@jmansky Imho your budget should be a big driving factor. Can you afford CMU?
By the way, was Rutgers not on your daughter’s list?
Same question as @NJEngineerDad . With stats like hers I am sure she would have got Rutgers Honors College and a full ride. Did she not want Rutgers?
When you say better return on investment, when is that pay day coming in. My son was accepted to Stevens and received $32,000 in merit and institutional scholarships, leaving a balance of $45,000 spread over 5 years leaving him $225,000 in student loan debt. He was also accepted to Rowan, who is giving him $10k a year in merit scholarships, bringing his yearly tuition to about $14k x 4 years totaling $64k in debt. While with Stevens you may get a job earning $10k a year more the fact is the interest on that $225k loan will eat those extra earnings up in less than a half-year. Just like Stevens, these students will have 8 projects on their resume; with Rutgers they only have 1. Rowan’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Program was ranked higher than Stevens and Rutgers.
2 Likes
When you say better return on investment, when is that pay day coming in. My son was accepted to Stevens and received $32,000 in merit and institutional scholarships, leaving a balance of $45,000 spread over 5 years leaving him $225,000 in student loan debt. He was also accepted to Rowan, who is giving him $10k a year in merit scholarships, bringing his yearly tuition to about $14k x 4 years totaling $64k in debt. While with Stevens you may get a job earning $10k a year more the fact is the interest on that $225k loan will eat those extra earnings up in less than a half-year. Just like Stevens, these students will have 8 projects on their resume; with Rutgers they only have 1.
Why Rutgers Engineering? Rowan ranks higher for Electrical Engineering and when they graduate they have 8 projects on their resume as opposed to 1 for Rutgers. My son got into both colleges. He has a 1450 SAT and 4.0 GPA, Honors Calculus, AP Physics and AP Cal–Rutgers gave him $0 in merit aid, while Rowan gave him $10k in merit aid–the choice is an easy one–Rowan hands down! And Rutgers is more expensive; their dumps of a dorm cost more than Rowan’s 4-year young Holly Point dorm which is where all engineering students dorm first year-guaranteed. My son also got into Stevens; they gave him $32k in merit scholarships and institutional aid, but the cost after both considered is still over $45k. So, do I want my kid to graduate with maybe $50k debt at Rowan, or $140k at Rutgers or $225k at Stevens? While some will argue the yield at the end dominates, I will argue that whatever that COA is will be eaten up by the interest on the Rutgers and Steven student loans–the choice is clear–Rowan is the way to go!
1 Like
Which ranking are you referring to?
I am not arguing that Rowan is the way to go in your case considering the price difference after merit, but @jmansky’s daughter could have possibly gotten more merit at Rutgers than at Rowan, in which case the equation would be reversed.
@Debnbill, do you have a student currently in the ECE program or is your student an incoming freshman? My son is considering Rowan and Rutgers as possible choices as well and you seem to have more details about the differences between the two programs. Any additional info you know of and could share would be most appreciated! 
1 Like
My son will be an incoming ECE Student at Rowan. He was accepted to Rutgers but they gave him $0. Rowan gave him $8200 in scholarships. He made the decision after we took a private tour of Rowan a few weeks ago. The Engineering building is not quite 4 years old and he loved it. They also get choice dorming in Holly Pointe which is also only a few years old. Here’s what I found on the Rowan Engineering program:
https://engineering.rowan.edu/programs/electricalcomputer/department_information/facts_figures.html
I think it was a great choice. I am so pissed that Rutgers gave him nothing and that they give more money out to those out of state and out of Country, instead of giving to their own in-state. I also do not like the fact that Rutgers is MANDATING the COVID Vaccine to all students, but not to staff, which is complete BS.
My son’s friend had a perfect SAT-1600. He has a 4.7 GPA unweighted and has taken over 7 AP Courses. Rutgers did not give him a dime. So, I really don’t know where all the money is going, but it certainly isn’t going to in-state kids.
I can tell you that the visit to the Rowan Engineering building completely changed my son’s mind–he just applied 2 weeks ago, was accepted to the ECE program and they gave him $8200 in Merit money, bringing the tuition to well under $20k a year–he was accepted to Stevens, NJIT, Rutgers and wait-listed at George Washington University. He made the decision to take the least amount of loans as possible and we will be sending our deposit into Rowan this week. Also, engineering students are guaranteed housing in the newest dorms (built in 2016). I have a freshman son there now–the dorms are very modern; they have central air and are very well taken care of.
1 Like
@Debnbill Rutgers might be giving less merit this year due to the financial impact of the pandemic. I am glad to read that your older son is happy at Rowan and that your younger son is following his track. Taking the least amount of loans is a sensible decision.
1 Like
I mean really, he will walk out with less than $20k in student loan debt; it really is a no-brainer! The Rowan ECE program is fantastic; 90-100% are hired after graduation and they have 8 projects they complete, compared to Rutgers’ 1. I know Rutgers is a bigger name (right now) but it’s really not worth the financial debt.
1 Like
We are in the same boat as all of you…My son got accepted into all the big name engineering schools but you CAN NOT beat the value at Rowan. My son however really loves the atmosphere at TCNJ. I think TCNJ has better school reputation but Rowan has a better engineering program… But I am letting him decides because with merit he can do both debt free.
@Parent0347 when comparing salaries…You have to compare Stevens ENGINEERING vs. Rowan Engineering…they are similar. The higher salaries from Stevens are coming from their incredible finance. Quantitative students are making huge bucks…The engineering students while still good are not much different from Rowan engineering.Also SAT scores for Rowan ENGINEERING and Stevens are the same. You Can not compare Rowan its self you must compare Rowans engineering. Sorry to bust your bubble.
The Rowan enginnering program is fantastic and my advice is to NOT go into huge debt so you can brag your kid went to a well known school.
I am hoping my son picks Rowan but TCNJ is also a great school with accreditation and brand new facilities.
Good Luck everyone!!! there is no wrong or right…Just whats best for your child which is different for everyone!!
Congrats! Did your son get some merit at TCNJ? TCNJ is not known for being generous with merit.
Would you mind sharing your son stats and what he wants to study so it can be used as a datapoint? Thanks.
Good sources of salary information are the US Department of Education College Scorecards.
Click on Fields of Study and then Highest Earnings on the following pages to get a sense of what engineers from NJ schools may earn two years after graduation (or pick a specific field of study).
Princeton:
Rutgers:
Stevens:
NJIT:
Rowan:
TCNJ:
A differentiator could be the Bantivoglio Honors College at Rowan if accepted there.
2 Likes
You may be correct that there is no right or wrong answer. BUT and a big BUT, we need to bring our kids down to reality as to what is/ is not affordable. Yes sometimes they get disappointed, but in the long run, they will thank you when they have little to no debt to pay, while they watch their coworkers who went to the big, fancy schools, struggle to pay off their student loans. I think that is key!
1 Like
that is strange that he was invited to apply for the honors program. My son got into his first choice-Electrical & Computer Engineering. He has a 4.0 unweighted and 1450 SAT. However, he did not receive an invitation for the honors program–weird. However, they did give him a lot in merit scholarship money; Rutgers gave him $0. Rowan has a 24% acceptance rate, which is pretty low, meaning it is highly competitive to get into. What was his 2nd choice program?
Rowan is doing private tours–go online and set one up. I think after he tours the Engineering building, he will love it. My middle son is a freshman at Rowan and when we moved him in last Fall my youngest questioned why he would ever go to Rowan-it’s in the middle of nowhere. All he got to see was the parking lot and the dorm we moved my middle guy into. Now that we did the full tour, he loved it; he also loved that he will be nearly debt-free when he graduates from Rowan. Rowan was not even on our list. But, he applied to the Electrical and Computer Engineering program two weeks ago; he was accepted and they gave him a $8200 merit scholarship. I know I can squeeze more money out of them–it just takes a phone call. But we are ready to send the deposit in. Rutgers gave him $0; NJIT gave him some, but he doesn’t want to be in NEwark; Stevens gave him $32k, but we will still owe $45k; and he was waitlisted at GWU. I think Rowan is the smart choice–they are actually rated higher than Rutgers in their Electrical and COmputer Engineering program. I’m so happy I joined this site because many on here convinced me to convince my son to take a tour–so happy that we did. A lot of really great advice on this site–people are genuinely helpful and want to see these kids succeed.
2 Likes
Rowan is definitively a smart choice, but the claim that Rowan is rated higher than Rutgers for Electrical and Computer Engineering is highly dubious. You should provide a source.