<p>Wondered if anyone had any thoughts/experiences/ideas re: The College of New Jersey? </p>
<p>I'm told it's become more competitive in recent years (in terms of academic rigor & admission). It looks more affordable, however, than almost any other school son has considered (18k vs 47k for Drexel/RPI etc.). </p>
<p>Son wants to major in comp sci. He has pretty decent test scores (SAT 2110, ACT 34) almost all honors courses in HS, but weakness is gpa (overall UW 3.0; but 4.0 this year [junior]). So, it seems as if son might have a better chance of admission here than at schools such as WPI, RPI.</p>
<p>Another dad here advised that it does have a decent comp sci program (but not tons of variety in classes).</p>
<p>Would very much appreciate any thoughts! (too local? not well-known/well-regarded outside NJ?)</p>
<p>TCNJ is rising in selectivity and recognition. My nephew will be a freshman in the fall and his family did an extensive college search to find the right fit. He is out of state, and fell in love with the campus and the student "vibe". They are interested in getting more out of state students, and your son would almost definitely be admitted, especially with the strong junior year. There are lots of merit scholarships available, too.<br>
I will warn that the Admissions Dept can be a little disorganized. This is the school from which my nephew received a thin envelope in advance of the early decision notification date. He was crushed, until careful reading revealed that he had been rejected for a JOB in the Admissions Dept (at least they weren't hiring high school seniors.....). Somehow his resume attachment had gotten into the wrong pile.</p>
<p>My son liked TCNJ, and we, too, are out of state. He spoke highly of the campus and many of the opportunities it seemed to offer. Mind you, it does have the reputation of being a teachers' college, but that did not seem to bother him. He is interested in the sciences, and TCNJ's program is excellent. He also liked the fact that you get a day off (without classes) in the middle of the week. That allowed one of our guides to do an extensive internship in banking, and he was just a sophomore at that time.</p>
<p>Its reputation is growing, and those nice SAT mid-50 percent numbers seem to please my son, who did not care for that other area school (Princeton) when we visited.</p>
<p>I am a graduate -many years ago- keep an eye on NJ higher Ed budget cuts and housing.</p>
<p>Years ago it was "Trenton State" - IMO, not somewhere any academically strong hs senior would have considered...but it is dramatically different now; much harder to get into than a lot of nearby flagship state universities.</p>
<p>Just realized I insulted above poster...sorry!!!!!!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for those insights!! Glad to hear the positives. There would be a lot of pluses for son there (we're hoping to visit soon--glad it's got a nice campus!). Interesting that it's harder to get into than other state flagships (I'm assuming--Rutgers?). </p>
<p>Son has just started looking westward to USC (been to CA & loved the weather!). I don't really know if that's at all realistic (gpa req's, cost + travel costs). So...want to have those financial/admission 'safer' options lined up. </p>
<p>Again--appreciate!</p>
<p>I have also looked at TCNJ for my D, we are out of state. I learned of it from a co-worker whose D was one of the winners of our company's very competetive college scholarship award. She chose TCNJ out of a group of very impressive admission offers she received. I will find out how her freshman year went soon.</p>
<p>When I looked at materials that my D's school guidance office provided, it is listed in the top tier in a handout that contained 4 tiers. </p>
<p>Through my unscientific Facebook research, it does look like a very large percentage of students are from NJ. And, given the size of NJ and probably short distances to home for many students, I am betting a lot go home on weekends, so I am following up on that.</p>
<p>^^ My sister/nephew checked into that. Not as many bail on the weekends as you might think because there is a lot of involvement in on-campus activities and sports participation. I was worried about that, too.</p>
<p>We're in NY; good public high school; the kids who were accepted to TCNJ had SATs over 1300 (1600 scale); kids who were rejected has SATs over 1200.</p>
<p>Muffy- I was not insulted at all- your statement is correct. The strength of student attending TCNJ today is far superioir to when I attended. I am not sure how that translates into the actual education. The assumption is that it is better but how do you measure that.
Accounting was a strong program when I attended and so were the various education majors are they better now? TCNJ has marketed themselves as well as any of their peer public colleges and for that they deserve credit.</p>
<p>Nice to hear that they have lots of active on-campus activities and sports participation, MomofWC. I always look for that when we tour colleges on weekends---are there lots of kids around? Muffy--interesting about the SAT admiss stats. Son would make that cut but lower gpa is always a wild card so hard to tell.
Tom--always good to hear from a satisified grad; that's encouraging!</p>
<p>Another nice aspect of TCNJ is its location. You are less than an hour away from Philadelphia, New York City, the NJ shore, and only few minutes from Princeton.</p>
<p>this link is to tcnj factbook -- breaks down admissions data by program -- TCNJ</a> Fact Book :: The College of New Jersey
selectivity does seem to vary based on which program you are applying to.</p>
<p>there's a lot to like about tcnj. only concern may be how budget cuts will affect things.</p>
<p>have you looked over at the tcnj forum? (its alphabetized under "N" in the alphabetical listing of colleges.)</p>
<p>Thanks iamhere--appreciate those suggestions...willl check out both those references. Brysia--true re: the locay...we're in NJ, so definitely appreciate the options (not that we always exercise those nearby cultural offerings!)</p>
<p>One of my friends is a junior math major there. He seems to like the school a lot. Their campus is very nice (from what I've seen when I've visited him there) and the administration has put a lot of effort in recent years into expanding and upgrading it. While I can't tell you too much about the actual quality of their academics their reputation has definitely been rising in recent years. Central Jersey is not really a super-fun place for college-aged people in general, which I think helps explain why TCNJ is so underrated but the campus has always seemed bustling when I've been there.</p>
<p>TCNJ's reputation has improved greatly over the years. However, for a CS major he would be better off in a school with a bigger (and more well-known) department. With his ACT score of 34, he should be able to get into such a school.</p>
<p>My HS DD had a soccer game at TCNJ today (1pm) and I was surprised at how few college kids we saw on campus (we had to walk across the entire campus to the soccer field). We only saw a few college kids throwing a ball/frisbee around and 1 girl sunbathing. Perhaps they were all inside studying. Tons of 16yo soccer girls walking around, though (and a tennis match was going on).</p>
<p>One negative IMO was lack of a college town or street or ANYTHING nearby. We were looking for somewhere to eat after the game and realized there is literally NO WHERE within walking distance, so I guess the college kids either have to have a car or simply don't go anywhere. I mean I know they can take a shuttle to the train, but I mean a quick break to eat/shop/movie... </p>
<p>Our HS routinely sends quite a few kids each year. They do return home often, but I think they see that as a good thing (can make it to siblings' games, family events, etc). It's a good choice for those NJ students who find RU too large. I'm sure students can find friends to hang out with on weekends. And some of those kids who do leave campus on weekends don't necessarily go home. I think many go visit HS classmates at RU, Rowan, and other local schools so while they're not at TCNJ, they are still out having fun.</p>
<p>Word I've heard is it's harder to "get in" than to "stay in" (classes not too difficult). The caliber of students has increased but maybe not necessarily the workload? Guess you could argue either way if that's good or bad. Most of the students I know have said that the college is less intense than they expected and they like it that way. But, they were in all honors/AP courses in HS. Perhaps some students would have different opinions as to the workload.</p>
<p>tcnj just finished classes and exams start this week -- i would think that might affect how many people are just hanging around on a sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>Our son (2004 HS grad) spent two years at TCNJ but will graduate this December from Rutgers U.</p>
<p>He found much to like about TCNJ: beautiful campus, small classes with profs that seemed to care alot about their students, that lovely Wed with no classes scheduled that allowed some flexibility. One extraordinary prof connected him to opportunities for networking and jobs in his field.<br>
He made and has kept several good friends....the students are bright, study a bit but not tooooo much and do find time to have fun. Trips to Philly or NYC are not uncommon (train or car).</p>
<p>Son found after two years that TCNJ was too small for his major and he needed a larger, more competitive environment. He has been very happy with the opportunities at Rutgers, although the large campus there does present a different set of challenges.</p>
<p>We're glad he's happy but we miss TCNJ's campus.....much lovelier than New Brunswick!</p>