<p>Went to Rider and Monmouth in New Jersey and wanted to report in. I wasn't sure what I was expecting with Rider since it was listed in the yucky dorms list. We got to campus and there has clearly been a great deal of renovation done since the last rankings. The place is sparkling, manicured and modern. The facilities are the most comfortable of the schools that we've seen. It's not pretty in the traditional sense, but everything is new and meticulously maintained. The brand new fitness center is amazing, there are lounges and big flat screen TVs everywhere, with little coffee bars. The food was excellent with lots of choices, the surrounding area is filled with big, beautiful homes and estates and is quite close to Princeton and an easy trip on NJ Transit to Manhattan. We were quite struck by how friendly everyone was and how perfectly maintained the campus was. As a side note, during the interview, my daughter was told (this is policy) exactly what scholarship she would receive based on the standardized scores and GPA that she already owns. This is not a "maybe" or something she has to compete for, it comes automatically for the scores she has already earned, and the amount makes Rider comparable to our state schools with many more amenities. This school is now second on daughter's list behind Moravian.</p>
<p>Next was on to Monmouth. We were going there because it is supposed to have an excellent marine bio program and those aren't too common here. First of all, the school is breathtaking. Physically spectacular. Think the mansions of Newport. The administration building is the Woodrow Wilson mansion and was used as Daddy Warbucks' home in Annie, and the library is the former Guggenheim estate. These buildings have been maintained in pristine condition. If you consider buildings to be works of art, these are that. Outside are perfectly maintained English gardens. When you stand in the great hall, the ceiling (four stories up) is stained glass and the entire back wall is glass looking out on the gardens. In front of those windows are wide-open class rooms. Almost, if not all, of the campus is wireless and high-tech. The communications and media facilities are amazing and the school radio station is well known on the Jersey shore. The admissions counsellor was one of the best-looking men I've ever seen and daughter couldn't get over all the "hot boys" on campus. The tour guide was smart, articulate, funny and professional. I was totally impressed with the way that the school has integrated technology into all aspects of student life. I liked the fact that most of the residences are on the other side of campus (across an underpass), so my daughter felt like she'd be coming home at the end of the day. They surround several common areas with grass and even a beach volleyball pit. Just a nice, fun lifestyle, and the people there seemed to be very happy and motivated. The only thing I didn't like was that the new dining hall is on the opposite side of campus from the living halls. The security was excellent, too, and the campus is completely gated. After the tour, which lasted an hour and a half, we went to the beach which is four blocks away. Simply gorgeous. On a hot August day, it wasn't overcrowded, was spotless and accessible. Plenty of places to go and things to do. The school has rented about 30 brand new, upscale condos right on the beach for upper-class honors housing. Somthing to really aspire to!</p>
<p>THe only bad part of the Monmouth tour was purely personal. We had a group and in the front of the group, a sloppy, surly girl (touring with her sloppy, unpleasant family) with the worst of New York City speech patterns was on the phone loudly and repeatedly. God bless the tour guide because he was so patient. They were unrelentingly loud, vulgar people and everyone else on the tour tried to avoid them. The creepy father couldn't keep his hands off the daughter. At the end, the guide asked where everyone was from and what they planned to study. Vulgar Cell Phone girl was from our town and claimed to want to be pre-med. I (nastily I admit) whispered to my daughter that "pre-truck driver would be more like it."</p>
<p>zoosermom, I grew up in West Long Branch and enjoyed your trip report of Monmouth. I tell my kids when they complain that they're bored that it was not possible to be bored living at the Jersey Shore (a quick train ride to NYC). As a high school senior, I experience my first car accident on the college campus by plowing in to a parked car when I was distracted by one of the hot Monmouth college boys.</p>
<p>"zoosermom, I grew up in West Long Branch and enjoyed your trip report of Monmouth. I tell my kids when they complain that they're bored that it was not possible to be bored living at the Jersey Shore (a quick train ride to NYC). As a high school senior, I experience my first car accident on the college campus by plowing in to a parked car when I was distracted by one of the hot Monmouth college boys."</p>
<p>Your response made me smile. It must have been a great place to grow up because it is lovely now, although I imagine the whole eminent domain issue might be disturbing. I loved the newly-done areas at the beach and I told my husband I wanted to buy a condo there. The boys really are something, aren't they? The girls were perfectly nice looking but the boys were of a whole other species.</p>
<p>Zoosermom,
Great trip report. Our friends son looked at and liked Monmouth but it didn't have the depth in the major he wanted. His parents were bummed as they envisioned the Beach/College visits. Never heard about the hot guys though!</p>
<p>I agree. The trip reports are super. We are New Jerseyans and students we know have had good experiences at both schools. I never got to see Moravian since my son and husband wanted to look at Lehigh. Oh well. Good luck.</p>
<p>I say rather judgemental on your part - "pre-truck driver would be more like it."</p>
<p>"I say rather judgemental on your part - "pre-truck driver would be more like it."</p>
<p>Without a doubt. She disrupted and delayed the entire tour.</p>
<p>We toured both of these schools about 2 years ago. Unfortunately we did not see the new buildings and improvements at Rider. My biggest concern about Monmouth was the lack of student housing. I could be wrong, but it seemed as though on campus housing was hard to get for anyone who is not a transfer or freshman. The beach is nice, but keep in mind that most of the school year it will be too cold to really enjoy it.</p>
<p>We have friends that had a D attend Monmouth for one year, and she did not find the classes to be challenging and her grades did reflect this as well (all As with minimal effort).</p>
<p>Good points NEmom, esp. about the grades at Monmouth. I can't say I agree about beach enjoyablity. I grew up near the Delaware beaches and liked to visit them any time of year except perhaps January and February. Nothing like a Nor'easter to bring up some good shells or an unseasonably nice day in November or March to make you feel wonderful.</p>
<p>Zoosermom, Sounds like you made a pretty good judgement call. That's different then being PREjudiced, cause you waited the whole tour to form an opinion. hmmm, looking that sentence over it looks like I'm implying something racist - but I'm not!</p>
<p>Our experience was the same as northeastmom's. My DD toured Rider 2 yrs ago and was very disappointed as she knows some kids there on full ride academic scholarships. Maybe the changes improved things. She felt the buildings looked like old elementary school buildings. One of the girls we know at Rider had flunked out of Kutztown the yr before.</p>
<p>My d also looked into Monmouth since it was recommended for its location and beauty. Living at the shore sounds wonderful to me. I personally like being at the beach anytime of yr. A boy we know who flunked out of Flagler went to Monmouth until he flunked out of there too (more of a reflection on the kid but still, Monmouth accepted him knowing his lack of work ethic).</p>
<p>The biggest problem with both of these schools is their reputation for not being very challenging academically (so I can believe the easy A situation). All the students we know who go there were C students who never saw an honors class in HS. Academically it would have felt like a letdown. Monmouth is trying to increase its status by offering lots of merit $ to kids with high stats.</p>
<p>"The biggest problem with both of these schools is their reputation for not being very challenging academically (so I can believe the easy A situation). All the students we know who go there were C students who never saw an honors class in HS. Academically it would have felt like a letdown. Monmouth is trying to increase its status by offering lots of merit $ to kids with high stats."</p>
<p>THat's very interesting and good to know. My daughter is an average kid. She takes honors and a couple of AP classes, but she's not an academic superstar like many of the folks on CC, so she may fit better at schools like Monmouth and Rider than the super-achieving kids. I actually think Monmouth is right at her level and Rider just a tad below. I'm really hoping that her resume will get her a little money, but who knows? She has excellent ECs and awards in science, major and committed community service, grades in the mid-to upper 90s in honors classes and excellent Regents scores. The problem is horrible SAT scores (she's retaking) and average ACT scores. She would never be a candidate for the super-selective schools.</p>
<p>zoosermom, My son was not a candidate for super selective schools either. This is why we toured these schools, but S did not end up applying to either one of them. Monmouth gave S an idea about merit money 2 years ago. They had a paper with sat score/gpa required for different amounts of money. I felt that any merit money would end up being invested in a car, and condo at Monmouth since I assumed he would not be able to get on campus housing after freshman year. I did not want to invest in the car, and insurance, and I did not want to worry about him driving in snow and ice to get to class. If the university had regular bus runs to the school from some off campus housing, then I would have considered talking to my S about applying to Monmouth as a safety. I have to say that I loved the campus and the area around the campus.</p>
<p>I agree with the other poster about Rider and the old buildings. The worst part was the dorm that we toured. I could not imagine how one could reside in the dorm that I was taken to on our tour. It was so tiny. I did not think that 2 twins could fit without being bunked. The closet/storage space was so small that I felt that one would need a car to use the trunk for storage space! I am glad to hear about the new buildings and improvements. Also, did you tour a nighclub/bar at Rider? This was the first stop on our tour. I don't find the bar, and talking about the legal drinking age appropriate for the first stop and discussion on a university tour.</p>
<p>"Also, did you tour a nighclub/bar at Rider?"</p>
<p>Noooo!</p>
<p>Lots of kids from my area go to Rider and not all are C students. I'd say most were more the solid B kids with weak SAT's. I get our weekly local paper ( The Democrat) and always see reports of kids from Rider graduating with honors and going on to good grad schools. Maybe all the kids in north Hunterdon County are above average.</p>
<p>Since some of you are so knowledgeable about area colleges, if I post her list would you consider offering opinions?</p>
<p>barrons, I think that Rider has a good business school. It has AACSB accreditation and its accounting program is has a seperate accreditation through the AACSB. </p>
<p>The nightclub (or whatever it is referred to) is a good place for kids to socialize. The guide told us that alcohol is served there to those over 21. I think that the nightclub is fine and I am glad there is a place for students to go and enjoy themselves. I have a problem with that being the first stop on our college tour, and the first discussion to take place on a college campus to be about legal drinking age, I found problematic. Perhaps this nightclub/bar has been replaced with something else and perhaps it no longer exists. It is possible that this is why you did not see it. I know that Susquehanna also built a nightclub recently. I think that it was really something needed on their campus, b/c it is so rural. I have no idea as to whether alcohol is served there or not, it was not discussed, nor was the nightclub shown on our tour (it was simply briefly mentioned in a slideshow/movie about the school on an accepted student day).</p>
<p>I would gladly give an opinion zoosermom. I am not trying to be negative about Rider or Monmouth either. I think that there are positives and negatives about both schools. I think that there is not one perfect school for all, so you will find positives and negatives about most/all schools.</p>
<p>My opinions about Rider are most likely out of date since we looked into rider 2 years ago, and they have done a lot to improve their facilities. I am sure your visit has given you more accurate information than I have from 2 years ago.</p>
<p>Northeastmom, I didn't take anything negative from your posts. I took the comments as informed and helpful observations, and they are appreciated.</p>
<p>Here are her (potential) schools:</p>
<p>Moravian
Castleton State
Rider
Monmouth
St. John's
SUNY Oneonta
Bridgewater (VA)
UMass Amherst
University of Tampa</p>
<p>zoosermom,
My D also wasn't a candidate for super selective colleges as her SATs (1200 range) weren't consistent with her 4.0 GPA (honors & APs). I know all about standardized test difficulties). Rereading my other post, I realized I made a mistake - I said we know kids on full academic scholarships at Rider. THey are actually on full athletic scholarships - average B-/C academics in HS. Don't know about the HS stats of girl who failed out of Kutztown. She said she got caught up in the social atmosphere - that problem continued at Rider, btw. She actually did better at Mercer County College, living at home. We didn't see the bar on campus but I don't think it's that uncommon to have bars on campus. Rider doesn't have much within walking distance so students do need somewhere to go...</p>
<p>Your child may get some good $ at Monmouth. My D was told in several letters that she would receive $11,000-$15,000 in merit $ (can't remember details exactly but that didn't include FA since she hadn't provided that info). My problem with these schools is that many students are NOT involved academically - meaning not working that hard or up to their potential. I'm sure it's not true of all students but it's what I've heard from students who go there. It's hard to stay in and do schoolwork when the majority of students blow off the academics (esp. if the students aren't all that motivated to begin with). </p>
<p>I don't know much about the other schools on your list. I toured UTampa with my brother but that was many moons ago. Around here, Moravian has a better reputation (academically and socially) but I don't know anyone who goes there. There are several other colleges in Bethlehem so even though Moravian is a small school, students have a chance to socialize with students from other schools. I think they may be able to cross-register at those schools too (not sure). We do know several girls at UMass Amherst. They were good student athletes in HS but didn't have top stats. They are doing well there. It's a big state school with all the good/bad that brings. These girls are thriving in that environment but did so in our HS as well. Very outgoing social kids that crack down when necessary. My husband grew up nearby and has a different view (ZooMass craziness). Depends on what's important. </p>
<p>I was just adding our input from our experiences to give a bigger picture. Not saying that those schools are no good. You know your child and what learning environment is best. We're starting this process with my DS now and although he's looking for premed programs and top academics, he also wants school spirit, Div 1 sports and a fun (not cut-throat) atmosphere.</p>
<p>well...if anyone is interested, though i have never toured monmouth, i have heard that they have a strong greek tradition. I know of at least 2 sororities were founded there.</p>