<p>Still deciding between Rider and other places. What’s Lawrenceville like? Are the people nice? How’s the weather? Is it geographically interesting? Anything to do for fun?</p>
<p>Hi—My D and I are visiting next week. We will give a full report then. :)</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is a small town suburb between Princeton and Trenton. It is located along the US-1 corridor and is thus close to every single retail store and restaurant you can imagine (i.e., Cheesecake Factory, Applebees, Joe’s Crab Shack, Panera, Chipotle, etc., plus many wonderful locally owned establishments). There is a large mall (Quakerbridge) near by, as well as many shopping centers (again, every big name retailer is within a few miles – Macys, Office Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, etc.). When S moved in last fall, the weather was hot and muggy, but it soon turned cool. They ‘weathered’ hurricane Sandy in October (only minimal damage, i.e. downed trees, on campus) and have had a chilly winter, with some snow. For my California boy, it was a definite climate change! The area has many beautiful trees and homes (the NJ Governor’s mansion is nearby) and the kids definitely see the change of seasons. I know from my son that there are lots of recreational activities nearby, from apple orchards (where the kids can go “picking”) to ice skating, to movies, bowling and laser tag. The drama kids are all part of the acting/theatre “fraternity” and they do a lot of fun activities. The nearby New Jersey Transit train stations (Hamilton and Princeton Junction) allow for easy access to NYC for Broadway shows and the kids seem to all have taken advantage of this when they’re not in rehearsals. The city of Princeton is very close and is a vibrant college town with a cute mainstreet area filled with lots of restaurants, frozen yogurt, coffee shops, cupcake shops, stores, etc. It is a fun place for the kids to go in the evening. There are also many activities on campus (from concerts to sporting events) but my son hasn’t shown much interest in them as he has always been busy with theatre activities and the gregarious group of acting/musical theatre majors. It is never a dull moment around there. Note that Mercer County is home to many colleges and several boarding prep schools, so the area is very tuned-in to students and the things students like. Air travel is easy via PHL or EWR or even JFK if you don’t mind subway-train trip also (and we hear there will be Frontier Air flights from the smaller Princeton/Trenton airport soon). Hope this helps – PM me with other questions.</p>
<p>Thanks MTT! Your super detailed description was really helpful!</p>
<p>Yes–You description was helpful for me as well. 
We just saw a video of The Producers and it looked very good! Cannot wait to visit soon! :)</p>
<p>I second the awesome description of Lawrenceville. My D is also a freshman MT at Rider. It has the benefit of being a beautiful campus but not too far from NYC. My husband and I have an apartment in NY since he works there and my D and her friends have made several trips each semester to NY by train on a Friday for a fun weekend. I myself have made the trip several times - its not very far!!! As far as the campus, there are many activities that keep the students busy. They do enjoy the beautiful green space now that Spring has sort of hit Rider - its much different than being in a big city. And the mall is only a short ride from campus!!!</p>
<p>Good luck with your admission decisions!</p>
<p>Also – how safe is New Jersey?</p>
<p>The entire state? Of course there are a variety of communities in New Jersey – from beach resorts to urban areas. I’m not sure what you’re asking, but the area near Rider is relatively suburban with family homes and malls and schools; with the larger city of Princeton nearby. Would I leave my car and home unlocked? No. But I wouldn’t do that anywhere. I always encourage my son to be cautious wherever he is. Nonetheless, Rider has a campus security office if you have specific questions about security policies on campus.</p>
<p>Just visited Rider last week and loved it! What a great campus and the energy we felt there was incredible…unfortunately, it is a bit out of our price range. :(</p>