TCNJ

I’m a junior in high school. My GPA is pretty average, 3.4 unweighted and 3.9 weighted. I have a 1420 on the SAT, but I plan to get a 1500+ when I take it for the last time in August andI took three subject tests. I do a lot of music, such as my school choir, all-girls a cappella group, girl choir for my area, and all state choir. I volunteer every Sunday to teach kindergarteners and I was accepted to be in the Urban Teacher Academy this summer. I am also a state ambassador for NSHSS. I would like to be an elementary school teacher. What do you say are my chances of getting into TCNJ? Also, what more can I do in order to improve my chances of getting in?

Does your HS have Naviance? If so, have you looked at your GPA/SAT and compared them to other students who applied to TCNJ?
What courses have you taken in English, math and science? What APs have you taken?

My guess is your SAT looks great but your GPA may be a bit low depending on what courses you took. But you should still apply.

Freshman Applicants

TCNJ students are academically gifted, demonstrate strong initiative, and have diverse talents. TCNJ’s admissions staff examine every component of a student’s application, but none more carefully than the high school transcript. The record of course selection, grades, GPA, class rank, and the strength of the curriculum provides the most accurate predictor of a student’s chance for success in college.

While there are no minimum transcript requirements for admission, recently admitted students averaged an A/A- GPA and a rank in the top 15% of their graduating class. These students also averaged a 1280 on the Math and Critical Reading sections of the SAT and a 28 on the ACT… though again, there are no minimum test scores required for admission.

TCNJ is a realistic place to apply to. Although your gpa isn’t that high, your SAT is great and could net you significant merit aid from other schools like Rowan and Ramapo. You’ll definitely get into Rutgers but the campus is huge and riding the buses is necessary. TCNJ only gives $6000 maximum merit aid. So TCNJ may not be your best value

I got in/will be attending in the fall with a 3.3 UW GPA, a 2010 on the old SAT, and extracurriculars similar to yours. I’d say you have a pretty good chance of getting in, especially if you’re able to increase your SAT score, but it might be beneficial for you to visit campus and take a tour to show your interest. Best of luck!

I’d suggest if you want to be a teacher, you should also look at Rowan. They give awesome merit aid and are a growing campus. (I’m a TCNJ alum with two kids at Rowan now, both will come out with no debt)

I think you have a very good chance at TCNJ, especially as an education major. You would get into every other NJ state school as well (Rowan is more generous with merit if that’s a concern). Education apps are way down, especially in NJ, so I think you are a strong candidate wherever you apply. Good luck!

TCNJ just ranked #24 in the entire country 2017 money magazine !!

Your stats are definitely in the area of other TCNJ applicants, so I think you have a decent chance of getting in. That said, you may also want to apply to a other NJ schools if you want to teach in New Jersey. The education major is a very popular major at TCNJ, so it may be harder to get in and you’ll want some other options. Rutgers has an excellent education program and is not as difficult to get into now as TCNJ for some reason. Honestly, I don’t understand why TCNJ became the premier college in New Jersey. It’s turned itself around in just a few decades which is impressive but also a little confusing to me. But that’s for another thread…

There are the private NJ schools to consider. I got my Master’s in Teaching at Monmouth University years ago and its program (and its reputation) has also improved over time. Plus it’s on the shore which is really a nice perk! Georgian Court is another good school for education majors. Many of my daughter’s friends have transferred to both of those schools after getting their Associates at Brookdale. That’s yet another option and a far cheaper one to consider.

Good luck to you! Teaching is a rewarding profession, especially when a child returns years later and tells you how your teaching made a difference in their life!

If you want to go to college for teaching, please be smart financially. Pick an in state, public school. Don’t choose Monmouth (private) that costs nearly twice as much (53,000 cost of attendance per year vs TCNJ at $33,000) . The degree is the same, certification tests are the same. Debt is potentially much worse!

@veehee

TCNJ became a premier school in a short time by doing several things. First, they developed a well funded merit aid program around 1986, actively recruited the winners of the NJ Governor’s Scholar award and developed a dynamic Honors program. This attracted high achieving kids from all over the state. They built upon this foundation, keeping in touch with alumni and building networks for the upcoming classes. Second, they poured their borrowed money into academic and residence halls, transforming the campus into a beautiful environment. Rutgers poured their borrowed money into sports programs and an upgraded football stadium. Third, they kept class sizes small and taught by the professors, not by grad students.

The bad news: TCNJ doesn’t give nearly the amount of merit aid it did previously. The more well known it became, the less it needed to work to attract good students. The NJ public school that gives the most merit aid now is Rowan, which is following in TSC’s footsteps outlined above. Ramapo and Stockton also give good aid, but are much smaller.

Alum of TSC, two kids at Rowan.

@NJRoadie thanks for the comprehensive account of TCNJ’s rise to the top. Despite all those improvements, it doesn’t hold much power outside of the tri-state area. And as you said, it’s getting stingy with the financial aid packages.

Monmouth may be private and therefore have a much higher price tag, but don’t discount scholarship money from them (or any privates) as they can drive down the price dramatically whereas publics don’t have as much to offer.

@veehee
Monmouth costs $53000. Even if they gave every student 20K, the cost of attendance would then be equal to that of TCNJ if you had been given no aid. I don’t know what the average aid is that they give students, as an alum can you find this out? I’d be curious!!

TCNJ is #24 in best colleges for your money nationwide! It is a great value.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-new-jersey/2003667-tcnj-is-24-nationwide-in-best-colleges-for-your-money.html#latest

@NJRoadie from what I’ve heard and seen the merit aid TCNJ gives is based on students’ gpa and test scores. I don’t know much about need-based. Monmouth has programs for “under-privileged” youth where they get a full-ride plus merit aid for those students who are above-average compared to the average student.

Overall if I was sending a child to a NJ state school, I’d probably choose Rowan because of the cost savings. TCNJ isn’t going to be as generous and if you’re just looking for a teaching degree in NJ, save money and reduce your debt.

I was told that TCNJ’s merit is decided on a holistic basis. The website says you should have at least a 1320 but an admission person told me above 1350 is best.

Merit is supposed to go up to 6,000 but I thought some kids here got up to 8,000 at TCNJ. I do think they have programs for those with significant fi Ian coal need.

Merit at Rowan goes up to about 22,000 according to an admissions person.

I would like to share an anecdote about TCNJ merit aid. Two years ago, my daughter graduated HS in NJ and TCNJ was her #1 college choice. She wants to be a secondary teacher. She had qualifications that made her likely to get merit aid, but she wanted to apply ED. We were very concerned about applying ED because common sense told us that no school would offer an enticement (merit aid) to someone willing to commit to ED. I contacted TCNJ to express my concerns and they assured me that merit aid decisions were independent of application type. Really? I mean, hey, I’m from Jersey. I was born on a Tuesday, but not last Tuesday. It was hard to believe.

Anyway, despite the alarm bells going off in my head, my daughter applied ED. She got in and TCNJ gave her decent merit aid. I was blown away and I’m very happy to recount the story for any CC’ers considering TCNJ.

but @ekdad212 know that if it were known that any college didn’t give merit aid to EDers than they would get less of them…and colleges like EDers as they will definitely come and increase their yield.

My DD did the same thing!

TCNJ is about the BEST choice you could make especially for a teaching degree. They are a leading program in the entire country. There simply is no better program and that goes double for in the state of NJ. good luck

My DD had a similar experiance as @bopper and @ekdad212
I was happily surprised that applying ED definately did not keep her from getting merit aid!

I got more money from TCNJ than Rowan, 3 or 4K. Seems no rhyme or reason to that.

@ladygriff

What were your stats (SAT/GPA/Class Rank) and high school graduation year? How much did TCNJ offer vs. Rowan’s offer?
What other ECs did you bring to the table?

Always trying to learn about $$ offers for NJ state schools. Thanks!

My foster son and my daughter had very similar SAT, GPA, class rank etc. He graduated in 2015 and was offered $7,500 a year. She graduated in 2016 and was offered $11,500 a year. Neither was offered anything from TCNJ, in spite of both parents being alums. I believe my daughter was offered more money because of her volunteer activities as well as the fact that Henry Rowan (the huge donor to Glassboro State College) died in Jan 2016. There may have been a bump for my kid because of that.