Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Systems Analysts
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at United States Naval Academy, Sojourner-Douglass College, Montgomery College, and Towson 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 Capitol College, Morgan State, Bowie State, and UM Baltimore County.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Sojourner-Douglass College and College of Notre Dame of Maryland.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Bowie State, Morgan State, Prince George's Community College, and Montgomery College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Anne Arundel, College of Southern Maryland, Carroll Community College, and Hagerstown Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of United States Naval Academy, Johns Hopkins, Goucher, and Washington Adventist.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of United States Naval Academy, Mount St. Mary's University, Goucher, and Washington Adventist.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, United States Naval Academy, and UM Baltimore County.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at United States Naval Academy, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, and Morgan State.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at United States Naval Academy, Morgan State, Goucher, and Mount St. Mary's University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of Maryland • College Park, MD
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1987)
• 8/8/2011
"It provided a good programming background. It didn't offer analysis and design courses, though."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I'm not sure how much the curriculum has changed. It is a very good school for programming, but is less so for analysis and design. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | It's the best school in area for commuting students. However, class selection is limited. |
| Program Quality | 5 | The program at maryland was, at the time, more programming oriented. I would like to have seen more design classes. |
| Instruction | 7 | Many of the teachers did not speak English as a first language - it was not always easy to communicate. I learned good programming habits, though. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Courses were designed for those working and learning, so the workload was not heavy. Access to school computers was limited. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I mostly took programming courses that required programming. Although books were available, originally only programming work was required. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | Classes are taught on many evenings and weekends. Usually only one section of smaller courses are available. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | Limited computer resources and no tutors available. Professors are reachable. |
| Social Life | 2 | Part-time students did not get involved in school activities. There was no effort on the part of the school to involve part-time students in school life. |
| Placement Services | 1 | No placement or career services. They did not exist. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | No communication from school. No established network. |
University Of Maryland • College Park, MD
Studying Information Systems (completion in 1999)
• 9/13/2011
"The school gave me only the knowledge to get a job. I have not yet been promoted."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | The school is flexible in scheduling and the classes may get you a job but can only do so much to help you advance. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school caters to working adults who already have jobs and so can get ahead more easily. |
| Program Quality | 7 | It was an interesting program while I was in school but I am disappointed about the real world preparation. |
| Instruction | 5 | Instruction was good but text books were not. Instructors did not always give good examples. |
| How Difficult | 6 | Some courses had a light workload. Other courses had heavier loads. I think it all came out to average overall. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Many classes had practical projects, and they were the ones I preferred the most. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The school offered classes at flexible times and online. They also offered semesters of different lengths. |
| Academic Facilities | 3 | The school really has no resources of its own. It uses classrooms on other campuses. |
| Social Life | 3 | People who go to this school usually also have jobs and have little time to socialize. The school has no lounge areas. |
| Placement Services | 2 | I do not even know if they have such a program, nor do my classmates. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | There is no real alumni network. What they have is poorly publicized. |
University Of Maryland University College • Adelphi, MD
Studying Management Of Technological Systems (completion in 2006)
• 3/24/2012
"The university enabled me to achieve a life goal - attaining a doctorate thoroughly supported me in this endeavor. I found the courses engaging and stimulating and have been able to continue to use the knowledge I have gained in my career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend this program as it provides a systems perspective that will strengthen the ability to accomplish career tasks. The courses are relevant to this particular career field and prepare an individual to be a better problem solver. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I am somewhat uncertain as to how to respond to this question. I find that people don't really understand the degree I have received, so it is unclear what their opinion might be. At a conference, I participated in a discussion of the relative merits of part time doctoral programs vs. full time traditional programs -- most of the attendees were very critical of the part time programs. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The program provided a broad, integrated view of management and systems issues. The faculty was well informed and supportive of my work. |
| Instruction | 8 | Overall, I found the courses to be challenging and informative. The only detractor was an occasional disconnect between what I was trying to ask and what was heard and responded to (due to cognitive bias perhaps?). |
| How Difficult | 9 | The program required in depth study in six major areas, with reading requirements of as many as three books a week. Courses required the integration of complex theories in analyzing real-world cases. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This varied according to the course. Certainly in conducting the research for the dissertation, the work was very hands on, with conducting interviews, site visits, etc. Also, some of the classes required us to go onsite to businesses to observe first hand principles in action. On the other hand, some of the online classes were relatively passive. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | Very many of the non-core classes may be taken online within reasonably broad constraints. There is some requirement to attend the doctoral seminars, which are presented on fixed dates and times. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | There was outstanding access to online and physical knowledge resources. Study groups formed easily within our cohort. Also, most classes required group work, further encouraging peer support. |
| Social Life | 5 | Due to the part time nature of the classes, much of it online, there are limited opportunities for face-to-face socialization. The university does sponsor some social events, but this has reduced somewhat during the budget crunch. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I have not made use of these services. I have heard from several of my classmates that they have been happy with these services. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | The alumni association is active and reaches out to new graduates to offer opportunities to meet other alumni. The alumni association provides numerous services, sponsors interesting events on a regular basis, and encourages giving back to the institution. |
Loyola College • Baltimore, MD
Studying MIS (completion in 1992)
• 4/1/2012
"The MIS program was good. Other experiences were excellent."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The good name of the school is important. The school is quite advanced now. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The program is small. Other local schools have a better reputation with MIS. |
| Program Quality | 8 | It was a very small program. It was hard to teach real world situations. |
| Instruction | 9 | Instructors were very good. They all had experience in the corporate world. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The classes were pertinent. Non-major classes were more difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a good mix. Technology was a limitation at the time. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | Enjoyed the weekend MBA schedule. I wish there had been an online option at the time. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The technology on campus was not the most up to date. There really were no tutors. |
| Social Life | 10 | Overall I had a great experience. Though, in IT, most of what I learned was on the job. |
| Placement Services | 9 | Internships are helpful. On-campus interviews are fairly helpful. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | There is a close knit community. Loyola is a well-respected school in the area. |
University Of Maryland • College Park, MD
Studying MBA (completion in 2011)
• 4/10/2012
"I was very comfortable and enjoyed myself thoroughly."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I do not know about the IT department. I will have to ask others first. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | The Robert H Smith School is ranked # 10. |
| Program Quality | 4 | My undergrad was in Computer Science. This is more related to being a Systems Analyst than an MBA. |
| Instruction | 10 | For the subject matter, the curriculum was strong. UMD focuses on real-world examples. |
| How Difficult | 4 | Depends on the subject. The most difficult one was Accounting. The work load was significant. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was a good mixture. We had simulation exercises, case studies...which were very interactive. The rest was read and study on your own. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | Some classes provide hybrid options (half online and half in class). Also, the program I did allowed for evening classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | They had extensive library and resources. The classrooms extremely comfortable. |
| Social Life | 7 | The MBA program supports a lot of group-based work. This encouraged more social activities. Other than that, I was not really involved in extra curricular activities. I think that was more for undergrad students. |
| Placement Services | 2 | Nothing is actually done....that I was made aware of. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I have never used the alumni network. I tried to sign up for the alumni sorority program, but the company never got back to me. |
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