Hi. I got into Temple and Rowan and im waiting on a few more schools but these are my top choices. I need some help deciding which is better for me.
Rowan - its about twenty minutes from my house so I would most likely live at home. My parents are trying to convince me to go there by saying they’ll buy me a brand new car. That means I would be a commuter, and I have trouble making friends so it would be a lot harder as a commuter. The pro is that I am an instate student so tuition is cheaper, and I would live at home so it would cost about 14000 a year, and I was given a 5000 scholarship.
Temple - about 40 minutes away so I would be more independent, and I would be in a city so more opportunities. its about 40000 a year and I was given a 5000 scholarship.
I want the traditional college experience but I don’t know if I could dorm with a random person. I also need to think about cost because I am considering going to grad school.
Why not live on campus at Rowan? It would still be considerably cheaper than Temple. My son is at Rowan; his roommate lives 10 minutes from campus but lived at school.
What’s your major? I wouldn’t pay that much mor for Temple, but am a fan of living on campus, especially as a freshman.
@NJWrestlingmom im a psychology major. Rowan was always so close to my house that I didnt consider living on campus, and especially since my parents are trying to bribe me with a car. but I was thinking about it, and I feel like it would be so much harder to be involved in campus life if I was a commuter.
Rowan does have commuter-specific events to try to get them involved more. I know a car is hard to pass up, but I personally would rather spend that money to live on campus!
If it helps, my son moved off campus this year (junior year) and it is much cheaper. Maybe you can leverage that to spend the extra money to stay on campus the first 2 years? With psych, you would definitely want to minimize debt.
I think living on campus at Rowan should be considered as an option. After looking at colleges up and down the east coast my (very quiet at the time) S felt his best option was a school that is 20 minutes from our home. It was a fantastic fit, great in his area of study and he got an excellent merit scholarship. But we were all concerned about the proximity to home. We actually sat down and had a discussion about it – We (parents) promised to never “pop by” campus and to not expect him home other than school breaks. In return my S (student) promised to not use being close to home as a crutch, no coming home for random dinners or to do laundry etc. We all kept to our promises and it worked out great.
But if you don’t want to dorm with a random person then commuting may be a good option for you. From what I’ve seen there are two types of commuting students. Some commuters just go to class and come home while others spend the full day on campus, eat lunch or dinner there (often you can get a small commuter meal plan), study at the library on campus, get involved in activities etc. If you do choose to commute I suggest you work hard to be that involved, active type of commuting student.
^^^To add, Temple is a fine school especially if you are looking for an urban environment. But you and your family have to determine if it is affordable especially given your interest in grad school and you need to decide if you want to live in a dorm.
