Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
University Of Alaska • Anchorage, AK
Studying Biology (completion in 1998)
• 5/4/2011
"I think my school provided good value for the money. In terms of coursework and the final product of education, the vast majority comes from what the student puts into it, and to a lesser extent what the instructors provide. Very little has to do with the name or status of the school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | To be a paralegal or legal assistant doesn't require any specific education that one might seek a degree for. It's an awful lot of office administrative work. Specific legal knowledge just comes from experience of writing legal documents for attorneys who are not very skilled at word processing or document management. Most people who call themselves paralegals or legal assistants simply work for attorneys or the court system, and their boss just gives them direction, like any other assistant. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | A lot of professors are doing cutting edge research and involve students in such. As it is a public school, the value for the money was good. |
| Program Quality | 4 | I don't think my school offered anything for legal assistants or paralegals specifically. The profession does not require a license or exam to certify competency in the profession. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | I attended school over five years ago. My rating might not accurately reflect the current offerings of the school. |
| How Difficult | 7 | My coursework was often difficult. I was a science major. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Quite a few of my courses had accompanying labs. In the laboratories was where a lot of learning would take place by seeing things first hand and making them work. Some things don't lend themselves well to book learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Most general education classes had many offerings, both day and night, and now it offers distance education. But more advanced classes for 3rd and 4th year studies are almost exclusively during the day. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Not bad. Sufficient for teaching. Brand new, top of the line equipment is not a requirement for learning fundamentals. Classrooms are adequate. I never used the library. Parking has always been a problem. |
| Social Life | 4 | My social experience was not bad. Most of the social activities weren't sponsored by the school, rather, they were undertaken by the students themselves, i.e., parties. |
| Placement Services | 2 | I think the school's job placement services were really poor. I didn't have any high expectations to begin with, and was still disappointed. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I can't say much for the alumni network, other than it exists. They've never done anything for me other than ask for money. |
Online Course Finder
Find the path to your
education in 3 easy steps.