<p>Hello,
I had a question regarding my chances of getting in and how much scholarship/aid/grant I qualify for. I'm a New Jersey resident for more than a year. I'm an immigrant (permanent resident) a below poverty line student, but my scores are pretty much like an average student. My G.P.A is a 3.8 I have taken/taking 3 AP courses and an honors class. I'm in the marching unit of my school, a color guard. Also, I'm a student library aid at my school. These things are pretty good but I've taken the ACT three times already and my score does not exceed 26 and I've already tried the SAT, but it's not the test for me. I want get into RUTGERS NEW BRUNSWICK school for engineering but I don't know if I'll get into it. Even if I do will I get good enough aid to afford college considering my financial condition. I feel I've been through a lot by living like this. I'm currently a senior. If you need more information to determine any answer for me then please feel free to ask. Your comments would be highly appreciated. </p>
<p>Your ACT score is a bit low for Rutgers SOE. <a href=“http://admissions.rutgers.edu/academics/admissionsprofile.aspx”>http://admissions.rutgers.edu/academics/admissionsprofile.aspx</a> but I would still apply. </p>
<p>You may also want to apply to NJIT <a href=“http://www.njit.edu/”>http://www.njit.edu/</a> and Rowan <a href=“Home | Rowan | Rowan University”>Home | Rowan | Rowan University;
<p>Another option is to go to community college for 2 years and then transfer. You would save a lot of money this way.</p>
<p>Consider this:
“Graduates of approved transfer programs in New Jersey County Colleges “shall be guaranteed admission to a state college,” according to state policy. While admission is guaranteed to a state college, rather than a specific school, experience indicates that students, who work closely with a Transfer Counselor when selecting their courses and have achieved a competitive grade point average, gain admission to the state college of their choice”</p>
<p>that is, you can go to any community college in New Jersey and transfer to Rutgers as long as you keep your grades up. </p>
<p>I’m no expert, but pretty knowledgeable, but NJ engineering schools are more interested in the SAT (math & critical reading) than the ACT. In the South and West, the ACT is more prevalent.</p>
<p>If you can’t get into Rutgers-NB’s SOE, odds are that you won’t get into Rowan’s school of engineering. And I wouldn’t advise the CC route, either. Engineering curricula is pretty much set from the jump, so even with the CC, you’d need at least 4 more years for the undergrad degree.</p>
<p>Realistically, you’d need 1300-1350+ on Math and Critical Reading to get into the Rowan/Rutgers-NB engineering schools. If your scores and grades add up, there’s a lot of needs-based $ available. </p>
<p>Spaceman I will have to disagree with you. I think it is easier to get into Rowan’s SOE, and I don’t think that you need a 1300 to get into SOE at Rutgers. </p>
<p>Everyone does not take the same path and sometimes it does take longer, but no reason to discourage anyone unnecessarily.</p>
<p>You can try for NB or possibly Newark, but as others suggest, attend CC for 2 years and transfer. </p>
<p>What about TCNJ? It has a decent engineering program. </p>
<p>Have you looked into the NJ Stars program? With strong HS grades, you may qualify for free CC tuition. If you achieve a strong CC GPA, you may get scholarships at a state 4yr school. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.njstars.net/”>http://www.njstars.net/</a></p>
<p>I would go to community college first too, but it’s up to you. Community college is not as bad as it’s made out to be.</p>
<p>NJ Stars is a good recommendation.</p>
Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread, I know my act score is a bit low but I guess there’s no harm in trying?!
I’m not a good test taker but I get A’s in my AP classes and I able understand almost every new concept taught in the classroom. Community College was an option that I did think of but haven’t applied yet. I’m still waiting for a reply from Rutgers (been 2 months already but still haven’t hear anything from their side…). If I’m accepted, my family has estimated that they can support with up to $6,000/ year. Which, I feel, is pretty decent. If I don’t get accepted then I will have no other option but go to a community college…
I’ve already looked into NJIT and Rowan. My parents didn’t want to send me off to Newark lol considering how dangerous it would be there for me to live (plus I’m a female lol so they were even more scared). Rowan is a small school like NJIT which is one of the major factor for me when I look into potential schools. Plus, all of these schools don’t have a wide array of engineering majors like Penn State, Michigan, and Rutgers.
Let us know what happens & good luck!
Rualum, thank you for the encouragement! I will definitely get back to this thread and post my admissions decisions. Thank you so much, once again.
I wanted to tell you guys that I got into Rutgers as well as Penn state!
Congratulations!
I hope your FA package is great!
The differences between Rutgers and PSU are most obvious in location, Rutgers being not that far from NYC and PSU being pretty far from everything. But you can compare FA packages.
Check out the NJ programs, this one might work for you: http://www.hesaa.org/Documents/TAG_program.pdf
Also, be careful of New Brunswick, it is not as dangerous as the worst parts of Newark (though neither Rutgers Newark or NJIT are in a bad part of Newark), but there is some gang activity and crimes. I would not assume it is 100% safe.
Am also hoping to get into Rutgers too.am coming from a community college. I have a gpa of 3.52. I applied to the urban planning program. My grades are mostly As and Bs. Please can someone tell me if i have a chance.
Congratulations AaruLiu!
Thanks for reporting back.