Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Marketing Managers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at University of Washington Bothell, Bellevue College, University of Washington - Tacoma, and Spokane Falls Community 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 Gonzaga, University of Washington - Tacoma, University of Washington Bothell, and Eastern Washington University.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Bates, Heritage, Highline Community College, and North Seattle Community College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Grays Harbor, City University of Seattle, Peninsula College, and Spokane Falls Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of University of Puget Sound, Antioch, Gonzaga, and Seattle University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Northwest University, University of Puget Sound, Saint Martin's University, and Whitworth University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Puget Sound, University of Washington Seattle, Gonzaga, and Whitworth University.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Whitworth University.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at University of Puget Sound, Gonzaga, Antioch, and Saint Martin's University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Skagit Valley College • Oak Harbor, WA
Studying Sales/Marketing (completion in 2010)
• 9/27/2011
"I think I was satisfied with my experience on the whole, and I got what I wanted out of the school. If I had wanted better facilities, bigger buildings and lots of school spirit, the school might not have been as satisfying for me."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend the school to a person that was very career-focused and knew what they wanted. If they wanted to sit in a classroom and figure out what they wanted to do, this might not be the school for them. I think this school would work best for someone that wanted to use it as springboard for bigger and better things. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I think SVCC has a good reputation in terms of business/marketing in the local workforce. I think the school can do more to boost its name recognition and reputation within the region. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I think the program itself was very challenging and provided a great scope of learning. The only downside was too much class/book work and not enough real business world scenarios/tasks. |
| Instruction | 8 | I think the instruction was very meaningful and relevant to business/marketing today. I found the application of lessons learned to be very easy and effective. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I don't think the program was difficult in terms of the content. The real challenge was just managing class schedules and work schedules. I wouldn't say the program was easy, but if you stayed on top of assignments and did the reading, it would be hard not to be successful. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of my studies were very book-oriented. I felt like more attention and projects should have been hands-on and real-world-based, especially in business/marketing. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | I found the class schedule to be very flexible. I was able to take a variety of online classes, and with the quarter schedule, I was able to fit many classes in throughout the year. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | I think the facilities and resources were very average and small in terms of space. The library was basic, advisor offices were cramped, and study group areas were hard to come by. |
| Social Life | 3 | I think because the school is a community college, many students don't invest in the spirit of the school. Many of the functions were small and not very well attended. I think the school/student organizations can do more to get the student body involved. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I think the job placement program is very helpful for students that might not have a job/career in mind. It is a great starting point for most, but for those that are looking for a career and not just a job, the program might fall short. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | I think the alumni network is very good and is proactive about reaching out to its membership. I have found the alumni network to be very interested in the success of all involved. |
The Evergreen State College • Olympia, WA
Studying Graphic Arts/Business Administration (completion in 1980)
• 12/2/2011
"If I were not satisfied with The Evergreen State College, I would not have set up an endowed scholarship to provide grants for students who didn't get a full ride from their parents. I am what I am today because of my time at Evergreen."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | This is a hard question. The answer depends on the student themselves. Are they a self-starter? Then the answer would be yes. Do they just want to go with the flow and get the degree? Then the answer is no, it's not a good choice. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The Evergreen State College is a mere 40 years old, which is why I give it a 7 rating. That said, it consistently ranks highly amongst state-run liberal arts colleges. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Evergeen provided a liberal arts environment that placed strong emphasis on critical thinking. I am so satisfied that I am a former board member of the Evergreen Foundation and have sponsored an endowed scholarship. |
| Instruction | 9 | Evergreen's approach to a liberal arts education consists of a core studies program; for example, if you were studying fine arts, your semester would be filled with studio time, but more importantly, criticism sessions, art history, the business of art, and the science of the materials. In addition to the core programs, you could choose from classes even in the Master's Divisions, such as the Fulbright-Scholar-taught class on Social Accounting (how to represent the societal value a company provides as a figure on a profit and loss statement). |
| How Difficult | 8 | With many of the class sessions being of a Socratic nature with group participation expected, you could not come to class unprepared. With all of your classmates in all the same classes (the core concept), the peer pressure is high. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | With the "core concept," the school is about trying to put your concepts into action (the hands-on learning) after you have done your research (the book learning). For better or worse, they instill a "do it first, ask forgiveness later" attitude. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | While Evergreen offers many evening and weekend options, those options are mostly for the graduate and off-main-campus programs. The "core concept" of having an intensive study in all facets of one discipline does not lend itself to evenings and weekends. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | As a state school, Evergreen has the resources for buildings, but when it comes to equipment, such as media lab equipment, funding has to be raised from donors. Evergreen does an amazing job of stretching its resource dollars to achieve maximum student return. |
| Social Life | 10 | As a nontraditional, sports-based, state-run liberal arts college, Evergreen doesn't have the sort of "Greek Row" of major schools. What Evergreen does have are dedicated students with similar views for whom the concept of weekly potlucks are the norm. |
| Placement Services | 4 | If Evergreen has a failing, it is in the field of job and career assistance. Fortunately, their emphasis on critical thinking enables graduates to rise to the top of the application stack. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | As a former Board of Trustees member for the Evergreen Foundation (the money-raising wing of a public college), I would give them a rating of 10, but as a relatively young college, it takes time (and systems) to maximize their potential. They are very proactive in staying in touch with their endowed scholarship founders. |
North Seattle Community College • Seattle, WA
Studying Business (completion in 2011)
• 2/8/2012
"It was a great way to obtain a bit of knowledge and to receive an associates degree that I can list on my resume. I enjoyed the ease with which I was able to take the classes."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend a 4 year degree for someone who wants to be serious about marketing. I don't think that I gained the knowledge necessary for an advanced career from my classes at North Seattle Community College. |
| Program Reputation | 2 | Community colleges are not really known for giving reputable degrees. In Seattle, all schools are overshadowed by the University of Washington. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I realize that I went to a community college, but I would really like to obtain a degree from a major university to get a better understanding of business and marketing, and also for the more impressive qualifications. |
| Instruction | 6 | My associates degree did not prepare me adequately for a career in marketing. There is so much that I have had to learn in the field. |
| How Difficult | 3 | I found my courses to be very easy. Many were online so I was able to fit the work in around my schedule. The math and sciences were the most challenging. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of my classes were highly text-oriented. It was interesting to see how often professors incorporated internet resources into their classes. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | I was pleased with the online and evening class options. NSCC has a lot of classes available online which made it easy to fulfill the coursework in a short amount of time. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The tutors were great and in my experience the libraries and computer labs were all up to date and helpful. The majority of my professors were available for office hours and also available for extra help if it was needed. |
| Social Life | 7 | Taking online and evening classes prevented me from really experiencing any of the social aspects of North Seattle, but I did receive a lot of communication about campus events, clubs, and social events. The college does not have any athletics programs that I am aware of. |
| Placement Services | I did not utilize these resources so I cannot comment. | |
| Alumni Network | 4 | My experience did not lead me to believe that there is any sort of alumni network associated with my community college. I would suspect that at a larger institution, there would have been a better alumni support program. |
Washington State University • Pullman, WA
Studying Communications (completion in 2003)
• 3/13/2012
"I feel like I was given excellent instruction and was better prepared for my career than most other college graduates. In addition, the social aspects of WSU made it a great place to go to school, for academics and to enjoy being a college student."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, although my major was communications, my minor was in marketing. I feel that this mix of classes in both communications and marketing prepared me exceptionally well for all of the different aspects of marketing (advertising, web, PR, social media, etc). |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Washington State has a nationally recognized communications program. They are especially well known for their broadcast school and PR program. |
| Program Quality | 9 | Washington State has a wonderful communications program that allowed me to focus on a particular practice area (Public Relations). In addition, Washington State put an emphasis on writing which has served me well in my professional career. |
| Instruction | 9 | I respected that the majority of my instructors had worked in the fields they were teaching. Washington State professors were approachable, kind, and extremely knowledgeable in their fields. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Washington State has one of the top communication programs in the country, and it was both challenging and rewarding. Especially difficult were the journalism classes where writing had to be exceptional. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Our program required you to write for the student newspaper and gave hands on PR experience through daily case studies and action items. In addition, the senior project allowed us to work with the President of the University on a semester long campus diversity research project. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Most classes were available at different times of the day. There were fewer classes available in the evenings than during the mornings and afternoons. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | I was assigned an academic advisor as soon as I arrived at WSU who was extremely accessible and knowledgeable. In addition, I was always impressed with all of my professors' availability when I had something I needed to discuss. |
| Social Life | 10 | Washington State is known for being a tight knit college community that bleeds crimson and gray. Especially important in my time there was football, in which we were highly successful. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I admit I probably did not take full advantage of this service, but I do recall it was there. However, I think more importantly my program required an internship. They assisted with helping us find the right internship and this job helped me be prepared to enter the work force and make contacts. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | I have often been in communication with other communications alumni from Washington State. Especially relevant is the number of alumni you run into in professional settings, especially on the west coast. |
University Of Washington • Seattle, WA
Studying Russian Language, Literature & Culture (completion in 2011)
• 3/30/2012
"I went to the University of Washington because of its reputation for superior education. I feel that while the education may be fantastic in some programs, it was not in mine."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you pursue the right major with enough dedication, you may be able to get into the Communication program. I attempted to and can say that unless you are dedicated to maintaining excellent grades, try for another less competitive school. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The University of Washington is a well-known school. It has an excellent reputation when it comes to academics. My particular program has very low status compared to the other programs, but the instructors are very passionate and care about their students. |
| Program Quality | 2 | The University of Washington does little to help its students in programs other than Medicine and Science. Language Arts take the back seat when it comes to financial aid and funding from the state. |
| Instruction | 6 | I give this a six purely because my instructors were very passionate and willing to help in any way they could. There was little to no career preparation or relevance of the curriculum. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Learning a language is not easy, especially when coupled with copious amounts of unnecessary and meaningless reading. Due to the amount of reading involved, the language aspect of the program suffered. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | In my program, most needed to be hands-on in order to learn the language. In the classes I took outside of my program, very little was hands-on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I took classes at many different times ranging from 8:30 am to 10:20 pm. UW does a great job in providing flexible class times. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The resources are vast at UW. The libraries and many other resources are available 24/7. Accessibility of professors is the only thing dragging my score down. Most of them try to meet you if you cannot make office hours. |
| Social Life | 4 | I was never interested in going to parties. I went to two fraternity parties in my freshman year, but after that I chose to work and study more than party. |
| Placement Services | 2 | The Career Center at UW is utilized more by those not attending the U than those who are students. It is not user-friendly. |
| Alumni Network | I do not use our alumni network. I was not involved in any groups or associations while at UW. |
The Evergreen State College • Olympia, WA
Studying Business (completion in 2011)
• 4/9/2012
"I enjoyed the way that Evergreen worked although it would of been nice if they focused more on the basic skills needed to go into different career paths. The flexibility of Evergreen is one of the schools strong points."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend Evergreen to others if they were strong willed and self motivated. I would not recommend Evergreen to a person who desired a more traditional education. |
| Program Reputation | 3 | The Evergreen State College is not known as a business school. Their business dept. is lacking in quality of teachers and structure. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I enjoyed my classes but my school lacked basic business lessons that would of helped me in my career. I would have enjoyed a more structured classroom setting where I could have learned business fundamentals. |
| Instruction | 8 | Teaches were passionate about their students. However many teaches lessons were unprepared and off subject. Teachers spent much of classroom and lecture time talking about out-of-the-box business ideas and did not focus on basic skills needed in order to run or work at a professional company. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Homework was assigned but rarely did the quality effect your grade. Tests were given but were usually open book or did not matter to your performance in the class. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Evergreen is extremely hands-on and focuses on students exploring the subjects that they are focusing on. Students are encouraged to work with others and experience the fields that they are considering going into after they graduate. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | One of the best parts about Evergreen is the flexibility of classes. You can choose schedules that fit your needs or can create independent contracts that let you choose your course of study on your own time. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Evergreen has a nice library and good media centers. They are always plenty of people that will help you find what you are looking for or show you how to use the equipment. However, many times the library or media centers can be crowded and you may have trouble finding a work station. |
| Social Life | 8 | I enjoyed my time at Evergreen and would suggest the school to any one who is self-driven and can work well with little instruction. Evergreen's unique way of teaching is good for people who desire a more involved teaching structure. |
| Placement Services | I did not use my schools job placement center so I can not talk about it. I know that Evergreen has a job placement center though. | |
| Alumni Network | 3 | Little to no alumni network. There is a quarterly newsletter but that is all I have been able to access. |
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