I got into Rowan with a scholarship of 11k a year and Ramapo with a scholarship of 10k a year. I’m planning on majoring in political science.
I know both schools are ranked closely and are regarded with the same attitude by many so I’m confused as to which one to pick and which one would also better suit my major. But, it’s also not just about major for me (though that is the most important thing), it’s also about college environment/life and such.
Are you able to sit in on a class or two, and meet with a professor at both colleges? My kids found that to be helpful in assessing fit/feel. My youngest D liked and applied to Rowan U, but we never visited Ramapo. We were impressed that there seemed to be a lot of construction/investment on tbe Rowan campus. A family friend who is a Bio professor at Rowan enjoys her students, and always feels well supported by the Rowan administration
@Itsawkwardgirl My son is a freshman at Rowan (and I am an alumni) and he loves it. We toured Ramapo and he was accepted, but he felt the campus was too small. I think they are both very different. I have heard nothing but good things about Ramapo, but the campus did seem a bit more isolated with a car being needed. Rowan you can’t have a care until junior year.
What I know about Rowan - the new Rowan downtown is awesome - Pizza Hut, Dominoes, 7-11, Chickie & Pete’s, escape room, hair cuts - and many more - all considered on-campus (brand new oncampus apartments for upperclassmen are above the businesses; brand new dorm for freshman across the street). A decent walk to the classrooms but very doable. Class sizes remain small despite enrollment over 16k. There is a parking shortage - doesn’t impact us yet as he won’t have a car for another year or two. He didn’t have any issues getting his classes for 2nd semester (they do have an Honors College that gets first dibs). We’re in the process of picking housing for next year, so not sure how that will work out yet. Shuttles to the local market, bus trips to Philly, lots of school sponsored weekend activities if frat parties aren’t your thing. Tons of clubs and intramurals.
Both are good schools. Obviously, I’m partial to Rowan, but both are good schools. I do think Rowan is moving up in the rankings much more so than Ramapo, mainly for their engineering, but that helps the whole school. And we’re full pay, so with your scholarships you can’t go wrong! I seem to remember Ramapo being more money than Rowan, but I can’t remember. I do know our first year at Rowan, old dorm, cost under $26k not including books. New dorm would add about $3k give or take to that. Any specific Rowan questions, let me know!
A lot of it may be personal preference after you visit. Here’s my two cents since I’m familiar with both campuses. Ramapo is hands down in a much nicer area in northern Bergen County and there are shuttle buses to the malls and the city. The campus is small but beautiful and hands down has the nicest dorms of any school in the state—- don’t take my word for granted go visit. Ramapo also offers a fantastic gym and pool for students. The campus is safe, you can walk everywhere in minutes. Now, it’s definitely more sedate than Rowan. Ramapo does not have engineering but does have outstanding business, computer science, nursing and education majors and very small class sizes taught by professors and not grad students. Rowan also maintains small classes despite its size. Rowan is first class value for engineering. I would say both offer tremendous value. Rowan has the edge in engineering over Tcnj and is a competitive choice compared to Stevens and Rutgers for engineering. Ramapo is a very competitive choice compared to Tcnj for nursing and education. You can’t go wrong with either. I would say go with the one whose net price is lower.
Everyone has their opinion on here of course. If you put aside Princeton, - in my opinion TCNJ is the number one pick for overall quality and value in N.J. although some other schools maybe have the edge on an individual major comparison. Rutgers NB classes can be huge, campus is terrible and just saps time better spent studying. Stevens is over 70k a year.
The next best overall values in NJ in no particular order are Rowan, Ramapo and Stockton. Each has its strengths. Rowan is great for engineering, Ramapo for nursing, business and education, Stockton for the sciences. Each campus is distinctly different. Although Ramapo is up in the hills of Mahwah, it’s actually the least isolated and is the most accessible to suburban Bergen County and NYC. All three offer the opportunity to get a great education while limiting debt.
If your major is political science, again go with the cheaper option and limit debt. The better question for you is what are you going to do with a political science degree? My recommendation to you is to pick a major where there will be jobs. Such as engineering, stem, healthcare etc. any of those areas can get you into law school just as well as political science can. But they will offer you much better options if you don’t go to grad school. Sorry to be a downer, but with the high cost of college and the importance of limiting debt, I don’t recommend a liberal arts major to anyone these days
Rowan is a newcomer in engineering and in no way can be compared to long established research universities such as Stevens and Rutgers. The only advantage Rowan has over Stevens, RPI, et al, is cost. I realize that everybody will lead the cheer for their own school, but, seriously Rowan has no research doctoral program in engineering (and even if they eventually do, it is again, a newcomer with no track record), no significant research output, no alumni of high note that I know of, no alumni who are winners of major national and international awards, and is less selective than Stevens and Rutgers. I have had job interviews in many states. All of my interviewers have heard of Stevens and Rutgers for example. Few have heard of Rowan outside of NJ. Rowan is a decent up and coming school and it is a viable safety for those who cannot gain admission to Stevens, Rutgers, RPI, Cooper Union, U Delaware, U of Pa, or the other established engineering universities in the tri-state area.
And this person in majoring in Political Science so…
Was in response to “Njdatjets” comment of yesterday at 11:02. Best to the original poster in his/her studies.