Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Medical Assistants
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Miami Dade College, Broward College, Heritage, and Palm Beach State 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 City College, City College, City College Branch Campus, and Hodges University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Americare, Medvance Institute-West Palm, City College Branch Campus, and Medvance Institute-Fort Lauderdale.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Miami Dade College, Broward College, Palm Beach State College, and Hodges University.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider College of Business and Technology-Hialeah Campus, College of Business and Technology-Flagler Campus, Hodges University, and City College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Pensacola Junior College, Brevard Community College, FSC Jacksonville, and Daytona State College.
Excellence
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Angley, Hodges University, Central Florida Institute, and Americare.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Everest University • Miami, FL
Studying Medical Assisting (completion in 2009)
• 1/1/2012
"Overall, my learning experience was a great one. I would go again if I had the chance."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I loved the flexible schedules and I like that I am paid more now for my career. It greatly improved my life. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | Most people who do the program are satisfied with it. Most don't find the program too hard. |
| Program Quality | 8 | They prepared me to do almost everything in the office setting. I was good at drawing blood and even dealing with insurance claims before graduating. |
| Instruction | 10 | The teachers were very knowledgeable about the subjects. The classroom settings were great and taught me everything I needed to know. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I needed to study every night. I did not find it too hard that I was frustrated, though. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was more hands on. They wanted to show you how to do things, not read it to you. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | They had three schedules. They had morning, evening and weekend schedules. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | We had the latest technology. We had a great library and a "quiet room" to study in. |
| Social Life | 1 | There were no social activities. It was geared towards adults with families and had no activities at all. |
| Placement Services | 1 | There were no career services available. With the economy in the shape it is in, that would have been so helpful. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | I was not placed in a position or given placement assistance on graduation. I had to look for work on my own. I know some colleges help you find work. That would be an added bonus. |
Sanford Brown Institute • Tampa, FL
Studying Nursing (completion in 2008)
• 1/1/2012
"I did not get all my experience from the school; I learned from my experience working after I left the school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would rather recommend a 2-year community college that is accredited by the state. |
| Program Reputation | I am honestly not sure, since I moved from the area. The program was very well known back then, but I am not sure about today. | |
| Program Quality | 5 | Not a very known school. I believe they were not accredited either. |
| Instruction | 7 | Professors were very caring. The whole program was short; about 2 years. |
| How Difficult | 3 | When you go to private schools like that, they make it easy for you to get loans and they make it easy for you to graduate, in order for you to leave. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Very hands on; internship was helpful too. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | It was very helpful to have a flexible schedule. They had night and day classes available. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Not a lot of resources available. Internship helped me, though. |
| Social Life | 10 | Made a lot of friends and that's about it. The school was too far from my home to stay for activities. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I did not get a real job, but I got an internship afterwards. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | Never heard from them again. They even changed names. |
Everest University • Jacksonville, FL
Studying Medical Assisting (completion in 2009)
• 1/10/2012
"I am not satisfied with my school experience at all. I am thinking about going back to community college for further education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | The academic experience was a joke and the expense is ridiculous. I will not let my children ever go to a technical school. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I am not positive of the school's reputation, but I am not impressed after taking the course. The school was better at pulling students in than turning them out with an education. |
| Program Quality | 3 | The technical school that I went to had a monthly instructor turnaround and had a hard time keeping instructors. The school had too many classes to keep up with. I don't feel that I received the proper training that I should have. The program was too short. |
| Instruction | 8 | The instructors that I had were very good at teaching, but did not stick around very long. Otherwise, the instruction was fine. |
| How Difficult | 2 | The program of study was fairly easy for me, due to having some background already in medical terminology. I had taken an online medical transcription course prior to the medical assistant program. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The program was very hands on with books and labs, except for the computer lab, which there was no instructor for. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The course I took was Monday-Friday, with only holidays off, for the duration of 7 months. You were very limited on absenteeism. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The school had a small media center with about 6 computers that did not work half the time. As far as other resources, I had better luck either at home online or at the public library. |
| Social Life | 8 | My social experience was fine. However, there were some very immature people in the class. |
| Placement Services | 1 | The school used user sites, which are commonly sites that use externs only, with no intent to hire. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I do not stay in touch with my fellow colleagues or the school that I attended. |
FSCJ • Jacksonville, FL
Studying Pharmacy Technician Certification (completion in 2011)
• 4/16/2012
"It was what I expected but I was not happy in the least at what I paid for."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I feel that the school lacked sincere care for students or students' careers. If the institution wants to succeed, I feel it should invest more money in the program. |
| Program Reputation | Never experienced. | |
| Program Quality | 7 | They got the job done but were ineffective in some ways. |
| Instruction | 5 | Many were just there for a paycheck. They only cared if we passed. |
| How Difficult | 3 | Grades were strongly curved. They didn't teach me on the job the way I would have liked. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Sadly it was very little hands-on and I was forced to learn that in the actual field. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | The program took longer than it should. |
| Academic Facilities | 1 | There's very little money in the program from the school. It could use a lot of attention. |
| Social Life | 7 | I led the groups senior event party. Besides that there weren't many social events. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They gave me some brochures, but not much more assistance. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | The alumni network is non-existent. |
Keiser Career Institute • Lake Worth, FL
Studying Medical Assisting (completion in 2014)
• 4/11/2012
"The atmosphere for learning was great. The teachers were very thorough, but also made it fun making you want to learn."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | My experience was a good one. Their curriculum is outstanding. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Many CMA's matriculated from my school. We had high graduation rates. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Courses were well taught. Teachers were very detailed and thorough. |
| Instruction | 10 | The teachers were very hands on. Classes were small, so teachers could be more one on one with the teaching. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Usual book work. We experienced the typical difficulties when learning how to do clinical tasks. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Usual amount of book work. The clinical labs were utilized every chance that was available. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | They had day and night classes. They now have online classes making learning even easier. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The school at the time was new. They do, however, have everything well maintained and available. |
| Social Life | 5 | I'm not very social. They did have social activities that I did participate in. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They are great at helping you prepare for interviews and with resumes. As for job placement, success would depend on location and availability. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I'm not a social person. I was never really interested. |
Kaplan University • Fort Lauderdale, FL
Studying Medical Assisting (completion in 2009)
• 4/15/2012
"I would like to further my education at this school because the staff worked with me and I was able to fit education into my very busy life."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | This school is the best to go to if you have a busy life and want professors and classmates who are involved with your success. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | They are well known for their medical programs. That is why I chose to go there. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The classes I was required to take really trained me for this type of career. Some were hard though. |
| Instruction | 10 | The professors really care if you succeeded or not. If you had a problem, they were always there to help you. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The medical classes were easy only because I was fascinated by what I was learning. Algebra and pharmacology were hard for me. I am not good with math. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The first year was all online courses. The second year was clinicals and externship in a Doctor's office. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | You have several different options to chose from when signing up for your classes. I took all online courses at night because I was a stay at home mother with a two year old. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | They had an online library where you could look up any book you needed and they would find and send it to you. |
| Social Life | I was not involved with any of these because I went online. | |
| Placement Services | They don't offer job placement or career services. | |
| Alumni Network | 10 | I graduated in 2009 and I still get emails from my old classmate and professors. I also get invited to seminars that the school holds when they pertain to my field. |
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