<p>I have a dilemma right now about whether I should transfer to a different college so I can have a better college experience overall. </p>
<p>I've been at NJIT for a year now and after spending some time here, I have to say the place pretty much sucks. The only thing I'd say NJIT really has going for it is how the school's very generous with money. I thought free is good, but now I'm doubting whether it's worth continuing attending here. It basically feels like high school over again. The environment sucks and the social life is terrible. You could argue that your "college experience" is whatever you make of it, but I just think of how the atmosphere here is and the mindset of the students, and I've nearly arrived at the conclusion that I wouldn't be happy here, regardless of whether the education itself makes it any worthwhile.</p>
<p>What I want to do is transfer to Rutgers New Brunswick for the 2012 fall semester since I feel Rutgers is such a superior school compared to NJIT in so many ways, whether it's undergraduate engineering rankings, better name recognition, better social life or better education. The problem I have though is the same reason I initially didn't go to Rutgers in the first place: money money money. I'm almost certain Rutgers would give me very little, if anything, in terms of scholarships/grants/aid and FAFSA gives me nothing as well.</p>
<p>What I'm wondering and debating with myself is this; is it really worth taking on debt just to satisfy some craving and desire for a decent "college experience?" Am I really justified in my grievances towards NJIT enough to warrant such a price tag?</p>
<p>I would say myself that whether I graduated from Rutgers or NJIT, I'd probably end up with a similar job either way, but I can't help but think that Rutgers is worth the investment. I've asked some other people about this already, but I would like CC's opinion/advice on this as well. Thanks!</p>
<p>Think about it, should you really have to pay that much money for an “experience”? I don’t think you should keep going to your school if you’re miserable, but I wouldn’t go into debt because I thought I might have a better college lifestyle. You could go to a really nice school with a great environment and still not like it. Do some tours of schools you could afford to transfer to and see what you think about their environments.</p>
<p>do you want to look back and regret your college experience? you only live once. why stay if you’re miserable?</p>
<p>How much debt would you have to take on for Rutgers?</p>
<p>Can you afford it without going eyeball-deep in debt?</p>
<p>I left my first university for similar reasons to yours. But I transferred to a school with essentially equivalent costs. If you can’t afford the price increase without incurring significant debt (that is, anything beyond Stafford loans), you need to think long and hard about the long-term consequences of such borrowing.</p>
<p>I’m a chemical engineering major, so if I stay instate, my choices would be limited to schools like Stevens, Rutgers and I think Rowan. Stevens is probably the most expensive and the other two would be around the same amount I think. </p>
<p>That’s also the thing though; it could be that i’m just chasing after ghosts and deluding myself into thinking things will be better, but I won’t really know until I take the jump though right?</p>
<p>@PRiNCESSMAHiNA</p>
<p>Assuming I dorm, I’d ballpark the number to around $40k for 2 years. I plan on doing one more year at NJIT before I decide to transfer or not. My parents might help me out somewhat but I can’t count on them too much.</p>
<p>$40k in debt for only 2 years is kinda a lot. Though if you can get a really good job after, that would be what you’d need, and engineering majors tend to do well. Are you planning to go to grad school and end up with more debt? The grad school vs getting a job right away decision is something to consider, because you don’t want to have 40k in debt, plus grad school debt.</p>
<p>Check out out-of-state schools. Some schools offer tuition discounts for students in nearby states. Others might be cheaper than $40K total anyway.</p>
<p>I’m actually at NJIT right now. In your year, I think? I wonder if we know each other o_o For me, given the choice of Rutgers NB vs NJIT, I’d still go for NJIT because smaller schools suit me better, I feel the honors college is quite a close knit community, and like in your case it’s pretty much free for me too. </p>
<p>I assume you’re an honors student, since you mention having generous scholarships? There are many honors related organizations you could get involved with, joining a frat/sorority may help with social life if that’s your thing. Although I’d also agree that a large portion of the student body are people I’d probably not want to acquaint myself with, I have managed to find myself a great circle of friends.</p>
<p>@Muscovy</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m an honors student, but can’t say that I spend much time in places like the honors lounge. I hardly had the time last semester. It’s possible we’ve seen each other at some point.</p>
<p>I probably will have to involve myself with some honors committees and whatnot just to fulfill community service requirements. The frat/sorority option is still something I’m considering, whether if I stay or transfer. </p>
<p>Honestly though, I just want to get out of here, but I realize I have to think long and hard about this since I’m taking a risk and there’s a lot of unknowns.</p>
<p>Stevens is the best engineering school in NJ. I have to say when I was at Stevens - 30 years ago - the students who could not hack the intense workload at Stevens transferred to Rutgers, NJIT, and other schools. If you are up to the challenge of 19 credits per semester, and in turn get the most well rounded and in-depth program in the state, then by all means you should consider Stevens. With respect to cost, yes, as a private university Stevens is more expensive than NJIT or other public institutions however, Stevens graduates enjoy a 10.7% return on their tuition investment (according to Payscale/Bloomberg Business Week), and if youre grades at NJIT are sufficiently high to merit a transfer, you will find Stevens is quite generous with financial aid. Don’t worry too much about the cost of tuition - when you graduate and get that well compensated engineering job you will be able to pay off your student loans as I did, and many others. You will also find the city (Hoboken), which is an upscale place, to be a far better environment than Newark.</p>