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 Community College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks, and PSU Brandywine.
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 Harcum, University of Pittsburgh-Titusville, Keystone, and Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Shenango.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Cedar Crest, Cambria-Rowe Business College, Harcum, and Wilson College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Community College of Philadelphia, Peirce College, and Keystone.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Peirce College, Eastern University, Westmoreland County Community College, and Cedar Crest.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of UPenn, Carnegie Mellon, Lehigh, and Muhlenberg College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Washington & Jefferson College, Wilson College, Thiel College, and Juniata.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at UPenn, Carnegie Mellon, Lehigh, and University of Pittsburgh.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at UPenn, Johnson College, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, and Lehigh.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Carnegie Mellon, Du Bois Business College, Wilson College, and Washington & Jefferson College.
Spotlight Schools Search
Spotlight Pennsylvania Schools Related to This Career
- Locations: Fort Washington, King of Prussia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
- Programs: 6 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
- Locations: Center Valley, Feasterville-Trevose, King Of Prussia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Springfield, Warrendale
- Programs: 19 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor, Certificate, Diploma, Master, Post- Bachelor's Certificate
- Locations: Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Washington, Wayne
- Programs: 6 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor, Master
- Locations: Bensalem, Dunmore, Harrisburg, King of Prussia, Monroeville, Pittsburgh
- Programs: 19 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
DeVry University's Keller Graduate School of Management
- Locations: King of Prussia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
- Programs: 3 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Master, Post- Bachelor's Certificate
- Locations: Philadelphia
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Coursework
- Locations: Springfield
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Diploma
Pittsburgh Technical Institute
- Locations: Cranberry Township, Oakdale
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate
- Locations: Harrisburg, Pittsburgh
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate
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Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
- Programs: 7 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
- Programs: 7 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate
- Programs: 18 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor, Doctorate, Master
- Programs: 8 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor, Master
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Penn State University • University Park, PA
Studying Information Sciences And Technology (completion in 2007)
• 5/3/2011
"I'm employed! I also feel connected to the program and other students in it."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's a great program that doesn't focus on current technologies. Those will change over time. It helps to to learn how to work with others, learn for yourself, and get into the workplace. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school has a good reputation among employers. Students get good paying jobs when they leave here. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I completed my bachelor's while working, so I had quite a bit of skill prior to starting school. The program helped fill in my knowledge with some organizational theory and other information, but I had all of the technical knowledge that I needed. |
| How Difficult | 3 | As indicted before, the technical part of my program was something I already had experience in. I did not find courses related to that very challenging. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My college's program was very theory driven. It was not hands-on enough. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | It's getting better now than when I was there. The upper division courses were only offered in residence. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | There were plenty of classrooms with computers as well as virtual labs for some of the courses as appropriate. |
| Social Life | 7 | Athletics = football! Greek life is prominent. If you want to party, there's plenty of that to go around. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I didn't use them. However, some friends did and they got good paying jobs. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | There are social events that the alumni association invites me to. I also feel as connected as I want to be with my individual college's alumni group. I hear from them via email and electronic communication periodically. |
Drexel • Philadelphia, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 6/24/2011
"I was very satisfied, as I had a great time and really learned a lot. I also had a lot of fun with all the parties, and I loved going around Philly on weekends."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It was truly a great experience, and I learned a lot. Also, there was so much to do, and that made it a great school to go to. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | There are many institutions that are better than Drexel that are more accredited and have more well-known professors. |
| Program Quality | The computers were brand new, and really fast. However, the professor was a little bit boring. | |
| Instruction | 6 | My professor was a great teacher who knew a lot about computers. However, his class got boring at times. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There was a lot of self-teaching, because that was what my professor wanted us to do. However, when he taught, we learned a lot. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The professor let us use spend a lot of time on the computers. We rarely read out of books. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There were three classes: on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I usually went on Monday and Wednesday. Also, they offered online classes, and I took on of these over the Summer. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | As I mentioned before, we got new computers every 2 years. Also, there were always tutors available, and my professor was very approachable. |
| Social Life | 8 | It was a great atmosphere, and we always went to go watch basketball games. Also, there were always parties and several great night clubs, so we had a great time. |
| Placement Services | 7 | It's in Philly, so jobs were plentiful. Also, my professor recommended a few places to interview at. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | Every two years the department got new computers (via alumni). So, we always had the latest and greatest technology. |
Penn College Of Technology • Williamsport, PA
Studying Information Technology: Network Specialist (completion in 2011)
• 6/26/2011
"I am satisfied with my school because I had a very good time. I feel as though I learned a good amount, and that will hopefully get my foot in the door."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend my school to others because it did prepare me in a way. Although most of it centered around book work, you get to understand the concepts, and I can pretty much understand what most IT professionals are talking about. You may not come out knowing entirely how to setup devices, but you get a basic knowledge of configuring switches, routers, and servers. One of my favorite classes was network defense were you also get to touch on some security and hacking. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Our school has a great reputation because it is affiliated with Penn State. Penn State is a well known school, so it makes ours stand out a lot more. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The school was great for learning text book items. However, I wish they offered more hands on activities, because a lot of the stuff I had to try and learn on my own. |
| Instruction | 6 | Like I said, you learn a lot of text book material. I can state the seven layers of the OSI model, and some information about each of them. However, we did limited hands on labs with network devices. |
| How Difficult | 9 | The work is extremely difficult because IT involves so much information. You need to learn all the networking acronyms, and juggle all the different fields including programming, networking, and web design. There is just a lot on the plate for you to take in, but it's a great way to get a background in everything. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the learning is through book work. You have very limited hands on work. I had to take the Cisco Networking Academy as an open elective just to get some hands on experience with network devices. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | They have classes at all times when it comes to general education. Most classes for the IT major are only Monday through Thursday, so it's nice have the three day weekend. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The library is one of our biggest attractions. It has state of the art computers, including both PCs and Macs. The classroom space is great because the classes are typically limited to 30 people. The advisers are good and make sure you schedule the correct classes and are on time. You get to become friends with your advisers because they are also your major teachers over the years. |
| Social Life | 9 | There are tons of social events going on each week. Although I didn't really participate in many, the ones I did go to were a great time. They have plenty of baseball events seeing how the Little league world series is right next to the college. |
| Placement Services | 4 | They do have a career center where they help you find potential employers, but they do not help you get placed into a job. Right now I am just an intern working in networking, but I am still searching for a full time job. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | I am a recent college graduate so I don't have much experience with the alumni yet, but so far its been great. They allow us to keep a .edu email address, and provide us with updates on the school. |
Shippensburg University • Shippensburg, PA
Studying History (completion in 1992)
• 6/24/2011
"Shippensburg is a quality university. It provided a great opportunity to learn and grow socially."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I do not know where their program for IT stands at this time. I graduated with a minor in computers, but having to do it over I would be looking for a school/curriculum tailored to IT. I have pursued extensive training post graduation: MSCE certification and CCNA certifications by attending classes, book learning, and self paced online study. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I have no knowledge of Shippensburg's reputation. I attended there because it was a solid school close to my hometown. |
| Program Quality | 7 | My college education was done before making the decision to work in IT. I studied Russian History in college, and only minored in computers. |
| Instruction | 8 | I had very good instructors. The class sizes were small, and I had a good rapport with them. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The professors demanded a high volume of high quality work. This kept things interesting. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The computer classes I took had very rudimentary hands on training. Computers were still in their infancy at the time. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | I never had a problem scheduling at Shippensburg. I did take summer classes as needed. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Class sizes were small. The library was well stocked. |
| Social Life | 10 | The best people I have ever had the pleasure of being friends with I met at Shippensburg. I had more fun in the time I spent there than at any other time of my life. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I did not avail myself of job placement. Thus, I really am not qualified to rate. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have had no interaction with the alumni organization. I have sought no services from Shippensburg post graduation. |
Temple University • Philadelphia, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1995)
• 6/24/2011
"The university gave me a good background to get my first job. I learned a lot at Temple."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school has a good computer science program. The tuition is reasonable. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Temple University is one of the largest public universities in Pennsylvania. Its business school and computer science program are highly rated. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The program was challenging. I learned a lot in the computer science major. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors were outstanding. They had good business experience. |
| How Difficult | 6 | The coursework was thorough and challenging. It was very hands on. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The program was much more hands on than book driven. the professors used real world experience to teach. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | The university had many course offerings and you could take classes at different times. The school has a fall, spring, and two summer sessions. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The resources in the computer science program were very good. They had multiple computer labs. |
| Social Life | 7 | I enjoyed Temple University very much. The student body was diverse and I really liked my major. |
| Placement Services | 3 | The university did not help me with job placement. I found my own positions. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | The alumni network did not help me get a job. When I graduated the job market was difficult, like it is today. |
Millersville University • Millersville, PA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2008)
• 7/8/2011
"My school provided me with a good education and helped me obtain a good job. I am satisfied the with broad exposure I had."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It has a top rated computer science program which is very marketable for IT and programming positions. There are many resources available to help you find an internship, which is extremely critical. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | We are rated as one of the best computer science programs in PA. We are an accredited university and have excellent job placement. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Millersville provided me with a robust array of exposure to computer and network technologies. They also had a web page with internship listings, which helped me gain professional experience before I finished my degree. |
| Instruction | 10 | My instructors were all former industry professionals who held doctorate degrees. They were able to provide real life examples of situations I could expect to face in the work place and taught me how to handle them. |
| How Difficult | 10 | I felt computer science was the hardest major offered at the university, mainly because of how abstract some of the computer networking and programming classes were. We were also required to take hard, upper level math and science classes. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the studies were strictly book learning. Some of the network courses and biology lab classes offered hands on experiences with industry specific equipment. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There were very few weekend or evening options. Sometimes it was hard to schedule classes, but I was always able to work out a reasonable schedule, although it was not always ideal. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | Our university always seems to be under renovation. A lot of buildings are old and outdated, but several have been remodeled. Once one is finished, they always seem to start working on a different building, so there is constant improvement. |
| Social Life | 5 | About half of the students, including myself, commuted, so there were a lot of people coming and going which made it hard to have a good social experience at times. There were minimal university activities available. |
| Placement Services | 10 | I was able to obtain an internship using university services. My professors helped put me in touch with companies who were looking for employees when I graduated. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I am not aware of any alumni support offered. I do not maintain contact with any alumni aside from personal friends. |
Drexel University • Philadelphia, PA
Studying Software Engineering (completion in 2010)
• 11/14/2011
"I was extremely pleased with my education. The only negative was the cost of the program, which was particularly high."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I feel my education was worth it and would recommend it to others. I would caution them that they are in for a great deal of work. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | No one questions a Drexel degree, due to the reputation of the program in both the region and industry. Additionally, I see graduates doing great things in the world. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I learned a great deal in the program at Drexel. At smaller schools, I have always been the "smartest person in the room." It was nice at Drexel having a few people above me. |
| Instruction | 10 | The instructors I had also worked in industry and were not simply academic. They answered all of the questions that I raised both in and out of class. |
| How Difficult | 10 | I spent a great deal of time completing the work in my courses. This was due to the complexity of the assignments, not a sheer volume of menial work. In addition, it was relevant work, instead of historical problems that one would not encounter in real life. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We read some, mostly with recent articles instead of a physical static book. Our programming examples were able to transfer directly to real-world work. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The classes I took for a master's program were all available as evening or online courses. This was great for me, working a full-time position. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | I enjoyed my access to online periodicals, particularly when I was doing research. While I was at the university, they upgraded the I2 bandwidth, which was great for our program. |
| Social Life | 10 | There was great spirit within our department. I did not spend any time at events or parties during my term there. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I have not had personal interaction with the career services personnel. Of those graduating with me, we all had jobs leaving the program. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have received numerous contacts form the alumni network, which provides a great, department-specific periodical. I haven't seen a support network since leaving. |
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