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 Central Piedmont Community College, Fayetteville State, Winston-Salem State University, and East Carolina 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 Mount Olive College, Pfeiffer University, UNC Pembroke, and UNC Charlotte.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider North Carolina Central University, Winston-Salem State University, Fayetteville State, and Robeson Community College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Montgomery Community College, Mount Olive College, Edgecombe Community College, and Pamlico Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Johnson C Smith University, Southeastern Community College, High Point, and Guilford.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of High Point, Johnson C Smith University, Catawba, and Western Carolina University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at UNC, Appalachian State, and UNC Wilmington.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Johnson C Smith University, UNC, Campbell, and Gardner - Webb.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Pamlico Community College, UNC, Martin Community College, and Roanoke-Chowan Community College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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North Carolina Wesleyan College • Rocky Mount, NC
Studying Computer Information Systems (completion in 1992)
• 8/1/2011
"The school was just small enough that you knew most people. This gave you a great chance to work with your professors."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would absolutely recommend this school to others. In fact I would recommend it to my kids. The school is perfect for people that need some additional attention and want to work with their professors. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | While I have not kept up with the specific curriculum in Computer information systems, the school overall has a good reputation. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The school gave me two very important things. They gave me the needed classroom experience to learn the basics. It also gave me the opportunity to do real world internships in the field. |
| Instruction | 7 | The instruction was pretty good and I had some real good teachers in programming. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I did not find the study to be too difficult. Some classes were taxing but I enjoyed them. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I enjoyed working in the computer lab at school. This helped with the hands on experience and I got paid! | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | This, again, I am not sure about since I left, but it was very flexible when I was there. I enjoyed the early classes that most people did not. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The school has added on since I left. It has added classes and buildings and I think it has additional great opportunities. |
| Social Life | 10 | I made great friends when I left. I still keep in touch with most today. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I am not fully aware of the schools ability to place people since I left. I do know that both my roommate and I came away with great jobs that we are still in today. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I do not work much with the alumni groups. I have not done much in that area. |
Craven Community College • New Bern, NC
Studying Computer Information Technology (completion in 2011)
• 8/9/2011
"I was able to get a degree to put on my resume and to get me on the fast track to my Bachelor's degree here. I was able to do this very conveniently and affordably, so I can't complain!"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | For someone who wants to get into the IT field, my school just totally altered their IT program. It is now designed to be more flexible in different facets of the IT industry. The school is affordable and convenient! |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I rated my school above average because it's a local school that everyone in the area is familiar with. In the end, it's still only an Associate's Degree and I will be furthering that with a Bachelor's at the local University. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I can't complain about the convenience and pricing of the school I earned my degree through. I did feel like some of the course work was irrelevant to the field, so I felt like some classes were a waste of time. |
| Instruction | 5 | I've taken the majority of my classes online, so this answer is a bit skewed. A lot of my "instructors" were more like "facilitators" and, quite often, did no teaching and responded slowly and poorly to questions. |
| How Difficult | 6 | I got this degree from a community college, so I didn't expect it to be extremely difficult. There were a few courses that were challenging, such as programming. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A lot of the classes in my program had some sort of hands-on learning, even though they were taught online. Some of my courses came with online/software labs to mock up different operating systems or programs. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | Over the years, my school has really upped the number of courses available online. There are also plenty of classes offered over the summer and in the evenings. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | While I haven't really utilized many of these services, I know they are offered. There is an Academic Skills Center that has a computer lab, tutors, advisors, etc. that a lot of people use. |
| Social Life | 5 | As a primarily Distance Education student, I didn't participate in any of these types of things. I do know they are offered because I get emails to my college address periodically about events. |
| Placement Services | 5 | Again, this is a service I haven't really used. I've been employed in the IT field almost as long as I've been attending the College. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I rated this average because I'm not really up-to-date on what the school has to offer in this area. I basically took my courses online and finished my program with very little on-campus time. |
Richmond Community College • Hamlet, NC
Studying Business Computer Programming (completion in 1989)
• 9/16/2011
"I was very pleased. I felt that the instructors took the time with you if you were willing to put forth the effort. The school provided everything I needed to be successful."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend the school but I would also suggest that they continue their education with a four year university where credits would transfer. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I do not believe my particular course of study is still offered. But, from what information I have been able to get, more students are taking the offered IT classes and moving into well paying careers. Though not in this town, of course. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The course work and instruction was very good. The processes that we were presented with were extremely challenging and helpful in preparing for the workforce. |
| Instruction | 8 | The instructors presented good challenges and projects for the most part. One particular instructor was only capable of reading to us - not very good with presentations. |
| How Difficult | 8 | I consider this program of study as very challenging. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We were presented with many situations and ways to resolve the issues. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a good mix of both. I thought the hands-on was much more effective but the books were filled with great information to process and were very helpful in getting you the information needed. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | At the time I was in school, I was able to schedule my classes for day or evening to fit my schedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | As the school has continued to expand, available resources have increased greatly. New buildings, labs, and classrooms have been built to accommodate the increase in students. |
| Social Life | 3 | Unfortunately, being a community college, funds for athletics are not available. Parties and dances for the school were rare during my time. |
| Placement Services | 9 | As stated above, this has improved greatly since my attendance. The services are very effective in finding job placement and assistance outside of North Carolina. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | This is practically non-existent to my knowledge. Or was, at the time after my graduation. |
Wake Forest University • Winston-Salem, NC
Studying Mathematical Business (completion in 2010)
• 9/28/2011
"Wake Forest prepared me to do whatever I want in life. I think about how I want to go back everyday and I am seriously considering pursuing my MBA."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I learned so much at Wake Forest and I am using so little of my knowledge at this job. I have been here for a year and while I think it was a great experience to have after school, I have much bigger plans for my future. I hope that is a common thought among Wake Forest graduates. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | I gave it a ten for its reputation at the school. My class had only 12 math business majors and besides for maybe Pre Med, it was considered the hardest major. A comprehensive mathematics and business education is never easy, but Wake took no shortcuts. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Wake Forest was an amazing place to learn. The teachers were second to none, and the curriculum was challenging and interesting at the same time. I feel I graduated fully prepared to have a successful career. |
| Instruction | 10 | Again, I do not have 1 bad thing to say about the teachers. They were all extremely knowledgeable in their respective areas. The curriculum covered everything one would expect for a math business major and more. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Another name for Wake Forest is "Work Forest." If you are not there to learn you will not do well. Speaking to my friends who went to similar business schools, it is obvious that Wake Forest expects their students to work a lot harder. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Studying mathematics and business, obviously a lot of the learning came from textbooks. On the other hand I took a class in managerial accounting in Bordeaux, France which the teacher amazingly structured around their wine industry. Also for my mathematical business seminar we did real consulting work for a billion dollar company with local offices. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | I would say 95% of my classes I could schedule to take anytime. For some of them, however, there was no flexibility at all. Classes specific to my major only were offered once per year since my major only had 12 students. I thought it was a real benefit to have us all in the same class, though. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Everything is brand new, and they do a great job of keeping up with the times. Every classroom had projectors, smart boards, extremely fast WiFi, laptop hookups and so on. WiFi was available throughout the campus, including on the quads, and the library had every resource one could possibly need. |
| Social Life | 10 | I joined a fraternity my freshman year. Over 50% of the student body is Greek. I participated in everything including social events, intramural sports, and much, much more on a consistent basis. I cannot decide which was better, my social life or my education. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I will give this an eight because I really did not use it much. They helped me with my resume and I applied to a few jobs through them but I took a job I found on my own at the beginning of senior year and somewhat stopped looking. If I could go back I would use their resources a lot more. From what I heard they are excellent. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | I get contacted multiple times a week to meet with Alumni in my area. Almost TOO MUCH! But there is a certain connection between Wake Forest alumni and it is nice to know there are so many opportunities to network. |
University Of North Carolina At Charlotte • Charlotte, NC
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2008)
• 11/6/2011
"I was fairly satisfied with the overall experience. I enjoyed the small class sizes and close connections with the professors."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend the school. The university is growing and has been working hard to resolve weaknesses. The campus is beautiful and the university is not considered too big. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | The university's reputation has been masked by other large universities with premier programs. UNC, NC State, Duke, and Wake Forest all have better programs and are located in the same state. |
| Program Quality | 5 | The program was not particularly difficult. The small class size did allow students to get a better understanding of concepts, though. People felt more inclined to ask questions. |
| Instruction | 5 | The program was not particularly difficult and, at times, I felt that I was not being challenged enough. Also, more real-life preparation could have been added. |
| How Difficult | 4 | As stated before, the program was not extremely difficult. There were classes and professors that provided a greater challenge in the class room, but for the most part the academics were not challenging. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was far more book oriented learning. I would have enjoyed more of the hands-on learning methods. I seem to retain more information when learning hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | This is where my school exceeded expectations. There were plenty of classes available during regular school hours and, in my case, evening classes were available. Additionally, online classes were available. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The library is very large compared to the school size. There is an abundance of available resources. The classroom space was plentiful due to the fact that there were not too many people assigned to my major. The fact that there were not too many students made advisors and professors more available. |
| Social Life | 3 | School spirit was great but the athletics and organized social events lacked when compared to other universities. There was not enough initiative to entice students to participate. |
| Placement Services | 3 | The job placement center on campus does not provide an adequate means for finding jobs. After signing up with the jobs placement office, I never was contacted nor was I able to find a suitable career through their services. I finally found a career through an IT contracting agency through my own resources. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I believe that this is due to the fact that the school is just starting to peak as a large university. Smaller universities tend to have weaker alumni networks. |
Wake Forest • Winston-Salem, NC
Studying Math (completion in 1992)
• 1/25/2012
"Wake Forest was a great school. I have excellent memories of it and am glad I went there."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The math curriculum was excellent. It has no bearing on my current career however. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Wake Forest is mainly known as a liberal arts college, but it has good math and science programs. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The professors were great. They took time for individual students. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors provided a great education. They really cared about the students. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It was not too difficult but they had great classes. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was lots of book learning, but there was some hands on with the computer classes. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Most classes are offered during the week. There are options for other times however. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | There was support from professors and they have excellent academic computer facilities. Tutors were available as well. |
| Social Life | 8 | Greek life was popular, but I only hung out with those in my area of study. |
| Placement Services | I never used those services so I am not sure about these services. | |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The alumni network offers vacations and trips. They also offer get togethers for sports events. |
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