After narrowing my search down to a few schools, I am close to beginning my BS in Information Technology program for Umass Lowell. I am just working on financial aid and private loans now, you know...the fun stuff. Anyway, I'd like to hear from any grads or current students regarding their experiences at Lowell. I have heard from a few people and they had all positive comments. One particular thing I am curious about is exams. As I do live within driving distance of the school, would it make the most sense to go there to take exams? What is the exam taking protocol if you don't live nearby? Thanks! Matt
That wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but thanks for the tip. Not sure how impacted I will be by parking as these will be online classes.
I will be attending there soon hopefully. I've been at it since December and I'm still not ready to go. If you do a search here, you'll find that the only bad part with UMASS is getting enrolled, after that it's ok. The only other drawbacks I've seen so far are the price and they may be having some sort of shakeup in their school system. Personally, I'll pay the extra money and spend the extra time to get enrolled at a school with a decent name and program.
I just completed my first year with them. I would give UML a C+ at this point, and I would call that generous. Pros: School name, small classes, good curriculums, pretty laidback teachers who are accomodating in a lot of cases. Cons: Major, major overhaul needed in the entire process IMO- from registering, to online layout, to choice of teachers, to the way the classes are conducted. Getting help on the phone from administration has been a consistent nightmare- consider yourself lucky if you don't talk with 5 people before you find someone who cares about your issue. The big problem is that everything feels very disorganized as a whole and, regarding classes, each teacher does their own thing so there is no continuity (you'll see what I mean here). Out of 5 classes I've taken, I would call 2 well put together with good instructors, 1 was so-so, and 2 were simply terrible. The bottom line is that while I like the school and will continue there, it is very surprising to me that they are considered one of the elite of online eductation- I haven't seen that in any way. I see plenty of potential but so far no effort to improve anything, while continuing to raise the already-high tuition every semester.
Thanks for your input. It is very disconcerting for me to hear this, as well as being in direct contrast to the opinions from other students I've heard from. In fact, two students have personally given me a very positve and detailed account of their experiences at UML. As I am already well into this and will be starting this fall, I will just have to judge for myself. Some other students did mention that getting started was the hardest part. While I haven't registered for classes yet, everything else has been going smoothly. I'm sorry to hear about your experiences though. Out of curiosity, what program are you enrolled in? Any classes I should avoid?
mine is simply one experience. Judge it for yourself. I just wanted to prepare you a bit as I had heard nothing but glowing reviews and it hasn't lived up to that- if you're expecting the organization, staff, etc. of a regular college you may be disappointed. NOT saying it is not a good school, and I can't compare it to other online campuses as this is my first. I'm enrolled in the BSIS program.
