completion in 1987)
• 7/13/2011
"Arguably, my years at St. John's were the best of my life. The people who attend and work at St. John's are extraordinary and I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to have attended the school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would definitely recommend St. John's College. The school provides a wonderful foundation for teaching (and learning) and is more intellectually satisfying than most schools. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | St. John's has a very good program and always places well in national rankings (i.e. "U.S. News and World Reports"). St. John's is known to be a bit iconoclastic, which is why I didn't give a "10." |
| Program Quality | 5 | St. John's provided a good background for teaching in a general sort of way. St. John's was NOT good at directly teaching its students specific techniques. We had to learn them through observation or from others later on after we graduated. |
| Instruction | 8 | Most of the faculty at St. John's is superb -- intelligent, thoughtful, caring. Some faculty members, however, are a bit too snooty and arrogant. The curriculum was good; however, it could have provided more specifics. |
| How Difficult | 5 | My undergraduate program was far more difficult than my graduate education in terms of the amount of work and the degree of intellectual skills required. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | St. John's uses a book-based curriculum and discussions revolve around the readings. Via the discussions, however, there's a lot of hands-on learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | St. John's has a very rigid curriculum and schedule. During the academic year, classes are Monday and Thursday evenings. Period. During the summer, classes are held mornings, afternoons, and Monday and Thursday evenings. Period. Subject choices are fixed -- the school offers the same limited courses every semester. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facilities are gorgeous and met my needs. The newish library is beautiful but limited in terms of hard copy resources. Fortunately, the library has good computer resources to make up for the lack of hard copy materials. I think the classrooms were wonderful and provided an intimate space within to communicate with one's peers and teachers. Professors are exceptionally available and expect students to talk with them. Tutors and study group support weren't necessary because all classes are discussion-based. St. John's doesn't have academic advisors, per se -- the Dean will contact students who are in deep academic trouble, but that's about it. |
| Social Life | 9 | I loved it! St. John's is a social mecca, so there are a lot of parties and everyone wants to get to know everyone else. I belonged to the Search and Rescue team and spent my weekends hiking, x-country skiing, and rock-climbing with my Johnnie colleagues -- there was a lot of esprits de corps. |
| Placement Services | 2 | Frankly, job placement and career services assistance are virtually non-existent. More specifically, I was given an assessment of my talents and desires and that's about it. The school has some job listings, but checking the newspaper and online databases is far more productive. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | St. John's formal alumni network is pretty weak -- the school seems to forget about its alumni unless it's time to give money. That being said, we alumni have maintained strong connections via social networking, especially Facebook. |
New Mexico State University • Las Cruces, NM
Studying Music Education (completion in 2010)
• 12/18/2011
"I was not too satisfied with the field or the ability to get there. I felt like the amount of work I had to do to make everything work was completely out of proportion to the reward."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If you wish to be a band director, my school is an excellent place to be, but not to be an elementary music teacher. Oddly enough, there is very little interest in those programs at my school. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | It is most likely the best in the state, although that isn't saying much. |
| Program Quality | 5 | They were good, but not excellent. I did not feel like they helped me very much. |
| Instruction | 5 | My student teaching coordinator tried to prevent me from graduating, because I did not join her fitness program. However, my elementary music teacher was extremely skilled and well educated. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It was very difficult to complete a 1-hour senior recital along with a student teaching semester. The degree took a lot of work to achieve. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was definitely a mix. There was a lot of theoretical stuff, but the student teaching at the end was helpful, and most classes required observations. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | I was forced to stay an extra year, because one class interfered with another class, both of which were only at that time. I had no counselor available to advise me of this ahead of time. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The pipe organ I practiced on was small, and the classrooms were old, but acceptable. We had Smart Board projectors. |
| Social Life | 5 | I did not participate too much in social events. I enjoyed marching band, however. |
| Placement Services | 5 | We all had to find jobs ourselves in the music department. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | The alumni network did not help me in any way, shape or form. It was a waste of time to join. |
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