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 Northern Virginia Community College, Centura College, James Madison, and Christopher Newport 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 James Madison, Bluefield, Virginia State, and Old Dominion University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Mary Baldwin, Centura College, and Centura College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Virginia State, Hampton, Ferrum, and George Mason.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Bluefield, Shenandoah University, Northern Virginia Community College, and George Mason.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Centura College, University of Richmond, Hampton, and Roanoke College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Ferrum, Bridgewater, Roanoke College, and Virginia Union University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Virginia, University of Richmond, Virginia Tech, and Christopher Newport University.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Virginia, University of Richmond, and Bluefield.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at University of Richmond, Roanoke College, Virginia Union University, and Bridgewater.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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GMU • Fairfax, VA
Studying Information Technology (completion in 2010)
• 6/26/2011
"Again, GMU is pretty good. I hear other places are much worse."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I don't know. I'd recommend whichever school teaches IT closest to them, it probably doesn't matter much where they go. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | GMU isn't particularly known for IT. It's known more for economics. |
| Program Quality | 5 | Some courses were taught well. Others were not. |
| Instruction | 5 | Some courses were taught well. Others were not. |
| How Difficult | 4 | The degree is fairly technical. At least it's not Computer Science. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Yeah, it's a good mix of hands on and book learning. I wish it had been more hands on, but theory is important too. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | The school's schedule flexibility is pretty good. I hear at some places it's much worse. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | Staff tend to be helpful, but the electronic resources are extremely faulty and disorganized. |
| Social Life | 10 | GMU students are very sociable. It's easy to make friends here. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I don't know. I haven't used it much. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I don't know. I haven't used the alumni network much. |
Radford University • Radford, VA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 7/24/2011
"I was satisfied with the results and experience that I received at RU. I also graduated on schedule and landed a job at graduation."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, I would recommend a friend to attend RU if they were in the area and wanted to pursue a degree in CS. I would recommend RU because of the overall excellent experience that I received at RU. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I would say that the CS program at RU is about average. This is because RU is not that well know outside of the state of Virginia. |
| Program Quality | 9 | Overall, the program was great and I got a lot of hands on experience. However, it would have been a little better had the lab equipment been a little more up-to-date. |
| Instruction | 10 | All of the professors were very helpful and willing to help you. Course material and textbooks were well chosen for the courses that I took at Radford University. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The work load for any IT course, I believe, is a little more than average. For most of the courses, I would say that the academic challenge was about average. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This is a mix because some professors provided primarily book learning-based instruction, while others were more hands-on. Most of the IT courses were hands-on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Most of the classes at RU have multiple sessions, meaning that if taking a class in the morning doesn't work, there is probably a evening or night session for that particular class. RU has classes throughout the year. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | RU has a huge library with a lot of print material, as well as digital material, both online and offline. There are also many computer labs. Unfortunately, none of the computer labs are open 24 hours/day. |
| Social Life | 10 | Although the school doesn't have a football team, there are still a lot of athletic events that go on at RU. RU tries very hard to organize events for everyone. |
| Placement Services | 10 | RU has several methods to help graduates find careers. They have a dedicated staff to help students write resumes and cover letters as well as work on interview skills. RU also has a website that allows students to view and apply for job openings in the area. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | RU has a website dedicated to alumni. This site is to provide the university with updated contact information and career status updates. |
University Of Virginia • Charlottesville, VA
Studying Computer Networking (completion in 2008)
• 9/29/2011
"Loved it, although very preppy and school oriented. Although if you wear Sperry's and Polos, you'll fit in."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Trust me, if you do not learn anything at this school, you are not going to class. Every 6 hour week I learned a bounty of knowledge. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | They are mostly known for Law and Business, although networking is the hidden gem at UVA. |
| Program Quality | 10 | UVA is a very prestigious school - a top 10 public school in America. They also have a separate building dedicated to Networking. |
| Instruction | 9 | I learned most of what I needed to in my first three years at UVA. The last two were just the icing on the cake. |
| How Difficult | 8 | It's very hard if you have no prior experience with computers. I had been using them since I was 5 so it came naturally to me. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Very book learning oriented. We rarely did hands on work. This is because we mainly learned networking out of our handbook. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Classes are pretty hard to get into if you apply late. But you could basically pick your own hours when you wanted to go to class. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Brand new building along with state of the art technology. Professors were a little hard to get in touch with because of class size, but that's college for ya! |
| Social Life | 9 | A lot of greek life, with football a top priority in sports. Parties were crazy with a full blown kegger every weekend. |
| Placement Services | 10 | As soon as a manager sees a Top 10 Public University on a resume, he will be astonished. I got a job after one interview at Cisco. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | The alumni has donated millions to the department over the last year. Fully supported with brand new dual core computers. |
Northern Virginia Community College • Annandale, VA
Studying Information Technology (completion in 2010)
• 10/29/2011
"NOVA is a good school to start a 4 year program. Most universities in Virginia accept transfer credits from NOVA."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Anyone who is looking for an affordable school should take a look at NOVA. They offer more programs each year with very flexible schedules. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | NOVA is just a school where students study to jump to a 4 year university. The reputation of the school is that it offers flexible and affordable classes. |
| Program Quality | 8 | NOVA offers really good program for Network Administrator students. The tuition is very affordable and the study environment is friendly. |
| Instruction | 6 | Some of the material is applied in to real life. However, students will have to learn more from working on the field in order to work effectively. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The classes are very easy. Students don't need to work hard in order to get A's. Most of the classes require showing up for class and finishing homework. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The program is more book oriented. There are hands-on sections but they are very limited. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The class schedules are very flexible. Students can select classes on weekdays, weekends, or online. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facilities are good and accessible. NOVA has libraries, computer labs, academic advisors; everything that a student needs in order to study effectively. |
| Social Life | 4 | The social experience is not a strong point of NOVA. Most of the students don't stay at school to attend social events. |
| Placement Services | 7 | The school is quite good about job placement and career services assistance. The hold job fairs quite regularly. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | For the time I was in school, I didn't notice any support from the alumni network. They may have a good support system that I was not aware of. |
Old Dominion University • Norfolk, VA
Studying Business Administration (Specialization In IT) (completion in 2003)
• 12/1/2011
"I was very satisfied with my time at ODU. The one thing that I really would have changed was to get better descriptions of the classes ahead of time. If I had more information on the classes I needed, I would have better known how to test out of them or use real-work experience to become exempt."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would say yes, because the instruction is provided by professionals of the industry. The BA classes are taught by professors, but they are a necessary background to truly excel in the professional IT workplace. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | ODU is known for being strong in Engineering and Physical Science. The BA program is available, but it's not a strong "business" school. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I felt the program was very average; the business classes were on par with what I expected. The IT-related classes were taught by professionals in the field instead of professors, which was nice, but still reflected the material of a standard certification course. |
| Instruction | 8 | The quality of the information was very good -- I'll admit to being mostly a student in absentia, though. I was employed full time while "attending" classes and used my existing knowledgebase to test my way through college. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The classes were not overly difficult, though not for lack of trying, based on the material being taught. I felt that the instructors played a strong part in making sure that the students who needed assistance were able to get it outside of the classroom, to not bog down the rest of the class. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The business classes were fairly book-heavy. The IT classes (and especially the CS classes) required a lot of "lab" work and assignments that involved uploading completed work assignments, rather than turning in papers. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The class structure was extremely flexible, in order to accommodate full-time workers. ODU was also one of the first to offer distance learning via televised classes and full online-only instruction. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The ODU library and wide availability of computer labs were immensely useful during my time there. I never had a problem getting a meeting with a professor or faculty member if I needed one. |
| Social Life | 5 | Living in the area, I treated ODU as a commuter school experience. I was not involved in the school socially. |
| Placement Services | I did not require the services at my school. I also did not speak or work alongside anyone who used the job placement/career planning services. | |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The alumni program is very strong at ODU. It's nowhere near a Harvard or Yale by any means, but with a lot of graduates in the Hampton Roads area, it can be indispensable when looking to get employment in the area, especially when looking for a defense contractor (thanks to the strong Navy presence here). |
Virginia Tech • Blacksburg, VA
Studying Business Information Technology (completion in 2008)
• 11/30/2011
"I am pretty satisfied going to VT. It was tough overall, and being more mature helped me get through it. I observed many immature students there, but that is the nature of college."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | VT is great for those who want a balanced, challenging, and rigorous academic experience. It is not for those who simply want to learn a skill and get a job. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Virginia Tech is the best university in the state of Virginia. It is essentially the MIT of Virginia. BIT is a very popular program, as most companies in the DC area hire Virginia Tech graduates. |
| Program Quality | 7 | BIT is a great business and technical program. I learned a lot of the basics for managing IT, and steps into graduate school IT programs. |
| Instruction | 8 | BIT is very hard to teach and the professors did a great job teaching it to us. Most of it is more from the perspective of a manager, and not systems administration. But it covers a lot of concepts to help you understand networks. |
| How Difficult | 9 | I spent many hours studying. I think the program is very challenging and is not for the fainthearted. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | BIT is hard to teach, period. We did a lot of hands-on and book learning. Not to mention the studying after classes. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | I was able to take the classes I needed. I was not able to take the course load I originally wanted. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | There were teaching assistants and tutoring for certain classes. When I was an upperclassman in BIT, there were limited resources outside the classroom. |
| Social Life | 7 | I was not very social at VT, as I spent a lot of time studying. I did some sports and went to all the football games and some basketball games. I was pursuing a tough program. |
| Placement Services | 9 | I received my first job offer from the career services system, Hokies for Hire. After being hired, I received no support, but I was able to navigate my career without difficulty. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | After graduation, there has been little support from the alumni, aside from networks. Although they exist, there have not been many opportunities developed from networking with alumni. |
Northern Virginia Community College • Fairfax, VA
Studying Information Technology (completion in 1999)
• 2/9/2012
"I got my degree. It enabled me to land a better job than I normally would have with only high school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is a great stepping stone to go on. The classes do transfer to 4-year colleges and universities. I didn't do that, but I should have. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | It is a good community college. It has a good reputation and all the programs are transferable to 4-year colleges. |
| Program Quality | 6 | It was basic information and basic courses. I learned more on my own than in the classes provided. |
| Instruction | 6 | Most of the teachers were not teachers; they were people moonlighting, and as such, were not prepared to teach. |
| How Difficult | 3 | The classes were easy and basic. I came in with much of the knowledge necessary, so maybe that was why it was fairly easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Book learning for my program is difficult. You can memorize things, but without hands-on experience, it is not worth much. We generally got 1-2 days a week in a lab environment for the classes that required it. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | They offered some evening and weekend classes, but the availability was limited. I had to rearrange my waiting job schedule to take some of them. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | Computer labs were decent, although a little behind the top technology at the time. I guess that can only be expected, as it is a learning institution with limited funding. |
| Social Life | 2 | No parties or sports teams, so school spirit was little more than getting to say you go to a decent community college. |
| Placement Services | 4 | It seemed to be pretty decent. I looked into it, but in the end, I found a job on my own. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | Pretty much nonexistent. |
Saint Leo University • Hampton, VA
Studying Computer Information Systems (completion in 2012)
• 2/25/2012
"Saint Leo has its pros and cons, but since I already have good work experience the school has provided me with a degree that I can fill the check box in some HR department check lists. I took everything that I could from education, and therefore I think that I have learned a lot."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, I would recommend Saint Leo because they provide a good education. I think that most people who go to Saint Leo know their limitations. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | While the rankings are pretty good for a hybrid online school, they have a reputation as being a degree farm. I also base this on the fact that there is no research coming out of the university for computer science. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I think that the program itself was fine, and I think the courses were what you could expect at most other colleges. I think the technology provided for a computer information systems degree was very limited. |
| Instruction | 4 | I believe the instruction was mostly poor because most of the professors are only there for a second income. The ones who do care have a hard time with class sizes reaching into 30 students. |
| How Difficult | 3 | I consider myself somebody with the ability to teach myself as long as I have the book. With a lot of older people coming back to school to get Bachelor's, professors don't have the time or the desire to get into the material too deeply. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Since I took half my classes online and half in class, I found myself teaching myself a lot. I found that when I was in class the class would be held up by somebody who didn't understand the concept, so you should teach it to yourself. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | This is where the university really shines because they offer a wide range of flexible class options. They offer classes on nights, during the day, and on the weekends. They have online and classes where you Skype in to the classroom. |
| Academic Facilities | 2 | The computers are at least 10 years old and still have track ball mice. The library is online and you have to wait for the book to be delivered. The classes are often packed to capacity, and sometimes have to be moved to new locations that will fit the over registered courses. |
| Social Life | 1 | There is no school spirit. The people attending this school are only there because they need a degree for there job or to get a job. They do not organized activities or social events. |
| Placement Services | 1 | From what I can gather from most the people attending is that there is no help with this at all. The best bet if you are hoping to find job placement from this university is to meet with somebody at the school that has a job, and can get you one. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | The only time I have been contacted by the alumni network at is to donate money to it. They do not have any alumni functions nor do they provide any kind of interesting information like what is new with the school. |
Northern VA Community College • Alexandria, VA
Studying Information Technology (completion in 2012)
• 2/21/2012
"While there are better schools out there, for the money, NVCC is very cheap. Plus, all of the credits will transfer to any VA public university."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If you are trying to save money, I would recommend this school. However, if you can afford to go to a better school, then go for it. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | NVCC has a good rep for the AS or for the first 2 years of a degree. After that, most people transfer the credits to another VA school. |
| Program Quality | 5 | My classes mostly just covered the basics and concepts. There was no real work done in school that is applicable to the real world. |
| Instruction | 7 | NVCC is very good for a community college. However, to some extent, you get what you pay for. Not all the teachers are that great. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I can't really compare it to another major, but the work came fairly easily to me. It should not be difficult if you are tech savvy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There is a mixture of hands on and DIY learning. Many of the classes offered are online hybrid classes (half in person, half online). | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | I was on a smaller campus, so it was harder to get the classes I wanted when I wanted them. However, they almost never fill up like at other universities. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The school has tutors and study centers, as well as computers and libraries. Nothing too fancy, but it is offered. |
| Social Life | 1 | No real typical "college experience" here. Since there are no dorms on campus, people aren't really as tightly knit as they are at other universities. |
| Placement Services | I did not need to use the school's career services. I already had a job while in school. | |
| Alumni Network | I have not used the alumni network or any support from the school. I have not needed to. |
Community College Of The Air Force • Langley Afb, VA
Studying Network Administration (completion in 2007)
• 3/6/2012
"The ability to learn and earn credits in the military environment was very beneficial. I learned a lot which helped towards my career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Absolutely one of the most positive experiences in my life was going to school. I consider this the best thing I have done. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | Considering the fact that over half of my credits are from my job, this is hard to determine. I believe my program was difficult and has a good reputation. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The CCAF takes into consideration your work history. All of my military classes and training were taken in as credits. |
| Instruction | 10 | I was able to complete my degree while still working and deploying. The CCAF degree uses multiple universities to complete the instruction |
| How Difficult | 5 | This depended on the class. My speech and business classes were easy, whereas psychology 101 was not. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Half of my education was On the Job training or classes provided by the Air Force. The other half was in the classroom in a traditional university environment. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | CCAF provides classes at all times. The best example of this are the classes available during deployments. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | School facility's were provided by the base education office. All classrooms were well taken care of and provided all needed amenities. |
| Social Life | 1 | Because of the military environment, there is a lack of consistent classmates. Education tends to be more disjointed so the only social interaction is in the classroom. |
| Placement Services | 10 | The US Air Force provides plenty of job placement help. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The alumni program is most of the US Air Force, so our program is very strong. I can look up multiple websites to connect to the alumni. |
Roanoke College • Salem, VA
Studying Business Administration (completion in 2002)
• 3/15/2012
"I got a lot out of college. I learned a lot both about myself and in general."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | The Computer Science department weeds a lot of people out. This includes me, although I still went into IT. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | As mentioned previously, it is very well respected. They are commonly noted in rankings magazines. |
| Program Quality | 8 | It is one of the best in Business Admin. It is commonly rated highly by magazines. |
| Instruction | 5 | I went into IT with a degree in Business Admin. I don't use those skills very often in my job. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There are some classes that are tough. The capstone class is one of the hardest I've ever taken. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It is small enough that you get a lot of hands on. You also get the requisite book knowledge. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Being that it's a small college, sometimes you have to wait for classes to come back around. That was problematic sometimes. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Lots of computer labs. Access to a computer was never an issue. |
| Social Life | 9 | I stayed active. I was a Greek so that provided a lot of opportunities. I also did other activities. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I used that department on quite a few occasions. They helped me develop my resume. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | They constantly reach out to alumni. They also have lots of events. |
George Mason University • Fairfax, VA
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1996)
• 3/16/2012
"GMU provided me the background and core concepts that have helped me move comfortably through IT, telecom, datacenter, ISP, and other roles easily and without stress. It was worth the effort."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | This might sound bizarre but despite all my praise about GMU and their CompSci program, I cannot recommend it. Not because it isn't good... it is. However, the economy and industry has changed so much that a lot of CompSci skills have been parceled out -- meaning a company will offshore their programming needs for 1/10th the cost of a U.S. Comp Sci programmer. Plus, the number of Comp Sci graduates is dropping. Schools are having to evolve their CompSci programs to make them more applicable to today's economy and industry. Until that evolution finishes, I'd stick with an Information Technology, Telecommunications, and/or Electrical Engineering degree. Hope this helps! |
| Program Reputation | 7 | GMU is well-known and well-respected in the Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland region. |
| Program Quality | 8 | GMU provided me a well-rounded education that enables me to dive into almost every IT project and have some level of competency and understanding. By learning the fundamentals in school, I can move from Windows Server 2008 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux to SUSE to Oracle to Exchange without breaking a sweat. |
| Instruction | 8 | Instructors peppered their courses with practical, hands-on applications of theories and concepts. We didn't just learn how to write C++, we had to write C++ apps that solved critical business problems. (Nowadays, replace C++ with JavaScript or C-Sharp.) |
| How Difficult | 9 | There was more programming than I liked. I'm a meat-and-potatoes Network Admin. I run off the shelf stuff -- COTS. Writing my own app every time to solve every problem just seems like the long way to go. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of my professors pushed hands-on learning and practical applications of theories and skills taught in my classes. I appreciated the ability to get my hands on equipment or programming tools. It certainly made a deeper impression than the classes that were "very book." | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | I was able to take the majority of my classes at night or stack them up on a single day. This minimized the disruption at work and kept my bosses happy. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | GMU always had the latest computer equipment in their labs when I attended. Course material was up to date and current. The libraries were lavishly furnished and packed with diverse and useful materials. |
| Social Life | 3 | I had to work while putting myself through school, so I didn't do too much partying at GMU. There just wasn't enough time to work, go to school, and party/be social. Perhaps I missed something... but I got my degree. |
| Placement Services | I didn't use my school's job placement assistance. I already had a full-time job while going to school. | |
| Alumni Network | Haven't really been motivated to reach out since graduation. |
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