<p>Any opinions about which is considered better, TCNJ or Rutgers? I know they are totally different, one small one large. But as far as better education, please advise if you have valid opinion - thanks.</p>
<p>You answered your own question by they are totally different but as far as the quality of education goes they are both well rated with TCNJ being the harder one to get into, but Rutgers having the name recognition nationally. You will get a lot more inferior students at Rutgers mainly because it is so large, but I doubt a lot of those will ever graduate. Once you get into upper level classes for your major it is serious business (along with much smaller class sizes). The Rutgers degree seems to hold a lot of weight since many undergrads seem to get into top Grad schools and they were highly ranked by recruiters in the WSJ article, whereas TCNJ is still not known nationally.</p>
<p>I agree with mamajay.</p>
<p>Also agree. The other point is that Rutgers has many more majors and course offerings. TCNJ is great if you want to teach or study liberal arts. </p>
<p>The biggest downside to Rutgers is the size and, from what I have heard, the bureacracy. Either one is a great choice for an NJ resident.</p>
<p>Agreed. I attended TCNJ for a year, but earned one of my degrees from Rutgers. I spent many years living in the Midwest, and when people out there heard that I had a degree from Rutgers, from their reaction, I might as well have said Cornell or Columbia. It surprised me, but most people there never lived in the northeast and didn’t know the difference. Most of the people that I’ve met in other parts of the country, and I’m talking about non-academics, didn’t know that Rutgers is a public school (many of the same people who think the U of Pennsylvania is a public school). Had I said “The College of New Jersey” they would’ve looked at me like “oh, what’s that?”</p>
<p>My point is that every state has schools with terrific local name recognition like TCNJ, but the school’s name doesn’t mean anything when you leave the state or the region. Fair or not, national name recognition can make a difference in your career. It doesn’t mean a school with national name recognition is better than one without it, but it can help when you relocate. Then again, some people believe they will spend the rest of their lives in their home state, so the school with only local name rep is good enough. I was born and grew up in Jersey. I had no intention of spending the rest of my life there.</p>
<p>Thanks all. I also asked my D fantastic School Counselor- TCNJ or Rutgers? He said Rutgers.</p>
<p>I would say TCNJ. A lot less bureaucracy and more individual attention, if that matters to your student. Agree that Rutgers has by far the better national reach.</p>
<p>Agree with MomofWildChild</p>
<p>My friends who went to TCNJ enjoyed their overall experience more then friends from Rutgers.</p>
<p>Rutgers certainly has a National Rep.</p>
<p>I digress but just last week someone I was talking with here in the midwest thought Rutgers was in the Ivy League. It’s interesting how well known the name Rutgers is nationally.</p>
<p>Rutgers has long been considered a “Public Ivy”</p>
<p>I read once this is because of the age of the school (pre-US).</p>
<p>We live in NJ. However, so far I considered Rutgers as an absolute last resort for my S2. </p>
<p>Huge crowd, large class, and bureaucracy of a public school without the renown and name recognition like UNC Chapel Hill, Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, UVA, etc. My husband taught a couple of junior/senior level courses in his professional field (long story), and came away not impressed with the quality of the students at all. Also, until we moved to NJ, we never heard of Rutgers, and we have been deeply involved in higher education field (Ph.D. fields). </p>
<p>All this is making us steer our son away from Rutgers (he will apply anyway as an ultimate safety). Currently, we are only looking at private schools for S2. Well known public schools charge OOS tuition close to the private school tuition anyway, so there is really no incentive to send him to an OOS public school with large classes and bureaucracy, when there are ample private school choices that offer more (class size, services, attention, etc).</p>
<p>I am surprised to hear on this thread that Rutgers has a fairly solid name recognition outside of NJ and is well regarded. Is this a general sentiment? If so, have we been, all these years, self-loading New Jersians? (if you know what I mean). Perhaps we should consider Rutgers more seriously?</p>
<p>I would like to hear more from folks out side of NJ about their perception… As some posters mentioned above, national name recognition does matter for a long term career choice and move, so this is a factor for him.</p>
<p>RU is better than most NJ people consider it. Very strong in sciences, bio, and many liberal arts. Very good faculty–very so-so campus and that’s being kind. If it has a decent campus like PSU or any other B10 school it would be a very popular place. It was hamstrung for decades by nutty organization plan of a bunch of separate colleges. Now gone. But the awful divided campus design remains.</p>
<p>I think both TCNJ and Rutgers are pretty well respected, although TCNJ more in-state and Rutgers more out-of-state.</p>
<p>They are both solid academically, although TCNJ has more selective admissions. I think it really comes down to fit for the student. </p>
<p>Does the student want a big school environment, Division I sports teams, perhaps a less common major? Rutgers would be the better fit. </p>
<p>On the other hand, does the student want smaller classes taught by professors not TAs, and a compact (walkable) campus? TCNJ would be the better fit. </p>
<p>My S applied to TCNJ, not Rutgers. (But ended up withdrawing after getting accepted ED to WashU.) I think my D will probably apply to both.</p>
<p>lizmane, did you mean “self-loathing”?</p>
<p>I agree that Rutgers has a better reputation outside of NJ. It has a nice conservatory within the school and an excellent pharmacy program. The different schools have differents academic standards so it depends on what your major might be.</p>
<p>Growing up in PA, I had thought of Rutgers as a great school–a notch below Ivy League. When I moved to NJ as an adult, I was surprised to learn that it’s not all that well-regarded here. I’ve been told that many years ago it was actually more selective, though I don’t know if that’s true. However, I think NJ people acknowledge it as good for scientific fields, like engineering and pharmacy.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of Rutgers because of sports. Someone had mentioned TCNJ to me for S because of their interactive multimedia program, so he requested information. Once we looked into it, I was impressed. They have sent several e-mails, letters, etc, some from an “out of state admissions team” so it seems they are looking for more students from outside NJ. I received one today touting their value. However, S has decided he wants to major in game design within a computer science area instead of art, so he won’t be applying.</p>
<p>My son had no desire to apply to Rutgers, but he wanted to tour TCNJ. Really liked it, too. He probably would have kept it on his list if its scholarship funds had not been seriously cut. (We are OOS) What impressed him was the class size and the rigor that some of the students talked about.</p>
<p>Rutgers has a big inferiority complex with NJ HS seniors, however, our HS stresses to kids it is NOT a safety. (In our HS, TCNJ is the safety school!) All the kids I know that ended up at Rutgers, whether it was top choice or fallback, absolutely love the place.</p>
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<p>Haha, thanks for catching that typo. Very embarrassing…</p>
<p>My son is in liberal arts/science kind of field, not engineering. If so, how strong is Rutgers in this field? As I mentioned earlier, I never got the impression that Rutgers was considered academically particularly strong. Maybe we have too high an expectation.</p>
<p>Before we moved to NJ, we lived in a state with an internationally well known state school system, and one thing we said to ourselves was, what a shame that our new home state does not have a public university of that ilk. In fact, when we get together with friends with high school aged children, this issue comes up often enough, that is, it’s a shame that the school our tax money is supporting is not such a terrifically attractive option for our kids. Schools like UVA, Michigan, Berkeley, UNC Chapel Hill etc would be an amazing option for instate students, and obviate the need for shopping for private schools. </p>
<p>Come to think of it, in the North East region, none of the public schools are in the same ball park with the public schools in Mid West or CA. Perhaps because too many top students are heading toward the regional private schools with international renown. </p>
<p>I welcome more opinions that can debunk this perception on my part…</p>
<p>RU has top Philosophy, English, Poli sci and History depts.</p>