<p>I’m not sure about Gator plates, but TN offers many plates from other SEC schools. I would have to check, but I would bet Gators are one of them. </p>
<p>TN fever is high in Nashville, just maybe not as much on RobD’s street. In my immediate neighborhood we have Vandy, TN, Florida, Kentucky, Auburn and LSU. In my workplace we have intense Alabama, Georgia, LSU, TN and Vandy fans. It’s really a lot of fun. Much more so than when I lived in Texas, and I thought football was a big deal there.</p>
<p>I looked at Rutgers for myself back in the day and was not impressed. At the time Livingston was the coed part. Very strange setup. Even as a PA resident I wanted to go away. I didn’t even look at Penn State, and didn’t get into Cornell or UVA (first year admitting women to UVA). I wound up in the midwest at another Big 10 school which was tops in the country in the major I stayed in for 1 year.</p>
<p>live and learn–I always thought no place had as much football fever as Texas!</p>
<p>I remember in my PA high school days hearing about all the parts of Rutgers–Livingston, Douglas, etc and finding it very peculiar, but those days there were all sorts of parallel schools–Pembroke at Brown; Jackson at Tufts; etc </p>
<p>The Vols year may be rocky, but this must be the first year in history that there were 2 different musicals set in TN on Broadway–Memphis and Million Dollar Quartet.</p>
<p>I was pondering this thread as I drove home today (how sad is that?) and I wonder if part of Rutgers “lack of hometown love” issue is because in the past people used to apply to particular colleges under the Rutgers umbrella. You’d apply to Douglass or Mason Gross, etc. and they were all individually well regarded. I don’t know what the application process is anymore, and I remember there was one college that was looked down on (Livingston maybe?) </p>
<p>I apologize for the tangent this thread has taken!</p>
<p>When filling out the Rutgers application you choose 3 schools that you would like to apply to (ie Business New Brunswick, Business Newark, Pharmacy New Brunswick,etc) and they will accept you into the ones they feel you qualify for. So it is possible to get accepted to one, two or all three of the programs and then you chose the one you enter. </p>
<p>It is still true that certain programs are harder to get into and more well regarded than others. Their pharmacy program is top notch and probably the most difficult to get into. The Business and Engineering programs also have higher criteria than the Arts and Sciences school, so if students are not accepted into these programs they would need to either start in Arts and Sciences or even another campus(like Newark) do well and then try to transfer into the program they want.</p>
<p>I maintain that Rutgers has a lot of students but only the best ones will graduate in their specialty and go on to do very well in their field.</p>
<p>Please let me provide accurate information about merit aid at TCNJ / The College of New Jersey.</p>
<p>Merit Aid at TCNJ ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 and is on top of and separate from need-based financial aid calculated on the basis of expected family contribution from the FAFSA.</p>
<p>I’m also happy to report that despite cuts to our budget from the state of New Jersey, there have been NO cuts to the financial aid and merit aid budget for TCNJ students.</p>
<p>Both schools offer good educations, but TCNJ is more respected academically in NJ. It is harder to get into TCNJ than Rutgers. TCNJ is becoming more known and respected outside NJ each year. The campus is also a lot smaller.</p>
<p>Being in NJ and looking into both schools for my DD, I have to say that TCNJ is considered right below Ivy. Rutgers seems to be more well-respected outside of NJ. Before football became big at Rutgers, it was always considered a safety school for many. Some of those who are attending Rutgers also laugh about it. I was so excited for DD to look into Rutgers. We went for a visit during Rutgers Day last year and she HATED it. Classes are way too big, campus is enormous and the 2 labs that we saw were filthy, and that’s being kind. DD would not be going for science, but considering it’s supposed to be a well regarded research school, I was shocked at the filthy labs. </p>
<p>I would be thrilled if DD got into TCNJ. I think the smaller campus size would be better for her and I believe the smaller class sizes are more conducive to better learning.</p>
<p>But now that you did revive it, I have to rebut your statement that TCNJ may be considered just below an Ivy in academic ranking. You are completely off-base, and you will not find any college ranking list that supports your claim. It may be one of the more competitive of the NJ state schools, but its selectivity and caliber of student do not even remotely resemble that of Princeton or any other Ivy. The only state schools that come close are places like Berkeley, UCLA, UVA, UMich, UNC-CH ,and William and Mary.</p>
<p>I’m sure you’re right but it seems to be the perception of some I’ve spoken too. Much harder to get into than Rutgers and the closest thing NJ will probably ever have (of course not including Princeton). Again, it’s a perception, not necessarily a reality.</p>
<p>And you think this applies to NJ parents only? For the record, we’re still in our college search and DD won’t be starting college until Fall 2014. So I don’t have any allegiance to any particular school. Would I love to DD to get into TCNJ? Absolutely, but we’re also looking at many other schools in NJ. And I don’t believe that one school is better than any other, but I concern myself with which school I think would be best for my child.</p>
<p>Princeton University was the original College of New Jersey and was officially known/named the College of New Jersey for 150 years from 1746 until 1896…</p>
<p>I almost never post in this forum, but some claims are…well, you can fill in the blank.</p>
<p>Here is the reality. I know for a fact that the top students at Rutgers–New Brunswick (like top students at most flagship state universites) are in the running for good jobs at top national corportaion (Microsoft, Amazon, etc.) I would very much doubt that you can say that about TCNJ.</p>
<p>Size is definitely in Rutgers’ favor. You have to think of it from a recruiting perspective as well - Rutgers students will have access to the best and most companies in NJ (possibly outside of Princeton) simply because of the national reach, brand recognition, and sheer size of the undergraduate population. </p>
<p>From a “getting a job” perspective, Rutgers wins hands down IMO. TCNJ is well known for a couple of things such as teaching, but Rutgers (from my understanding) is not a slouch in education either.</p>
<p>Also in Rutgers’ favor is merit aid. Very top students get offered the Presidential Scholarship at Rutgers – essentially a full ride, worth about $24,000/yr. I don’t believe TCNJ offers more than $10K in merit aid – the school doesn’t even try to make a play for those kids. Several of our high school’s recent valedictorians / salutatorians / NMFs have gone to Rutgers for that reason.</p>
<p>My D was accepted at Rutgers & 3 other schools of the 6 she applied to. It was our financial safety, pending scholarship offers at other schools. She made it clear from the get go she did not want to go there because of its size.</p>
<p>We went on Accepted Student day just to learn what we could (before all her acceptances/scholarships were in). While she was completely correct about the size of the place, the one thing that I loved loved loved was the diversity. </p>
<p>I stood next to the rail overlooking the huge gym with tables all around the sides from the various clubs, offices, etc, and looked down on them, & around me—the entire world lives in NJ and all of their h.s. seniors, it seems, had been accepted at Rutgers. Every skin tone that appears in humans and nearly every type of womens’ dress & mens’ headgear was represented. A lot of grannies were along to see the school their grands would attend, too – -meaning good strong families.</p>
<p>Since my fellow NJans are not only the present of NJ but the future of the US, I would have loved for her to attend a school that had this level of diversity, as well as an amazing number of clubs & student organizations. But, another gave her a very good scholarship, and she is now in a place that is awfully white, where she does not get to see Bhangra competitions.</p>