Can anyone from the area explain why NJIT doesn’t get more love here at CC? It has slowly but steadily climbed in the rankings, now at #97 in USNWR. It’s near NYC for internships and other opportunities. It provides merit (even full tuition for NMFs!) So why not more attention?
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I suggest it semi-frequently but don’t feel like the suggestion gets traction very often, for some reason. I think the school needs some “ambassadors” on here to can speak to positive personal experiences there.
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I agree. Perhaps because it’s a New Jersey public, and many New Jerseyans seem to have some disdain for their state universities? And unless it’s an already established brand (like UIUC, Purdue), then people don’t want a “bargain” public, especially that they may not have heard of before, because they think something must be wrong with it, as if it really was “quality” then it would have a lower acceptance rate, higher price, or both.
(Obviously, I disagree with all of the above, but I’m venturing a guess as to why the suggestions for NJIT don’t go far.)
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Newark NJ unfortunately is not a particularly idyllic college setting in the minds of many native NJ residents.
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Probably this. Rutgers also gets no love from the New Jerseyites who come on CC.
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On CC, yes. But most posters here are not representative of the population at large.
There are many high performing and magnet school districts in New Jersey, filled with students and parents who view Rutgers as a choice of last resort. Hence the lack of love, even disdain, for Rutgers.
But through my volunteering work, I meet a much wider group of students, and so many of them look up to Rutgers. For them Rutgers is not a safety. Unfortunately, students like this and their parents are not on CC. In the latest admission cycle, Rutgers NB had an acceptance rate around 55%. Put another way, almost half the applicants were rejected. So it’s not a shoo-in for everyone.
The same goes for NJIT. I personally know many NJ kids there and they’re happy. But I can see the lack of broader appeal outside the state. Especially given its location.
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Many kids are anti their in state schools.
Not all states have ‘an institute of technology.” Georgia, Tennessee and some more but it’s not mainstream and most kids likely want mainstream. But the school is STEM specific which will limit the # of those who can love it.
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1° location
2° wealthy families from NJ see it as worse than Rutgers; lower income kids from NJ who don’t qualify for Rutgers may not have enough pre-reqs or have it as a reach but many are funneled into the CC system rather than NJIT/Rowan.
3° until about 10y ago, its career center was severely lacking. They had an honest assessment, realized they needed to invest, and turned things around, but these things take a while.
4° it’s not unique to NJ: think of NYIT - competition from SUNY flagships, CUNYs to a certain extent, and top private universities, make it an afterthought on CC.
That being said it has a decent reputation in NJ.
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I went back to my notes to see what I put about NJIT.
Eliminated due to location and the very low % of OOS students (5%). Rutgers OOS is 2%, which is astonishingly low.
You don’t get OOS numbers that low unless there is a reason for it.
A number of Cal States also came off D24’s list for low OOS. They tended to have a small percentage of students living on campus, which can lead to less of a sense of community and more of a “we’re just here to get a degree” attitude. Not the typical college environment most OOS students would be looking for, even if the academics are good.
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Was the 2% for Rutgers Newark, Camden or New Brunswick? Big difference.
Newark 2% OOS, Camden 6%, New Brunswick 6%
College Navigator says for undergraduate student residence:
Camden: 7% out-of-state, 2% foreign countries
New Brunswick: 8% out-of-state, 6% foreign countries
Newark: 2% out-of-state, 5% foreign countries
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Is that a typo? They have about 20% (OOS+intl) students.
Latest numbers: 18%
Looks like College Navigator is incorrect. Always go to the primary source when possible.
Their actual stats - but I think it’s all 3 campuses - shows 82% in state - scroll to our people.
Facts and Figures: Rutgers By the Numbers | Rutgers University
Well, College Navigator (the feds’ website) is populated with data submitted by Rutgers. So, at least for Fall 2022, this is what Rutgers reported to the feds.
In looking at the Rutgers page you linked, it doesn’t indicate whether the numbers shared are for fall 2023 (possible), but it does say that the info is subject to change.
It could well be that in the fall of 2022 that 14% of New Brunswick students were not from New Jersey, and that the percentage for fall 2023 has now risen to 18%. Either that or Rutgers’ Office of Institutional Research and Academic Planning needs to use the same data when answering the question.
Agreed.
At admitted students day events, the staff usually says “20%”, so that’s the number I initially quoted. I’m sure that goes up and down a bit each year but that’s the common understanding of how many OOS+international students are present.
(Edit: I realize this thread is about NJIT not Rutgers, so won’t comment further)
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IPEDS / College Navigator defines student residence at “A person’s permanent address determined by such evidence as a driver’s license or voter registration. For entering freshmen, residence may be the legal residence of a parent or guardian.” This may be different from state residency for state universities as commonly defined (e.g. consider international students living in the US).
So if the College Navigator page and Rutgers pages show different “not from New Jersey” percentages, it is possible that they are using different definitions of such.
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I was using niche because ballpark numbers were OK for my purposes, not sure how old their data is. Seems possible that OOS numbers were lower during the peak of pandemic times. I also make a distinction between (domestic) OOS and international because I think those student populations might be looking for different things from colleges (and colleges also might be looking for different things from international vs. OOS students).
This list undergraduates as 94.1% in-state for Newark.
NJIT’s pb is Newark but that’s too big for anyone to solve immediately (perhaps the city could be split into 3 ses-equal entities?) NJ hs been diligently working on building its university system: strengthening identity and academics (TCNJ and Rutgers honors were early beneficiaries and nowadays no one remembers Trenton State the so-so teachers’ college), adding flagship programs one campus at a time, creating merit scholarship incentives to try&retain its brightest graduates instate, working on neighborhoods/creating a college town or campus feeling, improving access especially finacially to then from community colleges…
NJIT will likely benefit, too. It might take a bit longer.
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