<p>Njsue,lived in NJ for 45+ years and LOVED it, will move back…saying people commute to NYC from NB is true, but people also commute to NYC from the Poconos, and Bucks County PA ;)</p>
<p>I agree Rutgers doesn’t get the ‘love’ from NJ residents, i am amazed how much repsect other state flagships get from their residents,for example PSU, and Rutgers doesn’t get the same respect…</p>
<p>I will go on record saying THE best place to live in NJ is Northern Bergen County…talk of ease of commute to NYC, great restaurants, top notch schools…that said, housing is extremely costly, but holds its value well</p>
<p>qdogpa: totally agree with your comments on Rutgers. I don’t know if you saw my post above you about Rutgers’ rep outside of NJ since we cross posted ;)</p>
<p>Part of Rutgers problem is that the campus is split by Route 18 and the Raritan River, so kids have to take the buses to go back and forth between dorms & classes. It doesn’t have that “classic” campus feel and it can be a pain to deal with that, rather than stroll across the quad from your dorm to your english class. If Rutgers had a traditional campus, I think there would be a different attitude about it.</p>
<p>TCNJ actually appeals to students (who can afford it) from PA and Del who want a smaller environment than their state flagships. In the Philadelphia area kids look at Temple and TCNJ, and it depends on how they feel about city v. suburban and the cost which one they choose. TCNJ also is not that easy for admission from out of state.</p>
<p>I see Rutgers as very comparable academically to Maryland and Penn State. It’s better than Delaware. Yet NJ kids love to go to Delaware! As a transplanted midwesterner to NJ, I am continually surprised by the lack of love shown to NJ’s flagship. I also do not understand why NJ families are willing to go into big debt to attend Fordham, NYU etc. when they could get a comparable education at Rutgers.</p>
<p>Maryland has a really nice unified campus. I wish that Rutgers had made an infrastructure investment in the NB campus decades ago, when it was possible, that united the various sub-campuses. Now it’s too late and too expensive.</p>
<p>Talk about 2 different campus lives, Temple vs TCNJ!!! Can’t imagine anyone choosing between those 2 , they have little in common… I think freshmen at TCNJ get laptops, and freshmen at Temple get kevlar vests</p>
<p>NJ Sue, you being a transplant explains your beliefs…Many lifelong residents don’t think highly of Rutgers,though grranted it has gotten better in recent years</p>
<p>From my perspective, as a parent, my Rutgers issue is that I watch the news and I would say, every other year, something horrible happens there. Someone opens fire with a gun at a house party. 3 young women were raped in their off campus apartment (that was back in 2004, but it was pretty horrific). A student is cyberbullied by his roommate and ends up committing suicide, no students were injured but several shootings occurred in NB the night of Rutgersfest this past April…I went to a small LAC in a rural area, and I was probably sheltered, but I just can’t get too excited about Rutgers.</p>
<p>Njsue;
I got no time for the corner boys
Down in the street making all that noise
Or the girls out on the avenue
`cause tonight i wanna be with you
Tonight i’m gonna take that ride
Across the river to the jersey side
Take my baby to the carnival
And i’ll take her on all the rides
`cause down the shore everything's all right
You and your baby on a saturday night
You know all my dreams come true
When i'm walking down the street with you</p>
<p>Unfortunately, every large campus (40K +), especially in an urban area, is going to have some crime. And at almost every college in the land, there are going to be occasional accidental deaths from drinking, drugs, and general idiocy. A friend of mine sent her son to a very well-regarded southern LAC that used to be all-men and is highly ranked on US News. She told me she would never send a daughter there in a million years because of the prevalence of drunken date rapes. Yet I know another girl who went to the same college and loved it.</p>
<p>Bad news needs to put in perspective.</p>
<p>Anyway, on the topic of NJ colleges: Drew has a very nice campus in Madison with decent liberal arts. A lot of quite solid if not top-ranked students who want a more traditional undergraduate experience in NJ choose Drew and like it very much. Drew is not cheap but it gives decent merit aid.</p>
<p>It all depends on what you are comparing Rowan to. For a NJ student, looking for instate tuition, with stats below what would get you into Rutgers, Rowan is a great option. I recommend it to people who are considering Kean or William Patterson for example, as Rowan has much better graduation rates than those schools. Or for those who are considering Rider or Monmouth, since Rowan is so much cheaper.</p>
<p>Late to this discussion, but another good school that I did not see mentioned (sorry I just scanned through) is Ramapo College (state school). For the B+ student, I think you might have a better shot at merit aid through Rowan than at Ramapo, but do your own research. </p>
<p>Some privates worth investigating depending upon the student are Drew, Fairleigh Dickinson (2 campuses), and Rider. I have toured Drew and Rider. I did not care for Rider, but I did see it prior to their renovations so my opinion is now dated.</p>
<p>Wow - thank you to everyone who has responded. There are a number of good to very good colleges in NJ as many of you have pointed out. On the other hand, there is indeed a pervasive, dismissive attitude about NJ schools, especially from NJ residents. The schools may not offer sufficient cost incentives (I personally do not know if this is true or not). No matter where they are, they will be within easy commuting distance to either New York (e.g., Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken) or Philadelphia (e.g., The Cllege of New Jersey - TCNJ - in Ewing). I hope we can hear more about NJ’s colleges in this thread.</p>
<p>Probably the last NJ school I’d send a child to is Rider. IMO it’s over-priced given its very low selectivity. Our high school guidance counselor said that Rider is one school he can get ANY kid into. 'Nuff said. </p>
<p>One complaint I hear about many of the NJ colleges, including TCNJ, is that they are suitcase schools. At Rutgers, the more serious students we know come home on weekends because the party atmosphere is so pervasive they can’t study otherwise. I hear that the dorms are very, very noisy unless you are in an honors dorm.</p>
<p>LOL. You know you’re from NJ when you read the above quote about Rutgers and think “urban? Rutgers New Brunswick isn’t urban. NYC is urban.” </p>
<p>NJIT & Stevens were always well regarded for their programs although trying to maneuver around Stevens is a nightmare since it’s in Hoboken surrounded by one way streets. And I have a few friends who commuted to Rutgers-Newark for computer science/science degrees who have done quite well for themselves. I wouldn’t advise anyone to live on campus though.</p>