DeVry: Worth it? - Page 3 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

FanIn80 · 07-13-2009, 02:43 PM

Edit: On second thought, too much info I think.

My only point was that a lack of High School is limiting my eligibility with the different schools. I have to go the Mature Student route, and some schools have harder requirements than others. I'm fine with math and basic algebra, but I looked at the Math exam for SAIT and it was straight out of Math 30. There's no way I'd be able to pass that right now.

So, then I started looking at getting my High School first, etc. That's when I started looking at DeVry... I wrote their entrance exams last week and completely aced them, including the algebra portions.

So I know I'll be able to attend DeVry starting this Sept (which fits my needs)... this is why I created this thread. To find out about the quality of the education and the reputation of the school.

FanIn80 · 07-13-2009, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llama64

SAIT gets public funding, our taxes pay for it. Devry gets far less public money (if they get any). Plus, SAIT is locally supported by the industry and fairly well respected. To me, it was a no brainer. Both institutions offer similar programs taught by industry experienced professional, but one is half the price and has no stigma - well cept that University taught employers will always choose a Computer Science major over you. Usually to their detriment, but I digress...

Either route will get you to where you want if you want it to so don't fret about wasting anything. Just pick the program that you think suits you better.

Yeah, I'm not too worried about the expenses. I don't mind a 50k tuition cost, if it adds 20k to my annual salary.

Pastiche · 07-13-2009, 03:25 PM

Lie about completing your high school education. Nobody will check.

FanIn80 · 07-13-2009, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pastiche

Lie about completing your high school education. Nobody will check.

Universities and Colleges check.

Pastiche · 07-13-2009, 03:28 PM

Well if that's the case then your first step is completing your high school equivalency, asap.

4X4 · 07-13-2009, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Universities and Colleges check.

At what point does high school become irrelevant? I'm 30 and have my high school diploma (and it's even one of those shiny "Advanced" ones) but would any post secondary institution care about what I learned 12-15 years ago? If I were a person that accepted or rejected applicants to a school, the minute I saw the age of the person, I'd be less concerned with their high school education and more concerned with their life experience. Then again, I don't even know what a university application looks like, but I assume it's sorta like a job application where you have to tell them what your plan is and why you want to come to their school. True or not true?

FanIn80 · 07-13-2009, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4X4

At what point does high school become irrelevant? I'm 30 and have my high school diploma (and it's even one of those shiny "Advanced" ones) but would any post secondary institution care about what I learned 12-15 years ago? If I were a person that accepted or rejected applicants to a school, the minute I saw the age of the person, I'd be less concerned with their high school education and more concerned with their life experience. Then again, I don't even know what a university application looks like, but I assume it's sorta like a job application where you have to tell them what your plan is and why you want to come to their school. True or not true?

You're required to produce official High School transcripts proving your completion of the required courses. If you are unable to do so, you can apply as a "Mature Student" but you are still required to prove your ability to meet the entrance requirements.

In my case, this means Math and English 30. I have no problem with the English side, but I don't have anywhere near the level of knowledge required to pass a 30-level entrance exam in Math.

4X4 · 07-13-2009, 04:03 PM

I passed math 30 12 years ago with a mark in the high 80s (IIRC) but I highly doubt I'd even pass the test today, much less get a mark in the 80s.

photon · 07-13-2009, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

So, then I started looking at getting my High School first, etc. That's when I started looking at DeVry... I wrote their entrance exams last week and completely aced them, including the algebra portions.

I used to TA, and I had to watch the entrance exams a few times, just keep an eye on things and make sure they don't cheat.. which people did!

I was amazed. If you have to cheat on the entrance exam to DeVry, well there's not much hope.

JustAnotherGuy · 07-13-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4X4

I passed math 30 12 years ago with a mark in the high 80s (IIRC) but I highly doubt I'd even pass the test today, much less get a mark in the 80s.

How can I say this properly without offending you. U... Oh forget it. The point would be lost. Carry on.

FanIn80 · 07-13-2009, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

I used to TA, and I had to watch the entrance exams a few times, just keep an eye on things and make sure they don't cheat.. which people did!

I was amazed. If you have to cheat on the entrance exam to DeVry, well there's not much hope.

Yeah, it was remarkably easy. When the luster of passing a "University entrance exam" faded, I started to think about how easy it was. Another reason I started to worry about the quality of the school.

I feel better after reading your comments on how it ramps up in the third year, though.

4X4 · 07-13-2009, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustAnotherGuy

How can I say this properly without offending you. U... Oh forget it. The point would be lost. Carry on.

Hey! If I left myself subject to a joke, I damn well want to be ridiculed. State your case.

TheyCallMeBruce · 07-13-2009, 04:14 PM

I'm a devry grad, and I had no problems getting a job upon graduation. I now work for a very good technology company and I am also the operations manager for several of their accounts.

FanIn80 · 07-13-2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4X4

I passed math 30 12 years ago with a mark in the high 80s (IIRC) but I highly doubt I'd even pass the test today, much less get a mark in the 80s.

Tell me about it. I could have graduated with the Class of 92, and would be laughing all the way to a decent U of C education right now.

Don't get me wrong, I can still go the high school upgrading -> university route now... but I'm already 34, and I'm really just looking to add a formal degree to my existing resume. If I can do this with three years at DeVry instead of five years at UofC...

Kerplunk · 07-13-2009, 04:30 PM

Like llama said, programming is more about the principles behind good software design, not the actual languages themselves. Unfortunately, while most places can instruct you on what good design is, I have found that many have problems putting it into practice.

The same basically applies to programming languages; once you learn the theory about the structure, the rest comes fairly easy. One instructor I had said a good programmer should be able to pick up any language in a few weeks, and I've found this holds true.

In our office we have a SAIT grad (myself), a DeVry grad, a few from UofC, and the rest from Universities Eastern Canada and China. While we all have decent coding skills, it is usually myself, the DeVry grad, and one or two of the guys from China that do the bulk of the major design and reviews. It isn’t a matter of level of education, its more about experience and the ability to look at a requirements and seeing how it all fits together. The same goes for hiring; we look for people that can do the work, regardless of education.

When I did SAIT, it taught decent skills for design, documentation, and management that was, in many respects, more hands on than UofC courses (my brother did that one. Might be able to get comments out of him here). While it did lack the amount of theory the UofC gives, most of what I have learned has been on the job. Even the courses I am taking through Athabasca University right now (upgrade to a degree) really only supplement what I am doing at work, not really teaching me whole new concepts.

And doing your own projects, or helping an open source one, on the side is a great way to learn and test out new techniques without the threat of blowing up an internationally used application. SourceForge.net is a good place to start.

FanIn80 · 07-13-2009, 04:37 PM

^^ Awesome stuff. Thanks, I'm feeling better now.

Ultimately, it's all about learning the principles and what i do with them afterwards. I was getting pretty caught up in making sure they taught the right languages, and they had the right reputation, etc.

Really, it's all about just learning how do do things properly and then expending on that afterwards.

photon · 07-13-2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

I feel better after reading your comments on how it ramps up in the third year, though.

It did for us anyway, not sure about CIS. By the end of it we were doing math that made Math 30 look like kids stuff.

It's not like you won't learn anything, it's just a question of if you will get something comparable to the alternatives.

I knew a guy that went to do his Masters after DeVry and as has been mentioned it was hit and miss... some courses he had to do over, some he could test out of.. some he aced the test, some he ended up having to take the course.

photon · 07-13-2009, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4X4

I passed math 30 12 years ago with a mark in the high 80s (IIRC) but I highly doubt I'd even pass the test today, much less get a mark in the 80s.

That's how it goes, if you don't use it it gets lost..

There's no way I could do a Fourier analysis or inverse Laplace transforms..

Been too long.

Swayze11 · 07-13-2009, 04:48 PM

I just asked 2 of my managers and they ranked Calgary's schools of who they would hire:
U of C
MRC
SAIT
Devry

My old manager said this: "Devry is ranked very low in industry, I am not sure why but I would probably hire a UofC or MRC grad over a Devry. Experience is probably more key then where you went to school"

My current manager said: "I would hire a U of C grad over a Devry grad. I am sure Devry grads would be good programmers but I value theory more then technical aspects. I have hired 3 Devry grads before, 1 was really good and smart but the other 2 were awful"

take it for what its worth.

4X4 · 07-13-2009, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

That's how it goes, if you don't use it it gets lost..

There's no way I could do a Fourier analysis or inverse Laplace transforms..

Been too long.

Even more amazing is that stuff I learned when I was older is so much more easy to forget. At least I can still remember alot of the trivia and even alot of the french I learned in grade school, but most of the italian I learned by immersion a couple years ago is getting forgotten really fast. The weird part is that when I'm drunk, it all comes back to me. I wonder if I could do math equasions if I were drunk... Only one way to find out...