<p>My son's first choice of schools is NYU, but he is considering others because of the cost.
Here are the basics:
We live in NJ.
He is not sure what he wants to study but is leaning towards eventually working in the field of forensic psychology.
Accepted and narrowed down to:
NYU- LSP---his first choice---no news on any financial aid yet, but not too hopeful
Fordham--- decent merit money
Univ. of Delaware---VERY nice merit scholarship
The College of NJ--no word on merit money yet</p>
<p>Congratulations on all the great offers. There is such a big difference between NYU and TCNJ…I like TCNJ because it has the best students, great academics and most importantly to me, a great campus life. I considered NYU but found the classes too large and impersonal AND TOO expensive.</p>
<p>If you’re speaking in terms of cost, TCNJ will likely come out the cheapest since the tuition is pretty low to begin with as an instater compared to the others, unless there was really great aid from UDel. I would rule out NYU as well because of the cost unless he gets great aid, and last I checked Fordham is also up there in terms of price. Find out which one he likes the most that is still in an affordable price range. In my opinion, there is no reason to go into huge debt in undergrad when a good amount of people move on to graduate school after, you can rack up the debt then. I have no idea what your financial situation is and if your son wants to attend grad school, but I do work in the psychology department and the staff seem very friendly and knowledgable.</p>
<p>I considered all of those schools when I originally applied to TCNJ. Although I could have gone to any one of them, I chose TCNJ because of the incredible value and atmosphere it provided. TCNJ is just the right size. There are no classes with hundreds of students. The largest class I have ever has was like 40 students. I have also had classes with as few as 10 people. TCNJ’s campus is gorgeous. It really provides the true “college” experience with beautiful buildings, open spaces, sports complexes, etc… NYU doesn’t have any of that. Money wasn’t even really a huge consideration of mine while choosing a college - I simply was just searching for somewhere I knew I would be happy. But after coming here, I wouldn’t give up my spot in the class for anything. I am getting a first rate education (best public college in the entire northeast US) for a quarter of the price than what my other friends are paying for school. I have friends at fordham and nyu and they’re probably going to be in debt until they are 30 or older - while I will be debt free when I graduate from college. From my experience UDel is a huge party school - I dont know much else about it. I know its a big destination for Jersey kids that don’t get into TCNJ haha. Its also substantially larger with bigger classes, …</p>
<p>Also, on the social aspect - going out in NYC will clean your bank account out very quickly. Youre pretty much going to bars all the time rather than regular parties at frats or houses. No one has houses in the city - its all apartments so its pretty hard to have big gatherings. Not that college is all about partying, but it is definitely important to have a social life so you can stay happy and do well in school. TCNJ has fraternities and sororities which adds a nice aspect to social life. The organizations aren’t huge but i think about 20% of students are in them. </p>
<p>In the end, having a real campus was pretty important for me. Classes aren’t the place to make a lot of friends so having a centralized space where students live and study is very important. TCNJ’s in state reputation is just as strong as NYU’s and is arguably stronger academically than both Fordham and UDel - while its out of state recognition is definitely growing. The aspects of the campus, reputation, value, perfect size, and comfortable atmosphere really sold me on TCNJ. Make whatever decision you think is right for you. I hope that this helps you.</p>