Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Network And Systems Administrators
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Columbia College, Ozarks Technical Community College, STLCC - Meramec, and Park University.
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 Drury, Maryville, University of Missouri-St Louis, and Columbia College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Harris - Stowe, STLCC - Forest Park, STLCC - Florissant Valley, and Webster University.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Webster University, Lindenwood, STLCC - Forest Park, and STLCC - Florissant Valley.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Culver - Stockton, Park University, Westminster College, and Missouri Southern.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Culver - Stockton, William Jewell College, College of the Ozarks, and CMU.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Missouri University of Science and Technology, University of Missouri, UMKC, and Culver - Stockton.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at College of the Ozarks, Avila, Columbia College, and Missouri State.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Linn State, William Jewell College, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Westminster College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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TRCC • Poplar Bluff, MO
Studying IT Tech (completion in 2003)
• 6/24/2011
"I surely hope the degree program has gotten better since my time there. If nothing else, it was a good foundation for things to come later."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If it has improved, I would say sure, go for it. Small school, small classes, fairly modern, and very cheap. It's a good way to get your foot in the door and get all your required credits before transferring somewhere else for your bachelors. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | They have gotten better as time has went on, as to be expected. It is a good place to start your education and then continue on elsewhere. |
| Program Quality | 4 | I was a member of the program's first class, so they didn't really know what they were doing. And I knew about thirty times more than some of the teachers. In fact, one of my "instructors" was a person I had trained at his last job in technical support and he was supposed to teach me about the IP stack. Yeah right! |
| Instruction | 4 | Refer to the paragraph before this one. The instructors were lacking and I knew more than most of them combined. |
| How Difficult | 4 | It was very easy. I rarely had homework. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | As I mentioned, the degree program was brand new when I went there, so it was pretty lacking in quality. They were just trying to find people who had a working knowledge of what a computer was - nevermind someone who had hands on knowledge. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | It's getting better with more online classes. I had a couple evening classes as well, so I would say they were very flexible. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | It was a small school but very well maintained. They had adequate labs for computers and were mostly modern. |
| Social Life | 5 | I had a scholarship to play in the pep band, and I would have to say that basketball games had a lot of support. Other than that, it was pretty lacking. |
| Placement Services | 3 | I had to go out and find my own internship with no assistance from the school at all. I would hate to have had to rely on them for job placement.. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | It was a small local community college - it was lacking in many areas. It was pretty lame. |
University Of Missouri At St. Louis • Saint Louis, MO
Studying Business Administration (completion in 1981)
• 9/17/2011
"I would have given them a little higher but they took my scholarship away for a bogus grade. I got the degree so I guess that is what counts. That little piece of paper is like a work license in the US. Getting a college degree is like getting a driver's license. You can drive with a drivers license, but it doesn't mean you can actually drive well."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Again, I got a business degree but I am a computer guy. So I guess all business degrees are good to have, but really, without going to another school, how would I know? |
| Program Reputation | 6 | The 6 is more for the Univ of MO overall. I'm not sure the UMSL campus is all that well regarded. But remember, I was forced into the network world by life's events. I didn't really choose it, it just happened. |
| Program Quality | 5 | They gave me a B on 2 courses that I aced with a 98% average on tests and homework and took my scholarship away. |
| Instruction | 5 | Business Administration is mostly garbage. The real world is NOTHING like they teach in school. It is 90% political. |
| How Difficult | 4 | It was easy for me - I was 10 SAT points away from Mensa. But again, even college is highly political and biased towards whatever the general education community believes is the "right" answer. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Mostly book. I can't think of anything hands on, but I gave it a 9 just in case I can't remember. This was 35 years ago, you know. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | I thought they were super flexible. Sometimes the night courses wouldn't have enough people so they'd cancel them and you'd have to scramble to find another class. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | |
| Social Life | 2 | UMSL was a commuter school. They had few, if any, dorms. I had my friends from my neighborhood. That is who I hung out with. |
| Placement Services | 3 | I didn't even know they had anything like that, but that could have been my fault. I already had a job and finished in night school. The job I had was in the federal government so I thought I was set, until Reagan cut the Fed budget. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I don't use it much since I no longer live in St. Louis and since I wasn't in a fraternity or anything like that. My friends were my friends. They do send me a newsletter that could be helpful in certain situations. |
Missouri State University • Springfield, MO
Studying BS In Computer Science (completion in 2009)
• 10/19/2011
"Yes, I had a good time at the university and I learned a lot."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's an excellent place to learn. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The program is very highly ranked in the US. |
| Program Quality | 9 | Faculty and laboratories were very good. |
| Instruction | 8 | Good, industry oriented curriculum. |
| How Difficult | 5 | It requires hard work and lots of practicals. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A mixture of hands on and book. More focus on practicals and less on the theoretical aspects. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Class scheduling isn't that great. You have to talk with a professor weeks ahead of time to get a class change. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Very, very good facilities and services. |
| Social Life | 7 | |
| Placement Services | 8 | The job placement rate is good. I haven't heard of any classmates that have remained unemployed. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | Very good support for alumni. |
Saint Louis University • St. Louis, MO
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2006)
• 10/28/2011
"The school is very catholic. I am not catholic so it was awkward at times. The academics were strong, but I did not like the school's location, etc."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It depends on the person's goals. I would personally recommend going to school somewhere in California or Colorado. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | SLU is a pretty reputable school in the midwest. They are well known leaders in many fields. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I enjoyed the type of people that gravitate towards technology. I enjoyed the academics involved with my degree. |
| Instruction | 5 | Things are changing rapidly in the computer industry. I learned most of what I know now on the job. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I grew up with computers and had a natural interest in them. Learning new systems/academics has always been enjoyable and easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We had numerous labs, as well as lots of book work. I think there was a good mix here. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I was a traditional student. I did not explore other means of learning. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | I would have liked to see more resources provided in light of tuition cost. I don't believe tuition was well reflected in the school's resources. |
| Social Life | 5 | Overall, average. It was large enough to meet lots of people, but not too large that you got lost in the crowd. I didn't fit in well due to the student body's religious slant. |
| Placement Services | I was able to find a job on my own before graduation. I did not use the school's resources. | |
| Alumni Network | I'm not involved with my alumni network. I'm not interested in maintaining a connection to my alma mater |
St. Louis Community College At Forest Park • St. Louis, MO
Studying Computer Information Systems (completion in 2002)
• 12/5/2011
"This school was perfect for me. It was lower cost than a regular university, but we had some university-level teachers working here for part-time employment."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would definitely recommend and I have in the past. Classes can be taken a few at a time and over the summer to speed up your degree process. The director of the IS department was wonderful at helping when needed to check your schedule and make sure that you weren't over or under scheduling yourself. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Among the colleges I still feel that their program is one of the best. The labs at the school were very up-to-date and I felt that they tried to keep us all current with the technology available. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I enjoyed community college - there was a range of age groups. The older age group - those that had been in the field already were able to use their experience on the projects and lead us the right way at times. However I felt that some courses should be added to the curriculum that I followed - for example, electrical studies. Some from trade schools have more knowledge in these areas because they had specific courses regarding electrical systems involved in the computer systems. |
| Instruction | 9 | Some of the instructors were people who were actually in the field of network support. This real world knowledge added a lot to the classes. |
| How Difficult | 9 | I felt this was a difficult field to study because the topics were all very theoretical while I was in the classes. I couldn't necessarily connect the theory to the practical aspects of the work that I do now. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This was a definite mix - in some of the classes (Cisco Routing for example) we each had our own router with which to setup a lab. Some classes however, such as our Intro to LAN I felt spent too much time on book knowledge. This type of info was very theoretical (the ISO model for example). | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Many classes were only available during one semester a year. When I left school they were starting to do more tele-courses and internet courses. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Our school had a very active tutoring resource, for which I also worked while on campus. This offered on site support for most math classes, computer and English courses. Supplemental instruction was also offered. In this program an individual attended the classes with the students and then provided tutoring after class and multiple times during the week for further instruction. There were multiple computer labs. The library was very large and great for studying. There seemed to be plenty of class room space and lecture halls. The professors I had always made sure we knew their office hours. |
| Social Life | 5 | I rated this average because I saw such events offered however I didn't have time to get involved in them. |
| Placement Services | 7 | My degree included an internship and I was able to go straight into a job. Also the school provides a lot of info regarding job fairs. |
| Alumni Network | I don't contact my school regarding Alumni events and don't respond to things sent by my school. |
Devry • Homes, MO
Studying Computer And Electronics (completion in 2012)
• 12/7/2011
"I would recommend it to someone who just wants to get their degree fast with no joking around. There are not many students in each class, so you can pay attention."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | There are doing remodels constantly to upgrade the technology and they really try to get everything in your head in the eight weeks. I like the campus. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | They had all my classes set up for me. They gave me dates and times I needed to show up. They never gave me a class that I didn't enjoy. |
| Program Quality | 6 | I do like the professors there, but it's way too accelerated for anybody to learn much in eight weeks. I like how you don't have any breaks, so you get your degree done fast. |
| Instruction | 8 | Once you pick your degree they assign classes that you will need to succeed in your career. They don't give you any class that you won't need in your career. |
| How Difficult | 6 | With it being accelerated, you have to get your homework done by a certain time. With only eight weeks you have to make sure you stay on top of your work. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I think they teach out of the book. This isn't a bad thing but if I wanted to learn out of a book I would just take online classes. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | When you pick out your classes they're held every day at specific times. Basic classes can be offered online, but they don't do labs online. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | They are into the latest and greatest. They even offer their books on mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. Their library is full of the books you'll use in your career. |
| Social Life | 4 | They don't really have activities that I enjoy. There are only a couple of things you can get into, like bowling, and ping-pong. That is it. |
| Placement Services | 5 | If they had more people and more resources I think they would improve more. It's not bad, but they could do better. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | They do a pretty good job. They give you all the tools you need to learn and prepare. For networking, they had stuff that I haven't even heard of before. |
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