I’m a 20±year recruiter. For mechanical engineering in NJ, you have smaller schools such as Stevens and NJIT. You have a big university, Rutgers NB. In the middle, you have Rowan. All with very good reputations in the market.
For engineering, right now, TCNJ is clearly second-rate (or below) compared to the above. But it wasn’t long ago that Rowan engineering got started and offered a free education to those who took a shot with the newcomer. Haven’t heard a single regret.
Although Rutgers is comparable in annual price to Rutgers & TCNJ, be aware that it’s very common for full-time Rutgers students to need another semester or two to complete their diploma. And it’s likely in many classes that you will not have direct access to a professor. You will have teaching or grad assistants, while the professors are doing research or spending time with the grad students.
Might just be semantics, but your statement “Rowan is also improving its engineering college but it will be mainly for Electrical and Computer Engineering Department” is not quite correct. Rowan is expanding their engineering college facilities due to demand, especially in the two areas above - but all engineering disciplines will benefit. And combined with their medical colleges and a new hospital being build down the road (where Rt. 55 meets US-322), they are expanding their abilities in bio-med.
I’d even argue with your statement that “TCNJ is better in liberal arts”. They are more selective with incoming freshman, primarily suburban kids with pretty good SATs. Rowan and the Rutgers system is more inclusive. But a good student is a good student anywhere, and slackers have a tendency to not last.
TCNJ is a pretty school, brick facades and all. But inside, not all that. It’s a good school. They pitch prospective students as well as any school I’ve ever visited. But it’s not an Engineering school, and it will take a while to become one. Engineering studies involve group projects, a lot of collaboration between disciplines, sometimes even involving other colleges. It’s not just you - you’ll need good teammates to work with and to challenge you.
If you were my kid, I’d advise you to pick the one that feels best among the schools in the first paragraph.