Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Software Engineers For Systems
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Atlantic Cape, Ocean County College, Passaic County Community College, and Bergen Community 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 New Jersey City University, Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Kean.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Bloomfield, Saint Peter's College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Felician.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Caldwell College, Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan, New Jersey City University, and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Seton Hall, Centenary, Rider University, and Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of The College of New Jersey, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Fairleigh Dickinson Florham, and Saint Peter's College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Stevens Institute of Technology, The College of New Jersey, Rutgers, and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at New Jersey City University, The College of New Jersey, Montclair State, and Saint Peter's College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Saint Peter's College, Felician, and Seton Hall.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Stevens Institute Of Technology • Hoboken, NJ
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2007)
• 10/11/2011
"I fully enjoyed my years at Stevens and miss them quite a bit. I am thankful, though, as Stevens connected me with a high level software engineering job."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | This school has classes for almost every field in engineering, computer or not. The school also has an incredible reputation among employers. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Stevens is one of the top ten engineering schools in the US. It also is very renowned among employers. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Stevens was very well known for its engineering and computer classes. This college also had a broad range of classes concerning software engineering. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors were always available and knew their topics well. Professors were easy to get along with and respected the students |
| How Difficult | 8 | Stevens was very challenging and tried to prepare its students in every way possible. Stevens also took pride in the students it accepted. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There are many labs that you take throughout the years to help you learn along with class. Book learning is important too, but there is an emphasis on hands on learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Stevens is a hard school to attend for undergraduate studies, as it mainly offers live classes on campus. It does, however, offer two summer sessions of classes and a winter session. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The Stevens library network has many databases available to students for articles and company profiles. Stevens also provides the best equipment to students, including school issued laptops. |
| Social Life | 7 | Stevens has a pretty extensive athletics program, including swimming, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field. There is a big following for these events and many students attend the home games. |
| Placement Services | 9 | Stevens has an extensive network to connect students to employers even before graduation. It also has a program dedicated to getting students into the world of computer science. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | Stevens had an excellent co-op network to obtain job experience. Stevens also had many top level connections with computer science alumni. |
William Paterson University Of NJ • Wayne, NJ
Studying Accounting (completion in 1976)
• 10/12/2011
"I was satisfied with the education I received. The flexibility and the learning environment contributed to the experience and allowed me to do things other students were not able to do."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school is well respected in NJ and has raised it's reputation to a level of respect through their business curriculum. You receive an excellent education that is well rounded. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The school's reputation for business has grown. It was once known as a teacher's college. |
| Program Quality | 8 | There were great instructors that gave you that extra time when required. The degree was earned because of a flexible program I could fit into my work schedule. |
| Instruction | 8 | Accounting gave me flexibility. I was prepared for a career in any finance related position after graduation. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The workload was dependent on the professor. Since I was working I always appreciated a lighter load. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a good mix of in class and book learning. Many times, depending on the professor, you were on your own with your books. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | I worked at the same time I carried a full load. The flexibility was great as I was able to always fit school into my schedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The facilities were comfortable and up to date. Advisors were usually available. |
| Social Life | I was working and attending school. I cannot comment as I did not participate in social or athletic endeavors. | |
| Placement Services | I never used the placement services. I cannot comment. | |
| Alumni Network | I never used the network, so I cannot comment on it. |
Rider University • Lawrenceville, NJ
Studying Finance (completion in 1998)
• 11/2/2011
"I am happy to have received my degree and gotten in the door at various firms in order to stay employed. I am not happy with the cost incurred, which seemed rather steep for what I was provided with."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | For the student beginning today, with the job market the way it is, I would recommend that they should pursue a less costly alternative. Compared to Rutgers, the education level obtained is comparable, yet the price is much greater at Rider, being a private school. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | As stated above, the school's reputation is good locally to the point where it's considered good enough to get me in the door, but it doesn't measure up to the country's best schools. It is still a solid option, however. I have not seen any preference given to other local schools like Rutgers, which happens to be a good school, over Rider. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Rider University has a good reputation locally for its Finance programs. It may not measure up to the very best schools in the northeast, such as the various Ivy League establishments, but it's still a solid program. |
| Instruction | 8 | My rating is mostly related to the strength of the program in general. The career preparation aspect and relevance are objectively considered very good locally, although placement leaves something to be desired. Most of the instructors themselves were highly educated and I felt that I learned a great deal in the classroom. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Although the course of study I followed was relatively math-intensive, I feel it was probably far easier than some of the study courses perceived to be more difficult, such as biochemistry or related fields. I hold that the finance program is more difficult than most of the liberal arts degree studies, however. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Although the programs I followed were rather book oriented, I did take part in a couple of memorable hands-on activities. One was to present recommendations to a portfolio manager, and the other was the design of a database and accompanying interface to teach the French language to English-speaking individuals. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | As far as the finance department went, I can't recall anything out of the ordinary as far as flexibility. Evening options were available, but weekend options seemed mainly to exist to service the various scientific majors. There were summer offerings, of which I did not take part. Online options were either not available to me or I was not aware of them. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Academic facilities were adequate but nothing special. The library and computer resources were available for long hours. I did not make use of tutors or study groups and never had the occasion to speak to professors outside of the classroom. |
| Social Life | 3 | School spirit was moderate at best. There is no football program, so the basketball team is the main sporting draw on campus. Organized social events went downhill during the course of my time there. In addition, Rider has a reputation for being a suitcase school as many students go home on weekends rather than staying on campus with a few thousand people their age. |
| Placement Services | 3 | Rider University does provide a career services site, RU Bridge. I actually did manage to get a job through a posting on the site, but I never received any indication that my application was given priority consideration given the path chosen for submission. As stated previously, placement was not as good as I'd hoped given my grades. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | Rider University provides some support through the University, but placement wasn't what I hoped it would be given the grades I'd received and the costs associated with attending the school. In addition, I have never gone into an interview and heard anything about my alma mater, even when the interviewer knew several Rider University graduates or had attended themselves. |
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