Need some advice from parents.

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Hey guys, I am currently at a 2 year community college (computer information systems major) and am looking to transfer out to a 4 year college. I have 2 options:</p>

<p>1) New York University (McGhee MIS Major) - which is a undergraduate program for adults
2) CUNY Baruch College (CIS Major)</p>

<p>Is a degree from McGhee as prestigious (to employers) as a degree from any of the other schools at NYU? The difference in price is astronomical. Baruch would grant me a traditional BBA and McGhee a BS, However I am skeptical of how the McGhee degree will be seen (as inferior to say a degree from Baruch.) Is a degree from the school of continuing and professional studies as noteworthy as a degree from a traditional undergraduate program?</p>

<p>I’d prefer to go to NYU. I am just curious as to what would be the better investment. I am willing to take the loans and go to NYU, but I am not sure if programs such as this and others are as good as traditional undergraduate programs.</p>

<p>Thanks for any help.</p>

2

<p>I don’t think it matters whether your degree is a BA or a BS. I would think that if you get a degree from NYU, you would just put NYU on your resume, not go into detail about what school within NYU granted it. </p>

<p>I took a couple of assembler classes at NYU School of Continuing Ed in the 80s–does anyone have any idea what assembler is these days? <g>–and was also hiring (technical writers) in that era. I don’t think I would have perceived any particular difference in prestige between those two programs. I do know that Chubb’s intensive program was perceived as a good source of programming talent among employers in the area. If employability is your major concern, I would suggest calling a few IT headhunters and asking them. If you can make contact with a manager or two of the sort that you hope will eventually hire you, their advice would be helpful also. </g></p>

<p>I’d also look into the job placement efforts of the programs, and their relative success.</p>

3

<p>“I’d also look into the job placement efforts of the programs, and their relative success.”</p>

<p>I’d make the key in the decision. After your first job, it is more about what you do than where you went. Find out where they are placing their graduates, type of jobs, percentages who are placed in the profession. Go into detail. Does your profession require graduate school to really get ahead? A lot more do now. If so where are they sending graduates? That should be key to their reputations.</p>

4

<p>For CIS major, if you have some relevant experience and decent GPA, what school you attend would matter perhaps little. Choose the school that has co-op or intership opportunities and go after them. It’s what we’re looking at candidates during the hiring process. I don’t recall school being a factor at all. Probably folks in consulting world do care about the prestige, but I left there years ago.</p>

5

<p>Great advice from the folks above, but perhaps I can offer some advice. There are a few factors in the decision that nobody had mentioned:

  1. Networking. I have a feeling at the continuing ed program, the student body might not be all it’s cracked up to be. The networking opportunities are limited in this type of environment. The classes are extremely small, the age group varies, and it may be hard to relate to some of these people. Many have families and full time jobs, and networking may be limited. I would try to speak to a few students at each school and see what the atmosphere is like. It’s not what you know it’s who you know.</p>

<p>2) Education goes to NYU hands down. I am not sure about the quality of professor’s at McGhee, but overall NYU offers a great education. </p>

<p>3) Advice from a local. Baruch is very well respected in NYC. It is not up to par with NYU Stern, but it is perhaps the second best business program in NYC. It is big, has very successful alumni, is very affordable, and offers many internships and opportunities. </p>

<p>4) Personally, I would make the decision based on what learning environment you would do best in. Baruch classes are going to be quite large, and personal attention is not something guaranteed. At NYU McGhee I can imagine that various life experiences and small class sizes may give it the edge.</p>

<p>5) However, I think age should play a big deciding factor in this. Baruch undergraduate students are typically 18-25 in age. How old are you? If you are within this age group Baruch would give you a lot of opportunity to make new friends and network. I can only imagine it would be far more difficult at age 30+, giving NYU McGhee the edge. </p>

<p>6) Relevant to major, New York University takes the cake. I have many friends at Baruch and NYU. CIS at Baruch is one of the lesser popular programs. Accounting, real estate and Finance seem to be the major players. NYU has many graduate programs in MIS. Including Stern, ITP (interactive telecommunications program) at Tisch. More professors and more students in these disciplines is going to help you. </p>

<p>Wherever you go, it is important to learn the schools advantages and disadvantages and adjust accordingly. I think you are in a good position, where you have the opportunity to attend two very good schools in NYC and are not blindsighted by prestige, as many tend to be. A McGhee degree will be fine. </p>

<p>Your resume will state:
Education:
Bachelors of Science in Management Information Systems
New York University 20XX’</p>