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 Oklahoma State Okmulgee, Oklahoma City Community College, Western Oklahoma State College, and Northern Oklahoma 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 Western Oklahoma State College, Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, and Rogers State.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Oklahoma City University, Oral Roberts University, and Cameron.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Southern Nazarene University, Seminole State, Cameron, and East Central University.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Oral Roberts University, Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, and Oklahoma City University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma Baptist University, Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College, and Oral Roberts University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Tulsa, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus, and Oklahoma City University.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Tulsa, Oklahoma Christian University, and Rogers State.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at University of Tulsa, Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Oklahoma City University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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East Central University • Ada, OK
Studying Master's In Library Media (completion in 2005)
• 6/27/2011
"It was a great school and program. I have taken summer classes at another university and the atmosphere wasn't as good there as it was at ECU."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is a great school that focuses on its students. I felt supported in every aspect. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | There was only one or two other university(ies) that had the program available when I completed mine. It is still really well known. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The program was a great hands on experience. I felt fully ready to step into a library and run it. |
| Instruction | 10 | The professor had been a public school librarian. She kept up with current technology and knew what is best for students. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The Library Media program was not all that difficult. The research class I had to take was, though. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | All of the learning was hands-on. We had the texts available as resources only. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | It only took me 1-1/2 years to complete my degree. I took classes during the week, on weekends, on school holidays, and during the summer. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The facility was dedicated to their program. The Library Media program had everything I needed to complete my degree at the school site. |
| Social Life | 8 | The school spirit was evident. I was older when I went back to school and didn't have the opportunities to participate in activities, as it was a 2-hour drive one way to get to the university from my hometown. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I didn't use the school's job placement and career services assistance. I was already employed full-time at a school as a regular education teacher. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The school keeps me informed of news in regards to Alumni activities. I have received several invitations to various activities. |
Oklahoma State University • Stillwater, OK
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 2002)
• 8/9/2011
"I'm very proud to be an alum of Oklahoma State University. I believe I received a top notch education there."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would highly recommend my school to anyone who wants to become a teacher. I have no doubt they would have a good experience like I did. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | My school has an excellent reputation for producing great teachers. Many people from other states come to OSU to get a good education. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Oklahoma State University has an excellent Teacher Education program. The instructors and field experiences they make available to us are invaluable. |
| Instruction | 8 | I believe my university offered a great degree program and curriculum. My slightly lower rating is because so much of becoming a good teacher is acquired through experience in the classroom. |
| How Difficult | 8 | My degree program included high level sciences such as Chemistry and Physics that were very difficult for me. I also had difficulty with mandatory foreign language hours. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We had many opportunities to learn from experience rather than through books. Almost every semester included a class that required us to work with students in a classroom or lab setting. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Upon reaching my Junior and Senior years, I was locked into a very rigid schedule. Since I was a transfer from another field of study, it caused some issues when some classes weren't offered when I needed to take them. I think that is the case with any university though. They can't please everyone. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | OSU has excellent libraries, computer labs, study labs, and workshop areas. One rarely has to leave the university to have access to all that is needed in ones' field of study. |
| Social Life | 8 | I was rather anti-social. There were many opportunities for social interaction for those who were interested. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Clinical experiences were invaluable in my making contacts with future employers. Had there been a position open, I would have gone to work at the school I student taught at. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | I do no participate with the alumni association. They do try to contact me regularly. |
Rogers State University • Claremore, OK
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 2007)
• 9/27/2011
"I do have some regrets of not going to larger school. However, considering the price of RSU in comparison to larger schools - RSU was the best option."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | For others in a similar situation, with a family, I would recommend RSU due to its affordability and convenience. If scheduling is an issue, RSU is definitely the place to go. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I'd say for the area, RSU is reasonably well-respected for its education program. RSU hasn't been a four year university for long, so in the grand scheme of things I think it has a ways to go to be considered the upper tier for education. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I enjoyed attending RSU for my degree. It is a fairly small school, which had its perks such as small class size. There are also a lot of drawbacks to a smaller university in that there aren't as many options for involvement with groups and Greek houses. |
| Instruction | 8 | I definitely feel liked RSU prepared me with the skills I needed for my career. The professors at RSU (a lot of whom are adjunct professors) have a pretty realistic outlook on what we needed to know to get us where we were going. |
| How Difficult | 4 | The majority of my classes were pretty easy. The only reason I would rate this a 4 was due to the statistics class I was required to take. It was by far the hardest academic experience of my lifetime. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I'd say the majority of my education was a book-oriented experience. We didn't do a lot of hands-on work - but I'm not sure what they could have done to make it more hands-on. Student teaching was a very hands-on experience. It was neat to get to shadow a teacher in the classroom and participate in lessons. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | One quarter of the classes I took online at RSU. They offer a ton of class times and options for scheduling. This was crucial when I selected a college because I had small children. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Most of the services at RSU, the library and labs, were open for acceptable hours. When I first started going to RSU - the library hours were horrible; but, after much complaining from the student body, they changed the library hours and even left it open for 24 hours during finals. |
| Social Life | 4 | RSU is doing a pretty good job of creating social events. There are a couple of fraternities (though none on campus) and several other clubs and groups. All sports were originally intramural but they have a couple of sports teams now that play against other small schools. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I was pretty much on my own in seeking out a job when I graduated. RSU provided no help whatsoever in my search. All jobs are hard to come by for new graduates, even those in education. As such, a little help finding a job would have been a blessing. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | Graduates from RSU head out and do their own thing. I don't think I've talked to anyone I went to school with since I've graduated. |
East Central University • Ada, OK
Studying Early Childhood Ed. (completion in 2011)
• 10/18/2011
"I feel East Central could recruit better professors and more traditional students to their campus. I also believe that funding should be increased to certain programs. I also did not like the school simply because of the location and the ratio of traditional to non-traditional students."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | The reasons for this are stated above. I feel there are better places you can attend to obtain this degree. |
| Program Reputation | 3 | I always heard good things about the teaching program at my school growing up which is why I went there. I think it used to be a very built up program but has begun to dwindle recently. |
| Program Quality | 5 | East Central's teaching program does not offer the same opportunities students receive at other schools. Overall ECU is lacking in academics - period. |
| Instruction | 5 | I feel the training I received at East Central was mediocre at best. The professors don't seem to really care about their jobs or want to be there. |
| How Difficult | 1 | As stated above, the teachers don't seem to really care about the subjects they are teaching. Therefore, the material is very easy because they hardly want to go over it, much less dive into challenging material. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Your first semesters are mostly spent with books, including with your gen ed classes. After that, you begin shadowing and student teaching. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There are several classes available but it depends on what class and what level you are looking for. The upper level classes are not as flexible because there are not as many qualified staff members. |
| Academic Facilities | 2 | East Central's entire set up is poor. The one thing I will say they have is an online library which is extremely helpful when you don't have time to physically go there. We have several computer labs that are very small and often times you have to wait to use them. |
| Social Life | 7 | I give this category a 7 because there are not a lot of organizations or activities at East Central or in Ada itself. However, I was extremely involved on campus with the groups that were available. |
| Placement Services | 2 | We do have a website where students and employers can log into to search for candidates and positions. However, there are hardly EVER any postings on there and the career fairs do not assist with this major. The best thing East Central has for placement is student teaching. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | We do have an alumni program but it is not near as prominent as you see in other university communities. The help and support is there if you need it but you have to really be willing to look for it. It's also a smaller school and therefore there are not as many alumni. |
Southeastern Oklahoma State University • Durant, OK
Studying Psychology (completion in 2010)
• 12/14/2011
"I enjoyed the experience. I learned a great deal in the classroom from the curriculum, and even more from the experience of the professors. It is a small college in a small town. That atmosphere suited me as a nontraditional student."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I have recommended this program to those wanting to pursue teaching. The psychology program prepared me well for that, with all of the childhood development courses. I have also recommended this school for those wanting to teach music, which was my minor in college. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | The program is considered one of the best for the area. I did not give it a 10 only because there needed to be more instruction on technology. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I am an elementary school teacher after receiving emergency certification. My major in college was psychology. In Texas, we must teach 3 full years before we can obtain a school counseling certificate. Our teachers are generally well prepared, but our counselors are not. There needs to be more in-class experience before being given a class, I believe. There are too many instances in which a teacher or counselor does not know how to handle emotional or intellectual issues of children. |
| Instruction | 8 | The teachers are good at instruction. The only reason I did not give it a 10 is because there needs to be more technology in the classroom to assist in instruction for the future. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I had a few challenging assignments. Overall, the program required study, but it was not difficult, nor did it require an overload in homework. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I truly had a balanced mixture of book and hands-on learning. It seemed to be a requirement set by the school for most classes. My college even required a field experience class before graduation. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | At my college, we had the ability to take many classes online. If classes online were not what you wanted, in most cases, there was also an in-class option. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | With the exception of not a large enough library or enough technology, the resources were fairly good. The classroom space was wonderful, and accessibility to professors was extremely good. I felt very supported in my studies. |
| Social Life | 5 | The school spirit, athletics, and parties were good. The only reason I rated them average is because there is not much emphasis placed on social experience. I actually prefer that. The college is not well funded to have too much in the way of social experience. |
| Placement Services | 3 | There is no program for job placement or career services assistance that is promoted. I do believe there is a program, and online, there are job listings in the community. However, none of those jobs are desirable. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | People rarely show up for reunions when there is one. I receive materials for donating money to the school, but that is it. |
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