What's your line in the sand?

Parents Forum
101

MY line in the sand is a campus environment that welcomes not only ethnic diversity, but diversity of thought. Sometimes, some schools can become echo chambers and if you don’t subscribe to the majority way of thinking, you are ostracized. And that happens on both ends of the spectrum of whatever the topic or issue might happen to be.

I don’t really want my kid going to a college where everybody thinks exactly like them. I want my kid to be challenged by new ideas, new points of view, different ways of looking at the same thing.

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102

I guess that is why I like Jesuit schools (I work at one). I am not baptized. I have openly gay and trans coworkers. I have Muslim and Jewish students. I work in a healthcare related field that very much encourages fighting for social justice. But yet it is an openly Catholic institution and I feel we have almost equal people on each side of the fence.

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103

All three of mine “Anywhere but New Jersey”

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104

So many New Jersey students say that :confused:

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105

Which means NJ students tend to be more cosmopolitan? :wink:

106

Way back in the day, I decided to stay in New Jersey. In fact, I went to college in the same town where I went to high school (Madison). I miss NJ now that I live on the West Coast. But I can understand kids just wanting to go somewhere ELSE. My son said he would “rather shower with a bear” than go to school too close to home. That was one of his lines in the sand.

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107

Or that their parents have enough money that foregoing in-state publics is possible?

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108

There are many highly competitive schools with high achieving kids. Amongst them, Rutgers (which is a fine school) is seen as a school of last resort.

We’re also within 3 hours drive of many excellent schools (including 4 of the 8 Ivies). So that tends to skew kids’ perception as well.

Finally, there are many affluent parents who view any private university as superior to the state flagship.

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109

Not NJ was my line in the sand way back when even with a full scholarship to any state school.

Now that I live in New England I am always amused that Rutgers is a hot school to apply to.

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110

What’s wrong with New Jersey?

Sincerely,
West Coast student with some NJ colleges on her maybe list

111

Nothing. It’s a fine state. And has the best pizza and bagels :innocent:

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112

If it’s just wanting to get away from your parents/experience a new area I get that. I have ruled out Southern California/Arizona for that reason (although I would consider Oxy if I had the grades)

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113

Cant make U-turns.

On the plus side, you dont have to pump your own gas which is great in the winter.

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114

As an ex-NYCer I can’t pass this up, sorry.

The only thing wrong with New Jersey is that it’s full of people from New Jersey.

I’M KIDDING for those about to be offended. Love lots of people from NJ.

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115

There’s nothing wrong with it at all. It’s a beautiful state, but people love to joke about it. Once you live there, you’ll get a thick skin for Jersey jokes. There are a huge variety of town and city environments, environmentally and politically. What are the schools on your list?

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116

I was in upstate NY (yes, that is a thing) in a pizza place, and when I told the owner I was from Jersey he said “I’m sorry”. :stuck_out_tongue: :angry:

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117

Sadly it was cheaper for all 3 of mine to attend an out of state school then what it would have cost them in state in NJ. It’s actually pathetic.

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118

I never heard of shoveling your roof until I went to upstate NY.

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119

Clearly, jealousy.

After all, they have Teresa Giudice, Snooki, the Cake Boss, and Chris Christie. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: On the plus side, record stars like Thomas Edison, Bon Jovi and “the Boss”.

There is always Princeton - but, there are quite many other respected colleges. Among them, certainly Rutgers was good enough for RBG to teach law there for 9 years.

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120

Drew, Seton Hall, Rider

I guess it’s a little weird to me that everyone in NJ would want to go out of state because it seems like everyone at my high school wants to go to a UC. But I also think I forget that I can go a lot farther away and still stay in-state.

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