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 Wayne County Community College District, Oakland Community College, Grand Valley State, and Kettering.
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 Davenport, Wayne State, University of Michigan-Flint, and Lake Superior State.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Wayne County Community College District, Andrews, Lawrence Technological University, and Wayne State.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Spring Arbor University, Walsh College, Andrews, and Kirtland Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Andrews, Calvin, Baker College, and Kettering.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Calvin, Aquinas, Andrews, and Michigan Technological University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Michigan, Kettering, Michigan Technological University, and Calvin.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Michigan, Lawrence Technological University, Ferris State, and Andrews.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Andrews, Calvin, University of Michigan, and Michigan Technological University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Wayne State University • Detroit, MI
Studying Math (completion in 1972)
• 7/13/2011
"I cannot complain about my school. It provided me with a basis for both getting along with the community and for learning systems analysis of various computer systems. Overall, in the last 50 years, the basic skills I picked up have stood me in good stead."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If a person is an independent thinker, my school would provide a good place to learn. If a person needs to be spoon fed, this is not the place to go. The town atmosphere is industry oriented. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Current reports of Alumni magazines show the school to be contemporary. This includes courses offered and faculty available. |
| Program Quality | 4 | Basic degree programs in general offered no proper theoretical foundations for the future. Training for the tremendously fast development of the field was very poor. |
| Instruction | 1 | I had to get a major in Math at the time,which was in no way related to Computer Science. Computer science did not become its own field until the late 1970s. |
| How Difficult | 4 | Too much of this curricula was an exercise in keeping up with magazines. The rest of the books were quickly outdated as the machines changed formats. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | No matter what the subject, the school has always been supportive of the community. It is very integrated into community learning, yet I know from personal experience that it is also very book learning oriented. | |
| Placement Services | 7 | I really don't know too much about this area. The school is a city-based one, so I would imagine it provides a lot of support for the town. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | There is nothing wrong with our Alumni Assn. People are helpful no matter which part of the US you are in. |
University Of Michigan • Ann Arbor, MI
Studying English (completion in 1992)
• 7/31/2011
"I got an excellent education and the skills I needed to be successful. The opportunities for me to succeed were huge. Where the school fell short was after the educational experience was done and the real-life experience kicked in."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | Michigan has great resources and a very strong faculty. In just about any mainstream career, it is a school that can give hard-working students a great baseline from which to start. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | From what I understand, Michigan's humanities programs continue to be very highly rated. The school has a very deep faculty and the resources to be able to support a wide variety of concentrations. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Michigan was an excellent school for studying any sort of humanities courses. But above all it taught me how to write and communicate clearly, which has been of great value in a career very different from my course of study. |
| Instruction | 5 | No English program is really a good career preparation -- except in terms of communication skills. I learned a huge amount about how to make arguments and how to read closely and skeptically. However, the relevance of the curriculum to the real world was slight. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Standards were quite high at Michigan, and the workload was crushing. I had one term where I averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night. A high amount of the grade was based on class participation, which involved being able to make arguments on one's feet -- a very good skill to learn, and tough for many of us. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This was very much dependent on the subject. My subject was book-oriented. However, I have known people who studied business, computer science, art, and engineering, and in all those topics there is a high level of hands-on experiential learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | Michigan is not geared toward supporting students who are in the workplace or have other responsibilities. They have few weekend classes and online options, although they did have a spring/summer abbreviated term. The expectation is that students who attend Michigan are full-time and focused solely on their education. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Michigan was outstanding with respect to resources. The libraries are world-renowned. Ample computers, labs, etc. Professors were always available. |
| Social Life | 5 | My social experience was what I wanted it to be -- relatively small-scale and personal. I did not attend a lot of parties. But there are plenty of opportunities for those who want that sort of thing. It's a standard big state university in that respect. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I cannot speak to this nowadays. In my time (early '90's) it was rather poor. I received no help from the school in terms of career development and job placement. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I have had very little contact from the University other than through requests for money. However, I have found a couple of jobs in part through the Michigan connection -- but that was informal and fortuitous. |
University Of Michigan • Ann Arbor, MI
Studying Statistics (completion in 2003)
• 3/13/2012
"More practical training would have been great. Help with job placement would have been even better, but overall the experience and education received was good."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I work for the university in a technical role, but I also have experience with the method of doing things around here. An understanding of the ecosystem and culture is helpful if you want to pursue a career in academic support or research. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | UM STEM classes are highly rated. Classes for my major in Statistics also included courses in computer science and math. |
| Program Quality | 8 | UM is a highly rated school and the instruction was great if you were ambitious enough to seek it out from particular professors. There were also many opportunities to enhance a technical education with humanities classes. |
| Instruction | 7 | Most professors were quite good and well-known in their field. Some professors were not as suited to be teachers, nor were their grad students. |
| How Difficult | 10 | UM's engineering and science related courses are all very challenging. The workload was extremely heavy in most classes. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | UM is a theory-teaching school, not a practical school. I wish I would have had more practical learning experiences as I feel it would have initially made me more employable. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | UM is not designed to be a commuter school and does not provide enough options for alternative study. In contrast, EMU in Ypsilanti is a commuter school and provides many options for alternative study. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | There are quite a few resources for scientists, but not all are easily accessible to undergraduates. The university needs to keep up on the latest technologies and then provide them on campus. |
| Social Life | 8 | There is quite a bit of diversity on campus, which allows for a variety of social experiences. Not all social events are tied to sports or greek life, which was preferable. |
| Placement Services | 3 | UM does not do a good job of placing graduates, and you are generally on your own. I noticed this contrast specifically when my brother graduated from MSU and was recruited by major computer consulting firms. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | They are always contacting me via mail and email. I also have opportunities to join a credit union and other organizations for alums. |
University Of Michigan • Ann Arbor, MI
Studying Economics And Statistics (completion in 2009)
• 4/3/2012
"Again, time of my life. Prepared me well for the future."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Would definitely recommend it to others. Not only for the academic program but also the social experience. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | U of Michigan has very reputable Business and Economic programs. I have definitely benefited from such a reputation during my job search. |
| Program Quality | 9 | It prepared me well for my job. I would have like to see a bit more career development services. |
| Instruction | 9 | The instructors were wonderful. My majors don't correlate perfectly with my current job so I did have to learn a lot of tactical skills on the job but I was able to get a very solid foundation from my school. |
| How Difficult | 8 | It was challenging but not overwhelming. I would say I put in around 12 hours of class and 20 hours of school work per week. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the time was spent on book learning but there was also a good amount of hands on programming and analytical experiences. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I was able to take classes at night. Spring and Summer classes were also offered. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facilities were great, I barely ever studied at home. The resources were also plentiful and from office hours to reference books, I had everything I needed. |
| Social Life | 10 | It was the best time of my life. Especially during football seasons. |
| Placement Services | 7 | The Business school had a very good career program, but the services were not extended to non Business school students. I would like to have used those services but sadly, I was in the economics department. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I am not actively involved in the alumni network but I've heard good things. |
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