Hi everyone. I am very conflicted rn between these two schools, The College of New Jersey, and the University of Scranton. It might seem late in the game to be talking about all of this, but I have already committed to the University of Scranton. That being said, I am beginning to have second thoughts and TCNJ emailed me recently inviting me to apply until as late as June, meaning the process is dragged out a little longer than you might expect.
Here it goes: The University of Scranton is very expensive, but I was lucky enough to get a really huge scholarship meaning the price went from over $60k to under $25k. I am looking to study something in the Biology/Microbiology field and was accepted into their honors program, the SJLA. I have visited both schools and found the Scranton campus to be significantly nicer then the TCNJ campus: better dorms for the same price, a lot nicer food, and the whole campus just looks and feels nicer. That being said, here comes what I am conflicted about: The people. Now I know a few people going to TCNJ, whereas I don’t know anyone going to the U. On top of that, I am concerned about the level of diversity at the U. of Scranton. I come from a very diverse h.s. with lots of people from different backgrounds. From what I’ve seen at the U, it seems to be overwhelmingly jock/preppy upper middle class white kids from W. Jersey, Philly, and Long Island. TCNJ is also mostly from NJ but there seems to be more diversity within that group.
I don’t know what to say but if anyone from either school ould respond that would be really great.
Go ahead and apply to TCNJ. See if you are admitted. See what your aid package looks like and what your final costs end up being. If everything looks better to you than than what Scranton is offering you, you can choose TCNJ.
This plan also has the huge advantage of giving you more time to sort out your feelings about both places, and to learn more about their plans for holding classes this fall. And, frankly, those plans are likely still evolving at both institutions, so the longer you can hold off your final decision, the better.
I agree with happymom…apply to TCNJ and see what they offer. Your decision may become clear one way or the other. Let us know how this turns out for you. I grew up in Scranton and am very familiar with the U.
TCNJ is more diverse, but Scranton has accepted you with a $36,000 per year scholarship and, according to you, has much nicer facilities. Plus, you are in the honors program at Scranton.
In the end, this is likely to be a decision based on COA with Scranton winning.
I’d go with UScranton too.
But apply to TCNJ and see whether it could compete financially. If it’s not cheaper than UScranton, I’m not sure it’s worth it for you.
You did apply to Scranton for good reasons, and you did deposit because it was your favorite among acceptances, right? So, doubting these reasons “just in case” TCNJ wants to admit you, without even access to the honors program there (due to late app), sounds a bit like “buyer’s remorse” and should disappear once you throw yourself into preparing for college at UScranton.
I am a current student at the University of Scranton. I am a rising senior biology major following the pre-med track. I read over your concerns and struggles about choosing the right place for you and I want to offer my insight as a student who identifies as African American/Black attending the University of Scranton.
I come from a family where I am the first child to move off to college, so my mom was not really able to help me figure out the intricacies of the college process. However, the one thing we got to do together was college tours. We ended up visiting Lafayette, Bucknell, and Scranton. Fortunately, I was offered good packages to all 3 schools so the main thing we were really looking for was the vibe of the campus. When we went on our tour of Scranton we were only greeted with a genuine welcome that we didn’t feel at the other schools. And not just from the admissions staff, it was everyone on campus. When we went on our tour there they gave us meal passes so we could have some lunch and I remember aimlessly walking around the cafeteria overwhelmed and my mom was no help as well, and a student walked up and asked me if I needed some help and gave me a little overview on how to navigate the cafeteria. It’s one thing to have people treat you nicely because you are a POC and they want you to come to their school, but the vibe that we got was genuine. I didn’t feel like I was being treated in a more positive light because I’m black, and that’s what I wanted. I wanted to finally break free of the negativity and discrimination in my hometown, but I also didn’t want to just move to a place where everyone would want to be my friend so they could have a token black friend. Scranton is the first time in my life where I have felt that my friends do not look at my race when they see me, they actually see my personality and my interests and that’s is something I would never trade for the world. A school being predominantly white schoo should not scare you away or should never be the core issue; the main thing to think about are the people at the institution.
You want to make sure that you are putting yourself in an environment where you can feel free to express yourself, and going to a school that is statistically “diverse” doesn’t necessarily guarantee that. I have been able to relate my experiences with a lot of people coming from a bunch of different backgrounds at Scranton. Also on campus, we have a club called UCO (United Cultural Organization) which is a club for all students to host events and programs celebrating culture from everyone’s backgrounds. It’s also been a really nice place to meet other students who are POC and make friends that way. Overview because I kinda just went on a mini-rant, although Scranton is PWI attending the school as a POC is not something that should deter you from Scranton, it really is an amazing place to spend your next 4 years.
Also the academics are amazing for us Bio majors and I can go into more detail about that if you wanted. Like I said I’m a 3rd-year bio major and I’ve taken micro and just took my final for immunology. I wanted to give you more info about the racial climate on campus tho because that’s definitely something that I would have liked to hear before I came to college.
I hope this helps you during your college search. I know its stressful, I’ve been there myself. My advice is to trust yourself and choose the place where you feel the most comfortable and that’s where you will do your best!
I appreciate your information about diversity. My D17 is looking at Scranton - it was the first school to send her a postcard about college over a year ago and feels she wants to check it out for the Biochem /Neuro program. I find that knowing a school’s diversity is important to getting a well-rounded view of the school.
I’m not sure if you committed yet with the covid stuff, but if you go scranton, the scholarship will be there , but ONLY if you pledge to maintain a certain gpa.