And oh yeah, TCNJ is finishing off its brand new multi-million dollar STEM building this fall, so it won’t take a back seat to other NJ state schools in that category either soon. 
Lol, @ I think we can all agree that both are very good choices. And rather that put them against each other we can say that they offer in many ways a much better alternative than Rutgers (#piling on Rutgers lol)
Seriously though, we are fortunate to have some of the best public elementary schools, hopefully continued investment in TCNJ and Rowan will help NJ offer competitive alternatives to what you can find in Virginia, PA and NY. The goal should be to make them both regarded as public ivies, one for north jersey and one for south. Then the app exodus of nj students will lessen
Agreed. With Rutgers (I’m an alum so I’m used to hearing the jabs at it, but I loved it), TCNJ, NJIT, Rowan and Stevens, New Jersey high school seniors have some very good options if they want to stay in state. I’ve heard some good things about Montclair State, Ramapo and Stockton too. No reason for NJ kids to pay extra for an out of state school anymore.
@QueenJackie, your DS will be VERY happy at Rowan! My DS is a junior and loves it…also in Honors Program as will be your son. He can’t believe how quickly the time is going and is really sad to be graduating next year. Spaceman Ed helped me when my son was deciding and he is right on!! Congrats!!
Wherever the kid feels success, that’s where they should go. The grass isn’t always greener. Sometimes it’s Astroturf.
@Weatherby We’re about the same age. The $$ now is far different than our days. College and especially houses. Where does one find a starter house?
My son chose Rowan over Cornell. Think the ride had a lot to do with it, but it might’ve been more social. I liked Cornell and grew up on Cornell Ave. in my hometown. He had a couple friends go there for engineering. Took a summer (structural, I think) class at Rowan to get a professor he really wanted; a Cornell kid was in the class. Since he’s graduated, he’s worked with engineers from there, Lafayette, Lehigh, VaTech, NC-State and Wilmington, Maryland, etc. Doesn’t feel he’s less prepared than those guys with the debt. When he needed to go to a Big Game somewhere, he took a road trip.
@njdad70 No, this isn’t a Rowan section anymore than it’s a TCNJ section. The OP asked for a comparison, and the first reply was “prestige” nonsense. To be honest, I don’t think either is “prestigious” and “prestige” (except for maybe a couple handsful of schools in the country) matters to anyone except the parents. Too often, the “prestige” comes from a football or basketball program than a classroom. As a recruiter, I’ve met dopes and jailbirds from Harvard and whizzes from state schools. Don’t ask me about the deadbeat I worked with from Wharton.
I like Georgetown lawyers and Princeton economists. But that doesn’t mean that those who went elsewhere aren’t better or less prestigious. Heck, I’ve been tweeting with a white lawyer who, out of necessity, got his law degree from an historically black NC college. Now he’s a thought leader. The law books are the same no matter where you go.
I like TCNJ. Been one of the “best value” schools for a long time. I’m a recruiter who visits campuses and talks to people. Both schools get top students accepted at prestige schools. But, with the engineering and medical schools, Rowan is a notch above TCNJ for top students, both initially and through transfers (financial, buyers remorse, homesickness, etc.). Overall, TCNJ is more selective.
Which is a better school? As a recruiter, it doesn’t really matter. Comes down to the student. TCNJ is more selective.
Smaller. A teaching degree means the same for both. A business degree, I’d go with TCNJ historically, but Rowan is coming on there, too. For engineering, it’s not even close. Hence, the STEM building at TCNJ. Grad school: Rowan gets the nod because of choices. Overall, yes, there are Rowan students who couldn’t get into TCNJ undergrad.
My son is currently a senior at TCNJ. He is a computer engineering major with a minor in math. He was accepted to quite a few schools including Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Lehigh University, University of Delaware and Rutgers. He did not apply to Rowan… He wasn’t interested in Rowan (although our daughter went to Rowan as a math major and was happy there). I will say that TCNJ is a much more selective school. Not to say that Rowan is not an excellent school as well. My son is a very bright student and some of his equally bright friends are in the engineering programs at Rowan. My son chose TCNJ for the beautiful campus, the location, the smaller size, its selectivity and its reputation. He also received a four-year merit scholarship which has helped with costs. He takes many of the same courses as the electrical engineering students. The two majors are very much intertwined. Overall he has been happy with the program. He did come into the program with over 60 college credits through a combination of AP scores and community college credits that he earned through high school classes. That helped ease his college load over the four years. It is a rigorous program - although engineering is known to be a rigorous program pretty much anywhere. He has been quite content at TCNJ. He landed an internship with Amazon last summer and will be working for them starting in July. Some of his college classmates have had decent internships including Google, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin. It’s a tough decision - choosing a college. Good luck to you. I can only tell you that my son has had a good experience at TCNJ.
@Irishgal97, Had a wonderful visit at TCNJ with my DD18 yesterday. We were both very impressed with the campus, and I’m happy to see all the growth and building since I was there to visit with my son back in 2014. Thanks for your positive review!