Rutgers-Newark or Rowan University

College Search & Selection
1

Hi, so I know that it’s after May 1, and I should have already decided on which college to go to (which I have, I picked Rowan), but a new conflict has recently arisen.

Regarding Rutgers-Newark, I applied for their Honors-Living Learning community program, which is helpful academically, but also super helpful financially because if you get in you get free room and board. I was wait-listed, but recently got an email that said they were starting to pull of names on the waitlist.

So, for my financial aid at both schools, I only got loans. At Rowan, it was about 1,500 in subsidized and the rest of the in unsubsidized while Rutgers-N had 3,500 in subsidized with the remaining 2,000 in unsubsidized. Regarding merit aid, I got 11K a year at Rowan, but if I get into the HLLC program at Newark, I would be getting around 13k to 14k a year (the price of their room and board).

I’m going to have to dorm at Rowan, and commuting isn’t an option, considering the school is 2 hours away from my house. But, Rutgers-N is significantly closer, and I would be able to visit my family way more rather than once every few months if I was at Rowan. I also know a more significant amount of people going to Rutgers-N while I would be the only person at my school going to Rowan (although this doesn’t really matter to me that much because I was just going to make new friends either way, and I have already started making new friends at Rowan already).

Regarding my major, I’m going to be majoring in political science, which I think (maybe?) Rutgers-N has a better program in. At Rowan, I would be in the honors program.

Overall, the cost of attendance at Rowan right not is 11k a year for me while if I went to Rutgers-N it would be 9k a year (and for me, 2K less would rlly help).

What are your opinions on which one I should attend? Which one would be better for me regarding my major?

Also, I know someone is going to be like “why go to either when Rutgers New Brunswick is a better option?” I was never paying 30K a year for college, so that was never going to be an option for me. So these are the ONLY two choices that I am considering right now, due to all the other choices being too expensive.

Thank you!

2

I’m a fan of Rowan. Two of my kids have gone there (son, a civil engineer; daughter a Masters grad in clinical mental health). They’ve done well post-college and were very involved while there. They each had a great college experience.

Seems to me that you’ve given this some practical thought and have a vision of your goal, which makes the path easier to define. That might change or it might not. You don’t want regret. So, let’s ask more (rhetorical) questions that only you can answer for yourself.

Where do you see yourself best succeeding?

What is the learning environment? Would you be in smaller classes with discussions or in lecture halls? Will you be able to visit a professor for help and advice if need be? (Many undergrad instructors are adjuncts or grad assistants these days). Which suits you best?

Will I be able to get the classes I want with the professors I want at the times that I need? If you can’t, that adds up to an extra semester or two to get your undergrad degree, which costs money. I don’t know about Rutgers-Newark, but that’s a problem I’ve seen often at Rutgers NB.

Where do you seeing yourself getting more involved on campus and in the community? Where do you see yourself getting more “co-conspirators”? (That’s a whole different circle on the Venn Diagram of Life than social or personal “friends”, although there might be overlap; co-conspirators are those who share goals and work together to achieve them. I’m lucky - I’ve had both and so have my kids). To me, that’s the biggest factor in post-college success and being just another degreed debtor - between online degree mills, commuter colleges, and elite brick-and-mortar colleges. Since, you’re thinking poli sci, you might want to be a campaign volunteer or community activist during your studies. Where do you think you’d have a bigger impact?

Let’s say you’ll spend 15-18 hours a week in class. Let’s add another 15-18 hours/week study time. 8 hours/day for sleep (yeah, right). That’s 92 hours in a 168-hour week. How you spend the remaining 76 hours can be the difference between perpetual happiness/fond memories and despair/regret.

A Bachelor degree in Poli Sci is most often a gateway toward something else, such as a law degree or specialty. Is grad school in your thoughts?

What are the consequences of changing your mind? How much will it cost me to change? Will it burn a bridge? The cost of changing your mind is far more once you’ve started classes than it is now.

If I were you, I’d take a lesson from the wisest American - Ben Franklin. Among his innovations was the Ben Franklin Chart that he used to make difficult decisions. Get two sheets of paper (preferably in a very bright color), one for Rowan, the other for Rutgers Newark. Divide each in half vertically. On the left side of each page, bullet-point the Pros of each school on their own merits (not as a comparison). On the right side, your Concerns. They are allowed to be emotional, too. You might identify additional questions while doing this. That’s good.

When you are done, just look at the page that has the greatest disparity between content in the left column and the right column. Don’t re-judge. That’s the way to go! What’s the worst that can happen? You made a mistake? If that’s the case, your mind (even 30+ years later) will flash back to the bright-colored piece of paper with the scrawl on it and you’ll say to yourself, “Well, based on the info I had at the time, it was the right move so I’m not going to beat myself up over it.” No regrets. Happy life.

One more thing: Pick up the book (it’s cheap) called “101 Great Philosophers: Makers of Modern Thought” by Madsen Pirie. Just a page-and-a-half basic, easy to read synopsis on each great thinker. You can pick it up and put it down. You don’t have to memorize it but you might use it to define and redefine yourself and use some of the stuff in your papers to get an A++. You’ll learn the difference between fact-spewing, know-how, and knowledge is asking the right questions, not knowing all the answers. You’ll read the Declaration of Independence and Preamble of the Constitution differently. Remember that Education is Transactional: Education = Teaching + Learning + Question Asking + Using. Failures are the ones who neglect the last three factors.

Good luck!