We visited Stockton University in NJ today. It’s a mid-tier state school - roughly equivalent to the better PA directionals in PA. But it has a really nice variety of env. sci.-type majors, including a robust marine biology/science/oceanography program and a semester at sea.
It’s got some huge growth, too, including a new satellite campus 20 minutes away on the beach in Atlantic City. There are a few majors that’ll be concentrated there - the marine stuff, hotel/tourism management, etc. The whole concept of beachfront dorms – literally beachfront – is amazing. And even if you go to the main inland campus, you will have a frequent free shuttle to the beach because of the satellite campus. How awesome is that?!
D19 is into theater these days, though. There isn’t a BFA program, but they do have a BA in theater tech. Nice facilities - not as big or as spiffy as some we’ve seen, but not bad.
There was a food court that looked pretty meh at first, but we were impressed after eating. A salad bar that was essentially a Chipotle for salads, completely fresh and hand-made for you - huge salads, great mixtures or design your own. A sub/vegan station, a Chick-fil-A, a pasta station. Other eateries scattered about the campus. They have a free bike rental program (like Citibike in NYC or Zipcar).
This was a modern campus in terms of architectural style, not all red-brick or older like most of the ones we’ve seen. It’s a LEED-certified campus, with geothermal heat, and most of the buildings are brand-new and huge atrium/natural light/designed to capture the sun etc.
We saw freshmen dorms, which are definitely not modern and are probably the last buildings on campus not updated - smallish rooms, communal bathrooms. Upperclassmen, however, get much nicer new apartments. Guaranteed housing, too. Fridges and microwaves supplied in every room.
It was a phenomenally gorgeous day for February - 70 and sunny - and several classes were being taught by the professors outside. A dance troupe was practicing between buildings; we saw pickup basketball games, volleyball nets already up, tons of students out and about, the library was packed… all in all, we liked it a lot, and it was way above my expectations. D will definitely apply, and the COA/merit possibilities are very encouraging.