Rutgers(In-State) Vs Union(NY) for political science

Parent Cafe
1

Parents, please share your experiences and comments.

Thanks

2

Are finances an issue?

3

Thank you thumper1. Merit scholarship from Union is ok but will be a stretch even with the merit $.
Would like to hear about the quality of education specifically - political science. My daughter plans to go to law school eventually.

4

Rutgers and save the money for law school. Did your student get into the Honors College?

Did you know that Rutgers’ Philosophy department is ranked #3 in the world? Philosophy is a great major for pre-law.

5

The cost of law school is very high. Saving for that would be easier if at Rutgers. Rutgers has very good academics, but it is a big public state school. Rutgers certainly offers a wider range of courses and has a number of “institutes”. Both offer a semester in DC and education abroad.

Have her check the websites for the range of courses offered. The main complaint about Rutgers is the size and the bus system since the campus is divided between New Brunswick and Piscataway. But thousands of kids thrive and learn there every year. Affordability is really important and costs will increase every year.

I don’t have any direct experience with political science, however.

6

Nearly Useless Anecdotal Evidence:

I have exactly one friend who graduated from Harvard Law School.

He got his undergrad at Rutgers.

Of course this was back during the Harding administration. So there you go.

ps - I visited Union recently and absolutely loved it.

7

Sample of one here. Neighbor got his undergrad degree at Union…and went to Brooklyn Law School. So…no guarantee that Union will get you into a top 10 law school either.

Not quite the Stone Age…but a while ago.

8

For better learning conditions, Union. Smaller classes with more interaction, more reading and writing, which is best for humanities and social science.
But that’s the typical difference between a top LAC and a large flagship.
Rutgers has one more problem: taking the bus between campuses doesn’t make for a good experience.
However, academically Rutgers is good.

Did she get into the Honors college? That would mitigate some of the downsides (she’d have a smaller residential community and smaller classes.)

9

Most of the T-14 will be looking for your income/assets for need based aid at Top law schools. The real thing that will matter is LSAT/GPA. If it is going to be a stretch for union, save your money to pay for law school

10

thank you everyone for your comments and recommendations. At Rutgers, she got into school of arts and science as well as their business school. We like Union Campus and the same classes are very attractive but cost is very high(compared to Rutgers). Will revert back and let you know what we decide. Thanks again

11

Cost aside, these two schools couldn’t be any more different. If you can’t afford Union, then Rutgers is a fine choice. If cost turns out not to be an issue after financial aid, then she has to visit both campuses and decide whether she wants a small liberal arts campus with small classes and a trimester system in upstate NY, or a huge state school.

12

Thank you brantly