<p>my personal opinion is that tcnj is the better of the two, but what's yours?</p>
<p>Rutgers, no contest</p>
<p>Do a search....you will find this topic much discussed!
The schools are very different entities.....one is not 'better' than the other. It depends what criteria are important to you.</p>
<p>TCNJ lacks a national reputation (wasn't it called Trenton State several years ago). However, this is only one of many factors that you should consider in selecting a college.</p>
<p>in terms of academics i think rutgers is better. however, i liked tcnj's campus a lot more than rutgers when i visited, but thats not saying a whole lot since rutger's campus is quite bad (its separated by highways for gosh sake).</p>
<p>*i meant the new brunswick campus, ive never really seen camden or newark.... but since camden is now "most dangerous city" or something like that im guessing its not too impressive</p>
<p>I agree with the person before who described them as two completely different entities. TCNJ has much more of a private, liberal arts vibe (apparently the school is being reformed to fit the mold of William and Mary in Virginia) whereas Rutgers has more of a university vibe, which is probably better for those interested in having the resources of a large university. My personal preference would be TCNJ, but that's because I'm more interested in pursuing a teaching career, which TCNJ has a better reputation for. They're both excellent schools though, and NJ is lucky to have them both.</p>
<p>both schools are quite good but actually I must differ with some of the opinions above. TCNJ is much more selective than rutgers and is frankly a better school. The campus is very nice and the professors seem to be very good. Recently, TCNJ won some kind of award (best northeastern public or something). If I were to chose between TCNJ and Rutgers, I would choose TCNJ hands down.</p>
<p>foodisgood- "frankly a better school"...</p>
<p>that's a pretty sweeping comment to make w/ no evidence to back up... the professors at rutgers are more renowned i would say... with more money and bigger labs etc., RU is able to attract those sorts of professors</p>
<p>I think that recognition TCNJ got was for best school that gives out Master's in the Northeast... it's not ranked on in the same league as "doctoral" schools like Rutgers that give out Ph.D's</p>
<p>parts of the Rutgers campus (college ave and douglass, imo) are really nice too by the way</p>
<p>Yeah, super is right...the award that TCNJ was given was for its Master's program. As I stated before, TCNJ is my personal preference, I do not feel it is necessarily a better school. I think each school is better suited for certain programs. Teacher certification, the program I am interested in, is better at TCNJ, hands down. Other programs, however, might be better at Rutgers. It takes a completely different student to be successful at one school than it does to be successful at the other. Students who thrive on smaller class sizes and more one on one attention would probably be better suited for TCNJ, whereas an individual who is very independent and interested in a specific program (say the sciences for example), might do better at Rutgers.</p>
<p>Rutgers also has specific schools such as Mason Gross School of the Arts that are especially strong. For students with certain interests, it would be superior.</p>
<p>i guess i was a little rushed when I said TCNJ was a better school. I was referring more to the smaller atmosphere and what I suspect would be more induvidualized attention. On a campus tour at TCNJ, I noticed the physical classroom sizes were quite small and cohesive in nature. I somehow felt that I would get more personal attention at TCNJ. Don't get me wrong, I am completely independant. It is just that more personal attention is always a benefit in any educational setting. </p>
<p>BTW, TCNJ is very good for sciences. I am applying there for the 7 year medical program and I was very impressed with the science facilites and labs. I believe that the med school accept rate is equal to Rutgers so it is wrong to say that Rutgers is better for sciences.</p>
<p>foodisgood-
Pretty sure your impression of more individualized attention in a smaller setting at TCNJ is correct. And I agree that a student would not have to "NEED" that amount of attention to benefit from it!
Our son in actually a sophomoe at TCNJ and his roommate is in the 7 year med program. It's a great place.
I suspect you will do fine at either Rutgers or TCNJ.</p>
<p>Rutgers has more diverse majors. Rutgers College also has The Henry Rutgers Scholars Program. This is a fantastic program if one can qualify for it. TCNJ has a very strong education program. Rutgers has more extracurricular activities. Plus, if you can survive Rutgers, you can survive anywhere.</p>
<p>this is probably a common question, but is it "easier" to get into a med school where the undergrad school is affiliated with. like how drexel has their own med school, and rutgers is affiliated with umdnj and robert wood johnson i believe?</p>
<p>Affiliation really doesn't matter. Med schools are looking for MCAT scores, GPA's and EC'S. Rutger's is a major research university, so their courses and labs can reflect that. It also doesn't hurt that New Brunswick is the "health care" city. There has been talk, for years, about dissolving UMDNJ and adding it back to the Rutgers system. I think in terms of economics it will eventually occur.</p>