Devry / ITT students and Grads.. Opinions / comments please?

I'm considering Devry and ITT as a source for an IT-related BS degree (as well as WGU), and I'm sure others who are on (or will find) this forum are as well.

Can current and former students please chime in with their experiences at these schools? Pros / Cons, Likes / Dislikes, etc?

I understand that you can find this info in a search (and I have), but it would be nice to have a thread dedicated to it. (perhaps STICKY-ed... WGU has a sticky, why not Devry and ITT?)

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Comments

zerglings

While I agree that what you put into your education is more important than anything else, I still believe that DeVry does not offer great education for the money that they're asking. As mentioned, I am also a DeVry graduate and received Latin honor (Summa Cum Laude). While, I did all the required exams, homework, online discussions, and etc I wasn't necessarily putting my all into it but still managed to get As from all my classes except one which I totally missed the deadline one week of online discussions and homework; thus, receiving a grade that was .0X short to be rounded off to A. You see, if I went to a tier 1 or 2 college around the area, I really don't think I'll graduate with Summa Cum Laude because of the fact that I am not that smart to be one of the top graduates.

My experience may have been limited to their online and the campus I went to but that's what my experience was and I am just sharing it to all the readers that are considering going to DeVry. If you have an option to go to a better school then go for it. It doesn't matter if it is more expensive than DeVry. It'll soon pay off if you do it right. I knew someone who was trying to get me to his company but there were candidates that went to a better school and one of them was from RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) and he was the one who got interviewed and got hired. RIT is one of the universities that I actually want to go to for my Masters. If only I win the lotto, I'll be able to afford to go to grad school. *sighs*

petedude

phantasm wrote: »

I'm a DeVry student and will say that I have my reservations. However it does hold an accreditation and is also accredited by ABET for it's engineering programs. Google shows this:

Accredited by The Higher Learning Commission | DeVry University

Yes it is a for profit school, feel however you want about it but the rep the school has is both deserved and undeserved.

In this respect, you've definitely got a point. At least DeVry is regionally accredited, where ITT only has national accreditation-- and by a career school accrediting agency at that. These two really shouldn't be lumped together.

1MeanAdmin

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

Any moron can go to a state University and get a degree, in my opinion.

ANY degree - Yes. CIS (an a few others) - No. For one reason or another, you did not graduate from a state school to know this. In my opinion, of course.

thenjduke

I will write about my experience at Devry. I have taken 4 courses there and I have to say my professors I had for specialize classes for my Degree knew their stuff. I did have to say that you really need to apply yourself and learn on your own then working with professors. I did like the school but started to ask myself since I am self studying for Cisco certifications and pretty much doing the self pace routine at Devry why am I paying so much money to the school. I looked into WGU and figure since I am learning on my own I might as well make it inexpensive. The exams and test that I had at Devry were hard but not impossible. I just could not get over the price. The staff I dealt with during admissions and financial aid was very helpful and considerate. I also attending University of Phoenix and let me tell you never will I deal with them. They are horrible.

MeanDrunkR2D2

1MeanAdmin wrote: »

ANY degree - Yes. CIS (an a few others) - No. For one reason or another, you did not graduate from a state school to know this. In my opinion, of course.

I've worked with plenty of people who graduated from that state college and I know for a fact that there are many who don't know jack. Are there some who do? Of course, but there were far more who didn't have a clue.

My problem with the state school was the slow rate that you were taught. I'm sure you had more than one person that always sat in the back of the room, rarely participated, and you wondered how they ever got their degree.

1MeanAdmin

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

I've worked with plenty of people who graduated from that state college and I know for a fact that there are many who don't know jack. Are there some who do? Of course, but there were far more who didn't have a clue.

My problem with the state school was the slow rate that you were taught. I'm sure you had more than one person that always sat in the back of the room, rarely participated, and you wondered how they ever got their degree.

I can only speak for my state/city school, but no, I didn't see anyone like this in CIS major. Those who don't keep up and don't want to drop out, end up choosing another major, mostly in arts. Depends on the school, I guess.

Max1gk

for those that are enrolled in any DeVry IT programs,or that graduated from there especially from New Jersey : do you know if DeVry recognize IT certifications and to which extent? the certifications would be the following ones:

A+ ; Network+; Security+; CCNA; CWNA; CWSP; 70-680; 70-686

QHalo

I'm finishing up at DeVry, Technical Management like someone else in this thread as well, and it has been very easy to maintain A's in my classes. But honestly I want the degree done. I don't think that many of these classes could have taught me what 11 years of working in the IT field have taught me about management. Most of the classes are just refreshers and some of them even apply to my daily work grind which is nice. Would I go here if I could do it over again? Eh, maybe not but like others have said there are people that have attended very nice schools, have a load of debt and have nothing to show or are no more knowledgeable. You get what you put in, and honestly I just want to be done.

I'm more concerned with getting into a place and getting them to help pay for my Masters degree which I think is 100x more important that where you did your undergrad. I do work with the snobs who think that if you didn't attend a state school that you're not worth anything. I've found that generally those people that worry about where you went to school are the ones who are make those schools look less enticing to graduate from.

RomBUS

I would say my education at DeVry was fair, I would say I would get the same level (maybe more at another school but not important in the direction I wanted to go in) in any other college. Yes I agree with the cost of the school...it got rediculous as it got closer to graduation day. But it gave me a basic foundation and I was able to get my foot in the door through them so I am thankful for that. Also I love how quick you dove into your major and not worry so much about liberal arts. I say if you know what you want to do and what direction you want to go in IT then this is perfect. Some of the best in the industry and knowledgable professors I met there (not all of course but a handful)

SirPaulGerman

I just don't get why people enroll in Devry , ITT , or even Phoenix , is way more expensive than a traditional college , they have a really bad reputation , companies don't respect those degrees etc .
State Universities are the way to go if you want a real education , in the other hand if you want a fast degree just to say that I finish my degree go for it .

N2IT

I personally would consider going to a respected community college, one that has a union with a 4 years university then transfer that associates into a bachelors program. You will save yourself 30 years of hell, for the loans you will have to pay off. The amount of money it cost to go to those schools is insane. I would rather go to a community college and owe maybe 9 grand than get a 4 years degree from ITT or DeVry and owe 60,000.

With that said, I hear their education is hit or miss. I think a large part of it is what you put into it.

veritas_libertas

SirPaulGerman wrote: »

I just don't get why people enroll in Devry , ITT , or even Phoenix , is way more expensive than a traditional college , they have a really bad reputation , companies don't respect those degrees etc .
State Universities are the way to go if you want a real education , in the other hand if you want a fast degree just to say that I finish my degree go for it .

It's not just about speed, it's difficult if not impossible to attend a state university when it requires that you take certain classes only during the day. Sorry, that doesn't work for the TE members that work full time.

I completely agree with you about the outrageous cost of Devry, Phoenix, and ITT.

SirPaulGerman

There are many universities that offer programs online , and I am not talking about crappy schools , when i was station in Camp Pendleton (California) I went to Park University , they have an office on base and they offer on line classes and lecture classes , Park University location is in MO , they also have Central Texas College , Central Michigan University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University , is like everything else , do a proper research , you dont have to die with Devry , ITT or Phoenix , my wife is going to WGU so far I can complain, is real hard , and WGU is a real university , ask a real professor (Phd ), their opinion about Devry , ITT , Phoenix and post on the board so we can have some fun

veritas_libertas

SirPaulGerman wrote: »

There are many universities that offer programs online , and I am not talking about crappy schools , when i was station in Camp Pendleton (California) I went to Park University , they have an office on base and they offer on line classes and lecture classes , Park University location is in MO , they also have Central Texas College , Central Michigan University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University , is like everything else , do a proper research , you dont have to die with Devry , ITT or Phoenix , my wife is going to WGU so far I can complain, is real hard , and WGU is a real university , ask a real professor (Phd ), their opinion about Devry , ITT , Phoenix and post on the board so we can have some fun

Sounds like most of your locations are university towns. Try being from a smaller city and you will understand. One of the programs I was planning on joining when I moved to Greenville, SC was a Network Security degree from the University of South Carolina. It was a nice degree but there wasn't enough interest. I agree it's changing, but not everywhere. On the other hand they did just make an Informatics degree available during the evening.

edit: I didn't read very closely. They make all of those universities available??? Very impressive!

SirPaulGerman

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Sounds like most of your locations are university towns. Try being from a smaller city and you will understand. One of the programs I was planning on joining when I moved to Greenville, SC was a Network Security degree from the University of South Carolina. It was a nice degree but there wasn't enough interest. I agree it's changing, but not everywhere. On the other hand they did just make an Informatics degree available during the evening.

Check Park University , maybe it will fit your goals

eansdad

Personally I wouldn't go to a for-profit online school for IT, they cost to much. I have friends that have graduated from DeVry, UofP, Strayer and Kaplan some are really good and others aren't. Such is the way of any school "you get out what you put in". I also don't put much faith in community schools unless you going for liberal arts to get gen-eds out of the way for a 4year program. I've seen to many adjuncts that don't know anything about what they are teaching. Drove me nuts while I was in community college and caused a lot of arguments between the instructor and myself and a lot of dropped classes because I feel when you take a class you should be learning something. The thing is usually your degree will be a check mark. Unless your degree is from a none accredited school or from a known diploma factory where it is from isn't going to matter. There are extremes to this as the more "elite" the company the more they might favor certain schools or disfavor others.

Work hard and learn as much as you can and it won't matter as much as you'd think.

veritas_libertas

SirPaulGerman wrote: »

Check Park University , maybe it will fit your goals

I'm already attending a non-profit. My only reason for jumping in is that I can understand why some folks choose the Devry/Phoenix option.

NetworkingStudent

veritas_libertas wrote: »

I'm already attending a non-profit. My only reason for jumping in is that I can understand why some folks choose the Devry/Phoenix option.

I went to a school similar to Devry and ITT tech . The reason I went to a for profit school was because, I was working 12 hour shifts and It was hard to find IT classes that accommodated my schedule. The cost is outrageous and the quality of education in my opinion isn’t that much better than a community college, or a technical 2 year college. Some problems include:

Most for profit have non regional accredited degrees. Most community colleges have regional accredited degrees. The regional accredited colleges won’t take your credits!! Trust me I tried!
• Most community and state colleges are at least half or more cheaper than for profit colleges.
• The weeks you are in school for a for profit school are typically 12 weeks instead of standard 16 weeks. If you decide to go to a community, state, and technical colleges, they will question the courses you took at the for profit school. Also, 98% of the time it’s hard to validate your degree or education when you apply at a regional accredited school.
• The cost is insane and when I was going to school the price kept going up every year, but there wasn’t an increase in the quality of education.
• They drop classes if no one signs up for classes…I don’t mean just drop, but they altogether get rid of that class forever. For example, we had Cisco classes dropped and an internship for IT class dropped because of lack of interest.
• Yes, it’s very easy to get an “A”…often I felt the instructors jobs depended on how many students passed his or her class.
• The scheduling is a lie because they claim to have flexible classes, but the classes rotate to each of the different campuses. Eventually you need to take classes based on their scheduling and not yours. Ultimately this made to feel more like a community , technical, or state college.
• The Biggest problem is that you’re trapped there and not informed. You will have to return their to get your bachelors if they’re Not regionally accredited.

On a side note I called WGU and they would not take any of my credits from my associates from my for profit school, based on the accreditation.

The funniest part well my instructor wanted copies of my certifications to show someone not sure who… that the school’s students are certified. I was one of the few students that I and he knew that was pursuing certifications. Most students didn't care , or they didn't have the money , time or care aobut certifications.

QHalo

Like NS said, it's about your schedule and how it fits in. I sure as hell couldn't attend DePaul, UIC, IIT, or Loyola after getting off work and not fall asleep. So you went to a good school but slept the entire time because you were too tired to stay awake and gain anything. Plus have you looked at the costs associated with those schools? They're as much if not more than DeVry.

Unless you're being recruited out of the school you're attending, I haven't seen a BS make that much of a difference other than HR checking off that you have one. If anything, with everyone pulling in Master's degrees, where you get that from matters more. Besides, I let my work experience speak for me when I apply for a job, not the university I attended.

eansdad

Read This Article
Interesting reading about for-profit colleges and regulations on the number of default loans. For profit schools account for 25% of federal aide but only 10% of the college community....
Also has links to other articles that are interesting reads.

falcon101

Wow. It is dizzying to read some of the posts regrading the value of for-profit schools. I love that some of the posters state that "if you put your effort into it" you will pass?!?! wtf? Isn't that the secret no matter what school you go to.

I recently graduated from DeVry as well. I am already at a good position in my company, have certifications and 10+year of experience but wanted a BSC degree since i need to move up the ladder and it will not happen where i stand now.

I have done the Com college back in 97 and learned absolutely crap. I wanted a more hands on approach and a degree relative to my career rather than a simple CIS degree.

Although i have MS certs but attaining a bachelors was very important me. What DeVry did, and believe me with a high cost, is allowed me to select custom schedule and classes to work around my crazy work schedule. I did both online and on-site. The professors were VERY good With the exception of 1 professor (he took personal calls DURING class *headslap*. But others were IT industry veterans and knew CISCO, MS and other Current and relevant IT technologies and here my friends was the main reason I enjoyed my studies at DeVry.

Let me put this in a simple way, if you are paying $70K for college and do want an easy A and don't want to put a serious effort in your school, NO MATTER WHAT SCHOOL YOU WILL GO TO , YOU WILL FAIL IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE (yes I am yelling)

Thank You!

garv221

You guys are fooling yourselves if you think your traditional university is not for profit. Have you seen tuition rates?

TimTheEnchantor

Sorry for the semi-old thread here:

I am a DeVry grad. I enjoyed my time there. I had labs. My education was very "general" in regard to technical skills but I really didn't join to be specific. That is what certifications are for. I joined to get my degree and hopefully use that to springboard into a career.

It worked for me. But I will tell you this: Hiring managers don't really put focus into where you get your degree. I have spoken directly with the CIO's and IT Manager in my company and all of them say the same thing: certifications and hands-on experience will get you where you want to be. Friends who are in other local companies say the same thing too. Those degrees are your stepping stones.

Getting a degree is playing a mind game with employers. They want to know you can stick to a project (aka degree in this argument) and complete it with satisfactory rates (GPA or Honors).

This is pretty much the going rate for most colleges except the top-notch schools.

One big issue though is cost. I do not like my loans and if I knew what I know now, I would of forgone the stress of DeVry and stayed local.

However, it has worked out for me, in the end, so I can say I am happy. Those who have such a striking opinion on this - I feel don't really look at it from all angles. I am in the tech industry, I am making money. I am doing what I love. So was the cost worth it? Yes. By all means it was. Would I do it again? Maybe, but I'd be more educated about cost.