If you plan on getting your associate degree in computer software & applications, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #54 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 6 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of computer software & applications. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 306 associate degrees in computer software & applications during the 2022-2023 academic year.
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Choosing a Great Computer Software & Applications School for Your Associate Degree
The computer software associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to computer software & applications students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - How many other computer software & applications students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How easy is it for computer software & applications to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized computer software & applications related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for computer software & applications students working on their associate degree.
More Ways to Rank Computer Software & Applications Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Computer Software & Applications Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Learn the applied programming skills needed to fill in-demand tech roles when you earn your online AS in Computer Science at Southern New Hampshire University.
Pittsburgh Technical College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in computer software & applications. Located in the suburb of Oakdale, Pittsburgh Technical College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Students who graduate with their associate from the computer software program report average early career wages of $25,671.
Hudson Valley Community College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in computer software & applications. HVCC is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Troy.
Students who graduate with their associate from the computer software program state that they receive average early career wages of $24,099.
It is difficult to beat Harrisburg Area Community College if you want to pursue an associate degree in computer software & applications. HACC is a fairly large public college located in the small city of Harrisburg.
Those computer software & applications students who get their associate degree from Harrisburg Area Community College receive $11,132 more than the standard computer software graduate.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
by our College Data Analytics Team
The computer software associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
