Ask a Dean at TCNJ

Colleges and Universities A-Z The College of New Jersey
121

<p>Dear Feareman:</p>

<p>We found some great programs in China. My colleague, the director of the Center of Global Engagement, and I wrote a report to our campus community making recommendations about study abroad options in several different cities in China, including programs that would be of interest for students of business, science, the arts, history, and language, among other programs. The process for this usually takes a few months before we finalize our choices. Currently our students do have an option to study at the CIEE programs in Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing and all of those are excellent programs.</p>

<p>Our students who go on study abroad typically do so after completing their sophomore year and before their senior year (so sometime starting summer after sophomore year through summer before senior year), but there are certainly students who go in their sophomore year or in the senior year (just not as many). </p>

<p>Our students fit in study abroad for a summer, semester or academic year without a problem (and without needing AP credits) if they are in the School of Culture & Society because our programs are very flexible. If students are in some of the less flexible programs (engineering, nursing come to mind), then the students typically go for a summer in order not to delay graduation.</p>

<p>We recommend that you have two years of college language for some study abroad destinations, and China is certainly one of those. We are proud to offer intensive Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian (8 credits per semester or 2 units in TCNJ-talk) and those classes prepare our students for excellent study abroad experiences in which they can participate in the culture, not merely ask for directions to the grocery store. We also have some great classes in Chinese history, literature, and film (taught in English) and - through the Business School - the Chinese Economy.</p>

<p>For all you CC’ers reading this message, I hope you will think very seriously about study abroad no matter where you go to college. I did study abroad myself and it was a transformative experience for me. In 25 years of teaching at the college level, I have sent hundreds of students on study abroad. I always ask them when they come back, “How was it?” And not a single student has ever said, “eh, no big deal.” Every single student comes back “wowed” from the experience. Whether you come to TCNJ or not, I hope you will “go away” on study abroad.</p>

<p>And one other tip - I highly recommend the book “Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds” by Richard J. Light. It’s a great book to read in the summer before college. (I have no relationship with the author.)</p>

<p>Best wishes to all,</p>

<p>BR</p>

122

<p>Hello.
I did not receive anything concerning Accepted Students Day, and I just saw someone asked about it.
Can anyone give me info regarding what was on the postcard?</p>

123

<p>I know it’s specific, but the topic of study abroad sort of prompted me to ask this. </p>

<p>Is it possible to study abroad in a country that does not specifically have a program at the college? I’ve always wanted to study abroad in Finland (Turku or Helsinki specifically), but since the last time I checked TCNJ did not list Finland as an available country to study at. I know there are outside programs to study abroad in Finland, but I don’t know if this would work out with the college since it isn’t their own program.</p>

124

<p>Please write me privately to my e-mail address <a href=“mailto:rifkin@tcnj.edu”>rifkin@tcnj.edu</a> with your name and I’ll get the information you need to you.</p>

<p>Ben Rifkin
Dean of Culture and Society
The College of New Jersey</p>

125

<p>Dear The Doors:</p>

<p>Yes, you can propose your own study abroad program by working with the director of our Center for Global Engagement. I can’t promise that a Finland program would be accepted, as it would have to meet academic requirements, but I can promise that it would not be rejected merely because it’s in Finland. I’ve spent a fair amount of time visiting Helsinki and I know that there is a lot to learn in that city and in that culture.</p>

<p>Best wishes to all,</p>

<p>BR</p>

126

<p>"Please write me privately to my e-mail address <a href=“mailto:rifkin@tcnj.edu”>rifkin@tcnj.edu</a> with your name and I’ll get the information you need to you.</p>

<p>Ben Rifkin
Dean of Culture and Society
The College of New Jersey"</p>

<p>Was this meant for me?</p>

127

<p>Yes, TCNJPlease - sorry I missed the salutation.</p>

<p>To get your info, I need your name, so please write me at <a href=“mailto:rifkin@tcnj.edu”>rifkin@tcnj.edu</a>, no need to post that private information to CC.</p>

<p>BR</p>

128

<p>My daughter applied for an out of state scholarship. When can she expect to hear if she has received an award.</p>

<p>Thanks for all your great answers over the past few months.</p>

129

<p>Dean Rifkin,
I was happily accepted to TCNJ a few weeks ago. A few days ago, I received the Honors Program application form, and stupidly lost the teacher recommendation forms. Due to the deadline of application to the program, it’s quite imperative that I either find the documents, or quickly acquire duplicates. I contacted Susan Ciotti (honors program assistant) yesterday about this situation via e mail, asking for if she could inbox me the forms, and have not yet received a reply. Is there anything that can be done to help me receive these papers, preferrably through an e-mail attachment?</p>

130

<p>What does it mean, if when you try and log on to PAWS that you get TPENONT-no entry found?</p>

131

<p>Dean Rifkin:</p>

<p>I was wondering, why does TCNJ brag so much about its rankings by U.S. News, Kiplinger, Forbes, and the Princeton Review? I have looked at the websites of many more prestigious colleges and universities and none of them brag so much about their rankings, even though their rankings are much higher than TCNJ. </p>

<p>In my opinion, these rankings should be emphasized but not overemphasized. TCNJ happens to overemphasize this and I think it is poor marketing of the college. The only colleges that seem to brag so much about these rankings are the lower-tier colleges. Don’t you think excessively bragging about these rankings makes TCNJ look like a lower-tier college to outsiders when it is actually a really good school? </p>

<p>This is just my opinion, and the people at the college would obviously disagree with me. However, I am just asking you to pass this on to someone in public relations. I know many people who have looked at TCNJ’s website and gotten the impression that TCNJ is trying to brag too much.</p>

<p>Also, I think that TCNJ’s website is outdated and poorly designed when compared to the websites of more prestigious institutions. Many of the pictures of the virtual tour look like they are from the 1990s. If TCNJ wants to appear more prestigious, I think the college should hire someone to redesign the website. This is just my suggestion, and I hope this gets passed on to someone else at the college.</p>

132

<p>What is your agenda, jacobratner?</p>

<p>Your posts reek of negativity and innuendo, and you appear to be baiting the Dean, who has done nothing but provide useful, informative and positive responses for aspiring students.</p>

133

<p>Hello Everyone! I’m sorry I’ve not been able to respond as quickly as I would have liked these past few days. I was in China for a couple of weeks and now my work schedule is double-jam-packed with meetings to make up for lost time.</p>

<p>I’m going to use this posting to answer a number of questions, so if you posted a question above and haven’t gotten an answer, please read on to find your answer.</p>

<p>We notify students about Accepted Students Day in two different ways. If you got in early decision, please expect to hear something in the next week or so. We didn’t tell you about it back in December because it seemed a bit too early to send you the info then. If you were accepted in the regular decision process (notifications came after February 1 in the earliest wave), you would have gotten something about the Accepted Students Day with your acceptance and more information (details) should follow.</p>

<p>What do we do at Accepted Students Day? We provide information about programs (academic and extra-curricular) for students to learn about the opportunities at TCNJ from faculty, staff, and current students. It’s a fun day: you should definitely plan to arrive a bit early so you have time to park. By the way, I will be at Accepted Students Day at an event in the Atrium of the Social Science Building called “Meet the Dean.” </p>

<p>Out of State Scholarship notifications should be going out in the first week of April. Please stand by. We need to finish off the admissions process first. Thanks for your patience and understanding.</p>

<p>With regard to the teacher recommendation form for the Honors Program: I’m sorry to say it but please CALL the Honors Office asap and ask for the form to be e-mailed to you as a pdf. I myself won’t be on campus tomorrow so I can’t do this for you (and with the screen names, I don’t know who you are!). The number is 609 771 2034.</p>

<p>Semper31 - I’m really sorry, but I don’t know what that means. If you send me an e-mail with your actual name, I can try to look at your screen and figure out what it means. Again, please don’t post the private info here, you can send it to me by e-mail at <a href=“mailto:rifkin@tcnj.edu”>rifkin@tcnj.edu</a>. I’m not so good at checking for private messages through CC (I tend to miss the icon that is supposed to alert me), so the e-mail is a better option.</p>

<p>Jacobratner: I appreciate your concerns about our College. TCNJ certainly doesn’t have the financial resources of some of the private institutions that charge more than twice the tuition that we do. We are proud of our rankings, our beautiful campus, our small class sizes (faculty/student ratio), our dedication to our students’ education, and the fact that our students report greater degrees of happiness than students at many other colleges. Within our limited budgetary resources, we try to share this information with others who don’t know about our College. If this information doesn’t seem relevant or appealing for you, you should certainly consider other institutions. As I have said many times, on this forum and in public presentations, the most important thing is to find the college that is the good fit for YOU. Good luck to everyone in finding that fit, wherever it may be.</p>

<p>JerzyJim, thanks for your kind words. It is easy for me to keep positive when I talk or write about the College of New Jersey because I love the institution so much. What impresses me most about our College is the fact that our number one priority is our students’ education and that priority is reflected in absolutely every decision made by college administration and faculty.</p>

<p>I’m sorry to say that I will not be able to check in to CC until some time next week.</p>

<p>In the meantime, I wish everyone success in the waning days of “the big wait.” Remember that you are in charge of your own happiness and your own success: you can make it work for you, whatever you find out as the decisions come rolling in.</p>

<p>I will be ready to respond to questions about opportunities and programs at TCNJ when I log back in.</p>

<p>Best wishes to all,</p>

<p>BR</p>

<p>Dean of the School of Culture and Society
The College of New Jersey</p>

134

<p>I agree with you jerzyjim but I do think TCNJ could have a much better website design similar to William and Mary which I think is a very similar school to TCNJ.</p>

135

<p>I don’t want to hijack the Dean’s thread but thought this might be the best spot to offer the following.</p>

<p>I am a parent of three TCNJ students, two who are recent graduates and the youngest who is a current freshman.</p>

<p>My son works for a prominent financial services firm in NYC. My older daughter will be entering medical school in the fall. Numerous classmates/roommates of hers are either already in medical school or pursuing PhDs at prominent universities. As mentioned, our youngest is a freshman at the College.</p>

<p>All had the option of attending very selective private schools, but for various reasons, chose TCNJ. The College has served them well.</p>

<p>As an aside, my son also met his fiancée at TCNJ.</p>

<p>It may be true that TCNJ does not yet have a national profile, but it is recognized regionally, particularly in NJ and NY, and parts of PA. The job opportunities in the Phila/NY markets are substantial and that is where TCNJ is best positioned. I know several kids that went out of state because it was the “thing to do” and have lost out on opportunities in the PA/NJ/NY markets because they were not available, or were not able to lay the groundwork via internships due to the distance of their choices.</p>

<p>Ask someone in Florida or Texas what they think of Bowdoin. What do you think the average Iowan knows of Haverford? Recognition is relative. It is about results, what you do in the classroom, and how you perform on the job. Set your objectives, and attend the school that will help you achieve them.</p>

<p>Good luck to all. May you find contentment at your ultimate choices.</p>

136

<p>I am a current student at TCNJ and I have to say, I love it there! The students are smart, the campus is beautiful, and my classes are small. The library is amazing, the food is good, most dorms are nice, and I like my professors. All the professors I know are very passionate about what they teach and know their subject matter really well. I find the work to be intellectually stimulating and I look forward to going to class. </p>

<p>The only thing I wish my college had was more name recognition. When I tell people outside New Jersey that I am a student at The College of New Jersey, many people ask me where it is and say they have not heard of it. I also agree with “jacobratner” that TCNJ’s website needs to be updated. PAWS also needs to be updated. </p>

<p>Many of the current graduates of TCNJ (or Trenton State College) graduated when it was much less selective and primarily a teachers’ college. Fortunately, that has changed. I am confident that 20 years from now, when more graduates occupy executive positions and donate generously to their alma mater, TCNJ will have much more name recognition. However, if TCNJ wants to gain more prestige, I think they should admit less than 40% of applicants, focus intensively on improving name recognition, and try to increase their endowment fund to at least $100 million.</p>

<p>I have seen Dean Rifkin before and I know that he is a really nice guy. TCNJ has become much more selective and it is not a “suitcase school” like many people think. I only go home once a month and/or during breaks. There are many fun events on campus and a myriad of clubs that you can get involved in. However, I wonder why the administration is trying to expand freshman enrollment when the dorms are already full and the current freshman class is the largest ever. Either way, I am proud to be a student at TCNJ and I will miss it when I graduate!</p>

137

<p>Hi Dean, I know you said you will be busy for this next week or so, so I am just posting this for whenever you get back or have the time to answer.</p>

<p>This week I was very excited to be accepted to TCNJ; I plan on sending in my deposit soon but I have a question about majors. When I applied I was undecided of my major but knew I wanted a major in the School of Culture & Society. For some reason I must have made a mistake on the application since I listed my first choice as Open Options in the School of Arts & Communication and my second choice as Open Options in Culture & Society. </p>

<p>I am now certain that I want to be an English major (with a specialization in professional writing), but that would be within your school rather than the one I was admitted to. Do you know what I can do or who I can contact in order to get this changed?</p>

<p>Thanks for any help :]</p>

138

<p>Dean Rifkin, here is a question I was looking at my Advising report this morning and my major was changed from business marketing to International Business, I still haven’t heard anything on my acceptance as of 8am, however my transfer credits from the Marine Corps was put in the system can you offer any insight to this?</p>

139

<p>Well , Dean Rifkin to answer my own question, the reason they did that, was because the pool to Marketing was big and they had wanted to accept me and so they offered me my second choice</p>

140

<p>Hello TheDoors.</p>

<p>Congratulations on your admission.</p>

<p>It is possible to change your major in the period between acceptance decision and summer orientation. To do so, go to the accepted student site “join the pride” - and fill out the form. The Dean of Admissions reviews these requests once a week or so. Students are then notified if their requests are approved. </p>

<p>Best wishes,</p>

<p>BR</p>

<p>PS to all students accepted to TCNJ for the class of 2015 - I will be in the Social Science Building Atrium for a “meet the dean” event on Accepted Students Day. Whether you are a major in my school or not, I would be delighted to meet you - just come and say hi. Our password can be “College Confidential”!</p>