Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Secondary School Teachers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Iowa State.
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 Iowa State, William Penn University, University of Iowa, and Northern Iowa.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Morningside College, Drake, and Upper Iowa University.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Mount Mercy College and Saint Ambrose University.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Cornell, Emmaus Bible, Drake, and Dordt.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Emmaus Bible, Waldorf College, Loras, and Faith Baptist.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Cornell, University of Iowa, Iowa State, and Drake.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Cornell, Maharishi, William Penn University, and Waldorf College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Loras, Emmaus Bible, Cornell, and Clarke.
Spotlight Schools Search
Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Master
- Programs: 7 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor, Master
Jones International University
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Master
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Dordt College • Sioux Center, IA
Studying Elementary Education; K-6 Spanish; K-12 ESL; 5-12 Spanish (completion in 2006)
• 10/30/2011
"I think that Dordt was a good school and mostly prepared me for my profession. Although not addressed in this survey, however, I feel that the cost was too high."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If the students were definitely interested in pursuing education, yes. However, students have to realize that there is a lot involved in teaching and that should not be entered into just to "get summers off, etc..." |
| Program Reputation | 7 | From my understanding, Dordt is rated pretty well for training educators as this was its original purpose. I also believe that the somewhat small environment really helped the professors get to know their students. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I think Dordt College did a good job of preparing me for teaching for the most part. However (and this would probably be an issue for most schools), they do not teach you how to deal with classroom discipline. |
| Instruction | 8 | As I mentioned before, I believe Dordt College did a pretty good job of preparing me. However, teaching future teachers to deal with classroom behavior and the bureaucracy would have been helpful. |
| How Difficult | 7 | While the content of what I was taught was not too demanding, I still had to work hard. I spent plenty of time reading and applying what I was learning to my lesson plans. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I believe there was a decent mix. They gave us the fundamentals mostly through book learning and then had us apply it to our lessons, etc... | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | I know there were a few options for evening and summer classes, but I do not believe there were many. I also don't know that it has any online classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The library and media centers were well-equipped to help us learn the material. It also gave us many options to help write our lesson plans. Overall, I think the accessibility of professors was also quite good. I do wish that there had been more opportunities for study groups. |
| Social Life | 5 | I think the school had a decent amount of school spirit - especially in relation to our rival (Northwestern). I do not feel that there were many organized social events. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I found that many students were not immediately placed after school. Some also had to travel long distances to get a job. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I do not really have anything to compare this to. While I know my school seems to do a decent amount with alumni, it does not really seem to bring them in. |
The University Of Iowa • Iowa City, IA
Studying Science Education (completion in 2009)
• 11/22/2011
"It was an overall good experience. I learned a lot of life skills along the way. I wish that they had a better advising program, though."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It depends on their personality and philosophy of teaching. I think that if you have a liberal view of teaching, it is a good school to go to. If you are traditional, this is not the school for you. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The University of Iowa is very well known for their science programs. Most people know that a teaching degree from Iowa is top-notch as well. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I wish that they had taught us more about governmental policy and regulations. I would have also liked to have learned more about standards. |
| Instruction | 6 | I thought that a lot of the material they were presenting was good and innovative, compared to what I had experienced in high school. However, many professors need to practice what they preach. |
| How Difficult | 9 | It seems as if secondary science teachers have to complete many classes that are extremely difficult (Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry). I would have liked to have had more specialized science classes for teachers. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | In the field of science, much of the learning is hands on in the laboratory. I had a great experience with the bounty of materials I had access to. I wish that the education classes were more hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | They allowed me to substitute classes if I could not fit them in my schedule. That was a nice option to have. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The education building/floor was absolutely old and worn down. The libraries and other buildings were great. |
| Social Life | 8 | With such a large campus, I was able to make a lot of friends. I always had someone to study with and go out with. |
| Placement Services | 5 | There really aren't any jobs out there, unless I want to move out of the area. If I was willing to move away from my family, I would have already been placed. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I haven't had a lot of contact with them, aside from them calling and asking for money that I don't have. They have also sent letters in the mail, giving information on upcoming events. |
University Of Northern Iowa • Cedar Falls, IA
Studying Spanish Language (completion in 2009)
• 1/1/2012
"I was satisfied by the opportunity to travel abroad and improve my Spanish. The courses could have been more rigorous with their requirements for a Master's degree."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend this to others if they already have full time jobs and need a flexible school for a MA. However, a traditional program at other universities would be best if a person does not already have a job. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | There are more rigorous programs. The study abroad program is the main highlight. |
| Program Quality | 6 | I was able to study abroad through this university. While I enjoyed this, the organization of the program was not the best. |
| Instruction | 7 | Native Spanish speakers from Spain taught the courses. Also PHD professors from UNI taught as well. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The reading load was difficult. However, there were not enough challenging writing assignments. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We mainly had lectures and readings but there was a movie course to analyze cultural context. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | We were able to study during the summer. This flexibility allowed working professionals to complete a Master's degree. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | We had limited technological access to the university we visited in the summer at Santiago de Compostela. It was difficult to check out any books, but we had good classroom space. |
| Social Life | 5 | We had a couple of planned outings as a group. However it was easy to plan cultural activities on your own with individuals. |
| Placement Services | 1 | No help or extra information on with jobs was provided. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I often receive updates from organization. They provide helpful info for alumni. |
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