jmcomicÂþ»­

What Sets This School Apart:

• Barry, a public research university, is in the #1 spot for "Best by Student Reviews," with the highest overall review rating based on real feedback from students who have been there.
• Student reviews collected for this school often mention accessible professors, individualized attention, and mentorship-oriented instruction. This makes sense when you consider Barry's unusually small 7:1 student-faculty ratio.
• Barry consistently ties its online master's-level education to its mission-driven culture, small-class environment, service orientation, and Miami-based professional ecosystem.

What Sets This School Apart:

• K-State's online master's programs are part of a distance education model with more than 50 years of history and over 150 online options across credential levels.
• The university says online students learn from the same award-winning faculty who teach on campus and students always receive the same diploma with no notation showing how courses were delivered.
• K-State’s online master’s options reflect the university’s land-grant and professional identity, with master's programs such as the online Master of Agribusiness.

What Sets This School Apart:

• WFU's high student approval is backed by strong outcomes about its graduates. WFU’s median earnings reach $114,884, which places it among the top 10% of schools nationwide.
• Its 89% graduation rate puts it among the top 2% of schools, and its 93% retention rate places it in the top 5%, which tells you many students not only enroll, but stay engaged and finish.
• The School of Business at WFU highlights a portfolio of master's degrees online with clear distinctions according to audience, career stage, and professional goals.

What Sets This School Apart:

• The VT Online hub lists master’s options in areas such as aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, nuclear engineering, ocean engineering, systems engineering, information technology, natural resources, public administration, political science, agricultural and applied economics, and an MBA. That mix illustrates a graduate identity steeped in engineering, technology, public service, natural resources, and applied systems thinking.
• Its 86% graduation rate and 93% retention rate are among the strongest in this ranking, while its incredibly high review rating and recommendation rate show that students report solid satisfaction overall.

What Sets This School Apart:

• Georgia Tech reports more than 21,000 online master’s enrollments annually.
• The school's online master's degree portfolio is concentrated heavily in high-demand technical and quantitative fields, including computer science, analytics, cybersecurity, aerospace engineering, industrial engineering, operations research, electrical and computer engineering, systems engineering, and mechanical engineering.
• Georgia Tech’s median earnings figure among graduates is among the strongest in the entire ranking at $142,961. (And that's just a few years after graduation!)

What Sets This School Apart:

• TWU's online graduate portfolio goes deep into applied health, education, family, library science, and women-centered leadership fields. These online master's programs are for working adults, helping professionals, educators, health practitioners, and students interested in gender, family, and community-focused fields.
• The catalog distinguishes between 100% online and hybrid programs and includes program-specific notes, such as Texas residency requirements for the MS in Speech-Language Pathology and sign-language competency expectations for the MS in Education of the Deaf.

What Sets This School Apart:

• UVA’s online offerings span the School of Engineering and Applied Science, School of Data Science, School of Education and Human Development, McIntire School of Commerce, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and Darden School of Business. That means those offerings are tied to recognizable schools within UVA rather than folded into a generic “online master’s” brand.
• UVA posts a 96% graduation rate and a 98% retention rate, both among the strongest in this ranking, alongside median earnings exceeding $134,000 for graduates. These are rare metrics not just on this list but across the site of OnlineU.

What Sets This School Apart:

• Clemson’s online master's degrees have a distinct professional orientation in education, health, youth development, and applied professional fields. Online master’s options include programs in literacy, special education, public health, learning sciences, educational leadership, teaching and learning, youth development leadership, medical device reprocessing, and multiple teacher-preparation pathways.
• Reviewers reiterate that Clemson is supportive, community-oriented, and career-connected, with approachable professors, strong alumni ties, practical learning opportunities, and flexible online options for working adults. This is further validated by its strong metrics, including high ratings by students as well as an 87% graduation rate and 93% retention rate.

What Sets This School Apart:

• Mizzou Online highlights more than 200 academic programs across credential types, including master’s degrees. For students comparing the best online master’s degree programs, there are plenty of options at the graduate level here to create room to enter through a certificate, continue into a master’s, or move into advanced professional study without leaving the university's ecosystem.
• The school says its online programs are developed by the same professors who teach on campus, which is important for master's students who want online flexibility without feeling like they are enrolling in a separate/watered-down version of the university.

What Sets This School Apart:

• USU highlights more than 30 years of online education, 600-plus online courses, and more than 60 online programs.
• Online courses are built using learning research, analytics, accessibility best practices, expert faculty, and instructional designers.
• USU points to online technology innovation as a defining feature, including advanced technology developed in-house, Canvas-based course modules, discussion forums, personalized feedback, adaptive learning, interactive virtual labs, and case studies connected to community organizations.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of Ohio University - Main Campus are overwhelmingly favorable, driven by strong ratings and near-universal recommendations. Students repeatedly praise approachable professors, responsive advisors, and a campus culture where support feels personal rather than bureaucratic. Many say the school balances affordability with quality, offering practical preparation through fieldwork, research, and career-oriented coursework. The Athens setting stands out as beautiful, walkable, friendly, and rich in community involvement, though some mention party culture, hilly terrain, or a worn-down town feel. Online learners value flexibility, clear course structure, and working-professional convenience, but cite weaker networking, occasional disorganization, technical issues, advising delays, and uneven career placement support.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of Arizona State University Online trend positive, with many praising flexible scheduling, a user-friendly portal, and responsive professors, advisors, and support teams that help working adults, parents, military families, and transfer learners stay enrolled. Students often value access to a reputable public university without sacrificing work or family obligations. Strong teaching, practical coursework, and career-relevant resources are recurring strengths. The main criticisms center on high tuition and added fees, inconsistent advising, uneven instructor quality, and some online classes relying too heavily on prerecorded lectures, TAs, and compressed 7.5-week terms. Several reviews also warn that some paths offer weak job alignment despite solid instruction.

Student Review Summary: Reviews portray a sharply divided experience driven largely by cost, support, and fit for self-directed online learning. Positive reviewers say the workload is demanding, writing-heavy, and often useful for building discipline, time management, and workplace-ready collaboration skills. Many praise flexible scheduling, responsive advisors, and practical value for working adults, especially when transfer credit, military benefits, or employer tuition support reduced costs. Negative reviewers focus on tuition increases, confusing or inconsistent financial aid, frequent advisor turnover, weak instructor engagement, unclear policies, and frustration with team projects. Several also question transferability, perceived employer stigma, and whether the education justified the debt.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of the University of Nebraska at Kearney are largely favorable, driven by strong ratings and widespread recommendations. Students repeatedly praise small classes, approachable professors, and responsive advisers who provide individualized support, mentoring, and career guidance. Online offerings stand out as a major strength: many say courses are flexible enough for full-time work, family responsibilities, and distance learning, while still remaining rigorous and comparable to on-campus expectations. Students also value affordability, research and involvement opportunities, tutoring, and a safe, welcoming community. Criticisms center on inconsistent online teaching quality, heavy workloads or busywork, limited face-to-face interaction, financial aid frustrations, occasional disorganization, and some outdated or limited facilities.

Student Review Summary: Reviews portray Appalachian State as a highly regarded, experience-driven university with strong professor accessibility, small classes, and a close-knit atmosphere that feels personal rather than anonymous. Students frequently praise hands-on learning, internships, clinical placements, study abroad support, and practical preparation, though a minority say some coursework felt too easy or insufficiently tied to careers. The mountain setting, outdoor culture, and welcoming town are major draws, but they can feel isolating for those wanting urban amenities, broader diversity, or warmer weather. Recurring pain points include disorganized financial aid, expensive housing and parking, limited local job access, and a few reports of weak advising or toxic program culture.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of Arkansas State University are largely favorable, driven by strong ratings and near-universal recommendations. Students repeatedly praise affordability, flexible online delivery, short accelerated terms, and supportive professors, advisors, and staff who help working adults and parents stay enrolled. Many say coursework is relevant, practical, and immediately usable on the job, with some citing promotions, stronger career prospects, and skill growth. Campus-based comments highlight small classes, approachable faculty, safety, and involvement opportunities. Criticisms center on inconsistent communication, delayed grading and feedback, limited professor access, heavy or busy-work-driven workloads, technology issues, weak online networking, and isolated reports of severe administrative disorganization.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of East Texas A&M University are predominantly positive, driven by high ratings and frequent recommendations, but they reveal a clear split between strong convenience-driven satisfaction and concerns about consistency. Students often praise affordable tuition, flexible online and hybrid formats, small classes, and supportive professors who are accessible, practical, and invested in success. Many say the coursework is rigorous yet manageable for working adults, parents, and military-affiliated learners, with strong career relevance, networking, and research access. Criticisms center on uneven teaching quality, limited feedback, self-taught online courses, weak advising or financial aid support, low diversity in some settings, sparse nightlife, commuting challenges, and occasional concerns about graduate-level rigor.

Student Review Summary: Reviews portray Florida Atlantic University as a school where experiences vary sharply by department, but most respondents describe supportive professors, strong mentoring, and practical opportunities such as internships, research, study abroad, leadership roles, and flexible online options. Many say small class sizes, diversity, beautiful campuses, and proximity to the beach improved daily life. The strongest complaints focus on disorganized advising, weak interdepartmental communication, registration and admissions errors, limited course availability, parking, commuter-school quietness, and uneven academic rigor. Several negative reviewers felt specific courses were too theoretical or poorly aligned with career preparation, while others said faculty support directly led to jobs or graduate admission.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of Colorado State University - Fort Collins are broadly positive, driven by strong ratings and frequent recommendations, but they reveal meaningful inconsistencies across departments. Students often praise caring, accessible professors, small upper-level classes, hands-on learning, flexible online options, and a welcoming community that supports career preparation, internships, and balancing work or family obligations. Fort Collins, campus beauty, safety, and recreation repeatedly stand out as major quality-of-life advantages. Criticism centers on weak advising, poor communication, administrative disorganization, uneven departmental culture, limited diversity, expensive tuition or fees, outdated facilities, and some cases of faculty hostility, gossip, or overly theoretical coursework that felt disconnected from practical careers.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of Florida State University are overwhelmingly favorable, driven by strong ratings and near-universal recommendations. Students consistently praise caring professors, abundant clubs, research, internships, study abroad, and a campus culture that feels unusually communal for a large university. Many say the experience built confidence, leadership, friendships, and career readiness, with several crediting the school for quick job placement or valuable professional networks. Distinctive positives include supportive faculty mentorship, strong alumni ties, flexible online options, and Tallahassee’s close connection to campus life. Criticisms focus on uneven advising, bureaucratic offices, limited course availability in some areas, large or impersonal classes, parking, traffic, and tuition or funding concerns.

Student Review Summary: Reviews portray SMU as a strong, career-oriented experience marked by excellent professors, small classes, and unusually powerful Dallas-area networking. Many describe faculty as accessible, invested, and academically rigorous, with several noting hands-on, real-world instruction, industry connections, and strong alumni support that helped with internships, jobs, and professional credibility. The campus is frequently praised as beautiful, comfortable, and well resourced. Concerns center on high tuition, uneven financial aid, and mixed career-services effectiveness outside top performers or certain fields. Some also cite wealthy, status-conscious campus culture, limited diversity, adjunct-heavy teaching, satellite-campus disconnect, and workloads that can become overwhelming.

Student Review Summary: Reviews portray Ohio State as a high-opportunity, high-energy experience defined by strong school spirit, expansive resources, and lasting personal and professional connections. Students frequently praise approachable professors, helpful advisors, broad extracurricular options, alumni networking, internships, research access, and career preparation that translated into jobs, fellowships, or further study. Many say the university’s size becomes an advantage once they find smaller communities through majors, clubs, work, or residence life. Common drawbacks center on very large introductory classes, bureaucratic or unclear requirements, limited financial aid in some areas, parking and safety concerns, and a campus culture that rewards self-direction rather than hand-holding.

Student Review Summary: Reviews portray Oklahoma State University - Main Campus as a welcoming campus with a strong small-town community, approachable professors, and abundant ways to get involved without feeling lost at a large university. Many describe helpful faculty, tutoring, advising, hands-on learning, and solid career preparation through research, career fairs, internships, and employer connections. Online options are also praised for flexibility and responsiveness. Students especially value feeling known by name, safe on campus, and supported personally and academically. Criticisms center on inconsistent advising, high cost or limited financial support, some uneven rigor or repetitive coursework, limited networking in certain areas, and Stillwater’s remote location.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of Rochester Institute of Technology are largely positive, driven by strong ratings and frequent praise for career readiness. Many describe rigorous, fast-paced coursework, hands-on learning, and professors with meaningful industry experience, especially in technical and applied fields. The co-op and internship structure stands out as the clearest advantage, often credited with helping graduates secure jobs quickly and clarify career direction. Students also value small classes, accessible faculty, extensive clubs, and an accepting, diverse campus culture. Criticisms focus on inconsistent teaching quality, rising class sizes, uneven support outside core technical areas, high cost, weak transportation, harsh winters, and occasional disappointment with postgraduation placement help.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of Sam Houston State University are broadly positive, driven by strong ratings and near-universal recommendations. Students repeatedly praise small classes, accessible professors, and a personalized environment where faculty know names, offer one-on-one help, and support career readiness, research, publishing, and licensure goals. Many say the university delivers solid value, affordable tuition, and flexible online or hybrid formats that work well for commuters and working adults. Common drawbacks include uneven quality across some programs, repeated or underdeveloped coursework, limited funding and scholarships, overloaded financial aid services, parking and commute frustrations, and a small-town location that can feel isolating or offer fewer activities and networks.

Student Review Summary: Reviews of Texas State University are predominantly favorable, with students most often praising helpful, accessible professors, a beautiful Hill Country campus, and a strong balance between academics and campus life. Many describe the river, outdoor setting, and San Marcos location as major quality-of-life advantages, while others value flexible online, hybrid, evening, and Round Rock options for working adults. Students also highlight practical preparation, networking, internships, research opportunities, and supportive faculty relationships. Criticism centers on uneven teaching quality, weak advising or admissions communication, theory-heavy or outdated coursework in some areas, financial aid frustrations, heavy workloads, and occasional concerns about departmental organization or professionalism.