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 Tri-C, Franklin, National College-Youngstown, and Columbus State 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 Urbana University, Chancellor University, Kent State, and Cleveland State.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Ursuline College and National College-Youngstown.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Wilberforce University, Chancellor University, Cleveland Institute of Electronics, and The University of Findlay.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Franklin, Ursuline College, Ashland University, and Tri-C.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Cleveland Institute of Electronics, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Oberlin, and Wilberforce University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Wilberforce University, Oberlin, Bluffton, and Cedarville University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Oberlin, Case Western Reserve, Ohio State, and Cedarville University.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Wilberforce University, Oberlin, and Notre Dame College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Oberlin, Case Western Reserve, Marietta, and Cedarville University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Ohio State University • Columbus, OH
Studying Criminology And History (completion in 2011)
• 7/6/2011
"I'm happy with my education and the results I've seen so far. I'm also satisfied because of the network I was able to build while there."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | There is a lot of opportunity to learn and prepare for a career in any sub-field of systems development without even majoring in it. My majors also were challenging and I learned a lot. It was a great experience. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I'm not exactly sure how it rates. This just seems to be a fair rating based on the quality of education/school name recognition/people I knew. |
| Program Quality | 9 | They have endless numbers of classes to learn computer programming even if it wasn't my major |
| Instruction | 9 | The curriculum was challenging and they always talked about post-college preparations. The school is very active in notifying students of job fairs and career opportunities. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There was a lot of reading and paper writing. There was also a lot of homework and it would take significant amounts of time to complete. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It really depends on the class and professor. My experience was a fair mix of the two. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | There are classes at almost anytime of the day. They also have many online classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | There are many libraries, computer labs, etc. Software is made available to us to help complete coursework. |
| Social Life | 10 | It's the biggest school in the country. There are a ton of parties and school spirit is through the roof. |
| Placement Services | 8 | There is an entire office dedicated to just this. Each college within OSU has a department for this as well. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | The OSU alumni association is one of the biggest networks of college alumni in the world. They have groups all around the world that help with networking and supporting OSU. |
Cleveland State University • Cleveland, OH
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2006)
• 7/14/2011
"I liked the overall experience. I also feel that the university has added value to my life."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I feel that the university definitely prepares it's students well to face the job market. It will make the students quite confident & competitive. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Computer Science is definitely one of the most sought after majors at this university. And this university is ranked among the top 100 for this major. |
| Program Quality | 8 | It has some of the best faculty. It offers the latest, up to date courses. |
| Instruction | 8 | |
| How Difficult | 6 | Some of the courses are definitely quite challenging, but they were made easy with the help of the professor’s and some hard work. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The course work that was provided was totally hands-on by having equal emphasis on lab work. Some of the projects/exercises make the students think outside the box. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | The school offers flexible course hours to accommodate working professionals. It also offers courses throughout the year (spring, fall & summer) for full time/part time students. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The university has some of the best facilities like computer labs, libraries, and study spaces. It also has on site tutors throughout the day with flexible hours. |
| Social Life | 8 | The school had various groups for all kind of students with different interests (local, non-local, international) which organize a lot of social gatherings, parties. etc. The school also has very good basketball & baseball teams. |
| Placement Services | 9 | The school is very active in organizing job fairs every semester. Many local & national companies participate and choose their prospective candidates. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | We have a very good alumni group/network. There is an online website where the alumni can stay in touch, find information, communicate with others, organize/attend events, etc. |
Cedarville University • Cedarville, OH
Studying Information Systems (completion in 2010)
• 7/15/2011
"My professors were excellent and the resources made available to me were top of the line. After graduating, I not only had a job very quickly, I have already, after less than a year, been promoted to a mid-level position."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would greatly recommend not only my school, but also Professor Delano. Between the two pieces of this puzzle, I was excellently prepared for the working world. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | Where it is known, Cedarville has a great reputation for anyone who has graduated from there, in any field. However, Cedarville is rather small, and once you get beyond the mid-west, few people have heard of it. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I actually packed 4 years of my major into two, having changed majors on the way, but Cedarville was a challenging and rewarding experience. On graduation, I was skilled in not only programming, but also management of source control systems and I had a solid amount of business-related training as well. |
| Instruction | 8 | While working through school, I worked with the latest technology, used the latest programming languages, and felt very prepared for the work force ahead. However, the technical field changes so rapidly that independent self-study is a must for anyone in this field. |
| How Difficult | 6 | I have a rather natural knack for programming, so perhaps my evaluation is a bit skewed, but I found the challenge of my program of study slightly higher than average, and thus satisfying. However, in comparison to the majors that some of my friends were part of, it seemed easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | While we worked out of books to get the basics of a new concept, as soon as we finished going over the new topic, we went straight to trying it out ourselves. Additionally, the teaching staff made a direct effort to make our work as real-world related as possible, including our Senior Project being an actual project with a real customer. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | Unfortunately, Cedarville's IS program is very small, and so there is typically only one class of each major-related subject taught per semester. However, this works out nicely as all the other classes that you have to fit in are very flexible, including summer and online options. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Cedarville has a tremendous academic support system, ranging from paid tutors to free study sessions with professors. As a rule, professors make a point to be very accessible to their students, allowing walk-in appointments whenever one needs help. In addition, their technology level is top notch. I was able to work with all the latest tech while in school. |
| Social Life | 8 | Cedarville is a rather spirited school and has a lot going on almost all the time. However, I tended to prefer a smaller social group of friends and thus didn't take part in most of them. |
| Placement Services | 5 | Cedarville purports a very skilled career services program and technically has a high placement rating. However, as mentioned previously, I never used it, so I can't place an above average rating upon it. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Cedarville has a rather solid support system for getting you out the door, and you can always fall back on their career services department for help. However, I have never used this and always managed to find my work independently. |
Bowling Green State University • Bowling Green, OH
Studying Computer Science (completion in 1995)
• 10/2/2011
"I'm glad I chose BGSU. They provided me with a strong knowledge base to begin my career and get me to where I am today."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is a great school. The CS program has come a long way since I was there and they crank out some quality CS graduates. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | At my previous job we recruited programmers heavily from BGSU. The employees we got from there were very knowledgeable and well-rounded. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Although BGSU is mostly known to produce Education and Business majors, the CS program provided me with a good all-around computer education. I am satisfied with the knowledge that I received there. |
| Instruction | 9 | The professors were all great at BGSU. The course material was challenging and relevant to my field. |
| How Difficult | 6 | Programming comes naturally to me, so my core classes were fairly easy. It was all the other non-CS classes that were difficult for me. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Back in my day, the only way to do your work was at a computer lab. I recall many, many late nights and weekends in the computer labs, but I don't recall ever reading a CS book. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | I was a full-time, on-campus student, so flexibility wasn't necessary for me. I do recall being in a couple of evening CS classes, though. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The professors were excellent and always available. The computer labs were renovated while I was a student there and were very cutting-edge (for that time period). |
| Social Life | 8 | There was always something to do socially. Although I didn't participate in the majority of university-sponsored events, my friends and I could always find something fun going on. |
| Placement Services | 10 | They did a good job of arranging job fairs and on-campus interviews. My first job started with an on-campus interview. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I do not interact with the BGSU alumni network. Most of my friends and roommates in college were non-CS majors. |
The Ohio State University • Columbus, OH
Studying Computer Science And Engineering (completion in 2010)
• 11/6/2011
"I loved OSU and miss the years I had there. My time there was well spent and has helped me in a million ways for my current job and where I want to be in the future."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | OSU is a great school for any sort of engineering or any education in general. I highly recommend everyone to go. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | OSU is one of the best schools in the nation for all programs. The engineering program here is renowned. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Ohio State provided me with all the tools I needed to succeed in the real world. The program was well suited to working in groups and critical thinking that are crucial to my everyday routines. |
| Instruction | 10 | Goes along with my last answer, but the critical thinking and team work in the program helped prepare me for the real world. OSU was also good at helping undergrads find internships. |
| How Difficult | 8 | I transferred from Ohio University and the difference in material was staggering. OSU was a way harder school. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Depending on the class it could be very book or very hands on. For the most part, a lot of what was taught was theoretical. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | There are classes provided all times of the year. I never had an issue with classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | OSU provided labs all around campus as well as a lab dedicated entirely to CSE majors. The school was always upgrading and keeping up with technology. |
| Social Life | 10 | The social life was great at OSU. It is a huge academic school but also a huge football school, so the sports were also great. |
| Placement Services | 10 | There is an engineer career services department that is very good at helping students find internships. They also offer courses and resume reviews to help students present themselves. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | I still receive emails from various departments and have had no trouble keeping up with people. |
University Of Cincinnati • Cincinnati, OH
Studying Computer Science (completion in 2010)
• 1/22/2012
"I am satisfied with my school, though it could help more with job placement."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It gives you a nice foundation with proper practical knowledge. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | It's among one of the top 15 schools in the country. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The different projects the school offers are very relevant and helpful to gain knowledge in this particular field. |
| Instruction | 8 | Professors were very helpful and the course structure was very appropriate. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Nothing is difficult if someone works hard. I devoted sufficient time to my program. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Professors believe in practical knowledge. So along with book learning there were sufficient practical applications. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Class schedules are very flexible. Students get time to work on their projects and assignments. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | |
| Social Life | 8 | Students get a chance to mix up with seniors and juniors through college parties and social events. |
| Placement Services | 6 | The school should concentrate more on the placement of students in better jobs. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | We have a proper network where the students as well as the newcomers can post their queries. |
ITT TECH • Norwood, OH
Studying Web Development (completion in 2002)
• 1/23/2012
"Lacked an overall focus on preparing the student. The extreme cost did not merit the outcome."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I would recommend going to a traditional college for anyone wanting to be a programmer/developer. I feel that they would get a better overall experience that way. |
| Program Reputation | 1 | Bad reputation in general in my field. There was a class action lawsuit against ITT, which resulted in a lot of negative PR. |
| Program Quality | 3 | A whole lot of unnecessary book learning. I wish there were more practical application classes and labs. |
| Instruction | 5 | Some of the professors were actually working in the field. They helped prepare me for the job market. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The math was the only challenging thing. The rest of the courses were all easy A's. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Needs to be more hands on work. Practical application labs are the best for learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Schedule was set in stone. There were a few professors that would have after hours meetings and study groups. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facilities were great. The labs and equipment were well above average. |
| Social Life | Commuter school... no social activities. Made some good friends in the classes and hung out with them some. | |
| Placement Services | 4 | They try... but... there are just not enough jobs out there for the amount of people. Maybe they could use more social networking. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I had a job where I was in charge of hiring. I went to my old school to recruit new hires and they didn't have a program in place. |
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