Rutgers vs. NJIT Engineering

I’ve been struggling with making the choice between Rutgers and NJIT for the past month, and right now really any recommendations will help me get closer to choosing, hopefully.

My situation:
Currently, my choice of major is Mechanical Engineering. I was accepted to the Honors College for School of Engineering at Rutgers and NJIT’s Albert Dorman Honors College. Rutgers gave me a $13,000 merit scholarship (renewable for 3 additional years as long as I maintain a 3.0 GPA). NJIT gave me full tuition plus $8,640 for housing/other expenses (also renewable for 3 more years if I maintain a 3.2 GPA).

If money was not a concern I would hands down choose Rutgers because of the atmosphere and student life. From what I’ve heard (this is solely based off what people have told me), NJIT has basically zero social life. I’ve also been on the NJIT campus for science competitions and it feels very robotic. However, I don’t know if I can justify going to Rutgers for so much more money. Virtually, I would be able to come out of NJIT without any debt.

I will be taking all comments with caution, but I mostly would like to know from people who have gone through or are currently at NJIT’s and Rutgers’ to help me decide if NJIT is as bad as I think it is or if Rutgers is worth the extra money. It would also be great to get opinions from people who have graduated/will graduate with a Mechanical Engineering degree, specifically.

Thank you in advance!

I’d go to Rutgers. Top-notch Honors College education allows you to get a great job after graduating and pay off that debt quickly. A lot of my friends are at the Honors College and really love their time there, it seems like they have quite a bit of access to internships and cool activities.