<p>S is considering TCNJ for Engineering. The school is highly rated in general and has a great campus but I'd welcome any insight and opinions on the Engineering program. He is also considering Rutgers, Fairfield, Stevens, NJIT, & Penn State. Thanks.</p>
<p>I have a friend in engineering who is working her butt off as a first semester freshman. The program is rigorous, but I’m not sure of the reputation. TCNJ in general has a good reputation among people who have heard of the school (if you call it by its old name, Trenton State, you should clarify that the school is much more selective now), especially for biology and education. Obviously programs like Penn State and Rutgers are going to be more well-known, but TCNJ is superior academically to Rutgers and, in my opinion, Penn State. Also consider how he will feel being an out-of-state student at a primarily in-state school; TCNJ is 98% Jersey and 2% elsewhere, with the elsewhere mainly being from PA (my home state) and New York. It seems like you live in Jersey, so consider the same scenario for Penn State, which is primarily Pennsylvania students. The social life at TCNJ is laid-back, generally speaking. Everyone is pretty friendly and there are plenty of clubs to join of the meet-every-day variety as well as the meet-every-other-week variety. There are parties but they are definitely not ragers and rarely take place on campus. It really depends on what kind of program your son is looking for as well. I would recommend attending an open house or meeting with a professor who can address the academic side of things, as well as wandering around the (beautiful!) science complex or engineering building and chatting with some other engineering students about their experiences. No one will ignore you unless they’re rushing to get to class on time.</p>