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 Columbia College, Harold Washington College, VanderCook College of Music, and Lincoln College.
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 National-Louis University, Lincoln College, Chicago State, and Northeastern Illinois University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Erikson Institute and Hebrew Theological College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Chicago State, Harold Washington College, VanderCook College of Music, and Illinois Institute of Technology.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider National-Louis University, University of St Francis, Governors State, and Trinity International University.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Hebrew Theological College, Wheaton College, and Northwestern University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Monmouth College, Augustana, Blackburn, and Illinois College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Wheaton College, and Illinois Wesleyan.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Saint Xavier University, Northwestern University, National-Louis University, and University of St Francis.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Augustana, Erikson Institute, Northwestern University, and Illinois College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of Illinois • Champaign, IL
Studying Communications, Secondary Education (completion in 2010)
• 10/7/2011
"I had a great four years there. It was a very good value education for in-state tuition."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I believe the program is going to improve over time and be even better. The people within the department are great and I learned a lot. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | It isn't their most valued program, and doesn't get great funding. It was what you would expect from a public university. |
| Program Quality | 7 | It helped me to get my current job, but I could have obtained a broader degree to go along with teaching. |
| Instruction | 7 | I learned a lot in my education degree. My communications program could have been better. I sometimes felt lost. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Not exceptionally challenging. I did well in the program. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was what you would expect. Nothing stood out. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I am and was very flexible. It goes well with the job. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Great libraries, better than expected faculty. Not the most funded department, as I said. |
| Social Life | 7 | It was a lot of fun. Got to meet a lot of great people and made great friends. |
| Placement Services | 3 | The job market for teaching is terrible. I wouldn't blame the school for all of it. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | Strong networking opportunity, good career advice. I was able to meet a lot of people with diverse backgrounds. |
Northeastern Illinois University • Chicago, IL
Studying History, Secondary Education, And An Endorsement For Middle School Education (completion in 2011)
• 1/8/2012
"The school could have been better. Could have had a more positive social aspect. Academically average."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The College of Education was awesome and the professors were great. Some jumping through hoops was required, but there was great program support within the school. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The school's reputation for the College of Education is superb. It is one of the highest in the state. Their reputation for History doesn't really exist. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The education program was great. Doing both clinicals and student teaching was extremely helpful. I would suggest doing some kind of classroom experience earlier on, to help people experience the classroom setting from a teacher perspective before it may be too late. |
| Instruction | 8 | Awesome career preparation. Learned moderate amounts; some common sense. The quality of the curriculum varied from one professor to the next, so more consistency would be helpful. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Acceptance to the College of Education was moderately difficult. Overall, the work and expectations throughout were challenging. Clinicals were very difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It varied from class to class. Some professors were hands on and some went by the books. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | They had an awesome class schedule. Night classes and weekend classes were readily available. There were some online classes, but none that were relevant to education. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Availability of tutors is great; there were plenty of writing labs and tutors. Professors have required office hours, so that was okay. No study group support; you can make your own. Library and classroom space was adequate. |
| Social Life | 1 | Virtually no school spirit. I don't even think the school had a mascot. No sporting events or sports teams; only club sports available. Parties and social events were also nonexistent. There was no on-campus housing. |
| Placement Services | 6 | They have job search websites and job boards. Job placement is nonexistent. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I have no idea if there is an alumni network. |
McKendree University • Lebanon, IL
Studying Physical Education (completion in 2007)
• 2/13/2012
"I was very happy with McKendree. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to pursue a future in teaching. Small classes, a great campus, and good people all around. It seemed like almost everyone at McKendree wanted to see you succeed."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | For the reasons I mentioned above! McKendree has a great name in the teaching community. I felt that I was more likely to get a job because of this. It turned out to be true. I received a great education, made some wonderful friends, got to play two sports that I loved, and the whole time I was within a half hour drive to my parents' house. I would recommend McKendree to anyone wanting to go into the teaching field. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | In the Southern Illinois area, McKendree has a great reputation. There is no waiting list to get into the program which was wonderful. The education program is very respected and I believe that is one of the reasons I was hired where I am at currently. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I was very happy with the education program at McKendree. It is a small school, so there was a lot of interaction with all of my professors. There are some things I wish I would have learned before, but the teacher whose room I was in for student teaching prepared me a lot. She has turned into a mentor for me. |
| Instruction | 8 | The quality was great! I enjoyed going to almost all of my required classes. Most of the professors were tenured, and the classes were small enough that I received very close instruction. All of my professors seemed to be very sincere. |
| How Difficult | 4 | The education program involved a lot of busy work. It did help me in the long run, but at the time I found the workload excessive and mundane. I didn't learn as much as I would have in the sports medicine program. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I think it was a solid mix. Of course each class had required books, but I think most of my professors did a good job of doing hands on projects as well. I was never really unhappy with any of professors' ways of teaching. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | The class schedule was great. I did have to take a few more night classes than I would have liked, but that was because I played two sports. They were very flexible and helpful getting me into a required class that I needed for graduation. I never had any friends complain about class times or anything like that. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | My school was not that big, but the facilities were up to par. My last year, they finished up a brand new theater and auditorium. Piper Academic Center was opened while I was there. Lots of new computers were added in the library and other labs. Professors were available almost anytime. If they had office hours posted they were there to talk you. I just drove by recently and they added a really nice dorm and suite facility which would have been nice when I was there. |
| Social Life | 9 | I played hockey and tennis so I hung out with mostly kids on those teams. The town is not very big (two bars), so you had to make the fun happen. The school did put on Halloween parties and provide DD's which I thought was amazing. I had a blast going to school there and am probably still closer to my friends than if I had went to a larger University. |
| Placement Services | I did not have much interaction with job placement and career services. I was lucky enough to receive a recommendation from a fellow alumni for my current position. They did a great job of placing me at my student teaching, which I am very appreciative of. | |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The alumni base does do a lot for current students. That is actually how I got my current job. They do hound me for donations more than I would like. Overall, they do have a very solid network in place that I am very grateful for. |
University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign • Urbana-Champaign, IL
Studying History & Secondary Education (completion in 2008)
• 2/11/2012
"I feel that I received a quality education at a low cost. I feel that the University of Illinois provided me with an excellent education and four-year college experience."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | While I was not satisfied with the job placement help at my school, I do not feel that it is necessarily the school's fault that there were no teaching jobs. I think that they offer a solid program that can really help teachers be fully taught and well versed in the field of curriculum and instruction. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The University of Illinois is better known for its engineering and business programs. Illinois State University is generally considered the state college for education majors. |
| Program Quality | 6 | While the program did prepare me to teach, I feel that there was a lot lacking with regards to job placement and classroom management training. For a school such as the University of Illinois, I expected a lot more out of such a large education program. |
| Instruction | 8 | For the most part, I had high quality instructors who were very knowledgeable. However, within the College of Education, I felt like some of the teachers did not have enough experience to be teaching instruction. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Within the History program, we had a large amount of work expected of us, including essays and research projects. With regards to the Education classes, they were not as difficult and usually featured group projects. The work load for the education program was large though, because I had to do early field observations and student teach for an entire semester. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | In the education program, I had to learn theories and examine case studies. However, when it came down to it, the program required a lot of time in the classroom, which was a hands-on experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | All of the registration is online which helps you to create your ideal schedule, so long as the classes aren't filled when you go to register for them. Almost all classes are offered at multiple times by multiple instructors. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The University of Illinois has an extremely expansive system of libraries and other resources. I never felt like I had to struggle to find available computers, rooms, work space, etc. |
| Social Life | 8 | I did not engage in the Greek lifestyle but the University of Illinois offers an extensive sorority and fraternity life for those interested. Other than that, there is a great sense of school pride and a lot of campus wide social events to participate in. |
| Placement Services | 6 | I feel that I was falsely encouraged to enter the Education field by being told that there were plenty of jobs for teachers. While I am lucky enough to have a teaching position currently, it did not come easily and I do not feel I had much support in finding a job. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | The University of Illinois has an extremely well-connected alumni network that contacts me via email and letter to inform me of events and activities. I feel like I have the alumni association at my fingertips if necessary. |
National Louis University • Chicago, IL
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 2009)
• 2/20/2012
"I feel it was a poor value for the money. I also feel it was completely useless in terms of preparing me for my job."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | You can find cheaper alternatives. In addition, the school's main function is to churn out degrees and make money, not create excellent teachers. |
| Program Reputation | 2 | People in the Chicago area are aware of the low quality of NLU students. The reputation did not get me in the door, my background as an attorney did. |
| Program Quality | 2 | My university was basically just a money-making machine. I did not learn any practical methods for teaching - and the quality of students and professors was very poor. |
| Instruction | 1 | Most of my professors were disinterested and very out-of-touch. They did not provide much real-world training. |
| How Difficult | 1 | Most of the students in my program could barely do 6th grade math or reading - and this did not affect their ability to receive a degree from NLU. The expectations for class work were very low. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We received very little hands-on training. We were supposed to read a lot of books, but most students did not, and still passed classes. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | It was fairly easy to complete classes at night - but I had one class that was only offered during the day and I was working full-time. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | The resources were poor. I was very lucky, however, to end up with an intelligent and helpful advisor. |
| Social Life | 1 | I was an adult/night graduate student, so I didn't really attempt to partake in school activities. From what I observed, though, participation was minimal. |
| Placement Services | 1 | They did not offer me any assistance. Job fairs were poorly announced and organized. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | They offered very few opportunities for job fairs. Also, the value of an NLU degree is quite low. |
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