William Patterson University

<p>Northeastmom: So far my 6 oldest have selected three schools in Pa, one in Ohio, one in Missouri and now one in Minnesota, only one has applied to a New Jersey school, and that was Princeton.</p>

<p>meganvirg, wow, you have a large family! So far, your six......how many more children, if you don't mind telling us? They have really gone far away too.</p>

<p>kitty56, Congratulations on your D's graduation! I don't know what your son wants to major in, but my son is going to go to JMU, and as far as cost, its oos tuition will run around 2500-3000 more than Rutgers instate (assuming no scholarship $).</p>

<p>Thanks, northeastmom! And thanks for the info. on JMU. I checked out their website and it is very impressive. However, it's 6 hours from our house (we are way up north) and DS doesn't like long trips like that. Also, 15,000+ students is a bit large for his preference. We checked out a Vermont school in April, and that was 5 hours. If the school was a perfect fit, it might not be so bad. I think 3 hours away is our limit. WPU would have worked out well - 50-60 minutes! Oh, well.</p>

<p>Our youngest is a Sophomore in HS, she is our lucky seven and her search is just beginniing. She likes California so who knows!</p>

<p>kitty, JMU is far. I won't say my son was happy the day we drove there. It was a 2 hour drive from another school we were visiting in the Washington DC area. Now that he wants to go there, he does not mind the six hour trip. It it is a large school, but does have a small school feel to it. After I heard about the academic support available, and about professors who meet with their students I was sold. They are a student focused university, as their history was as a teacher's college. It is a compromise between the small LAC, and the large university with a lot of graduate programs.</p>

<p>If you want to keep it to a 3 hour drive, we also liked the Baltimore area.</p>

<p>Meganvirg, 7 is your lucky number!</p>

<p>Northeastmom, your post #19 is another eye-opener. I had no idea how high the outflow numbers were! From what I have heard, the University of Virginia and Rice attract large numbers of the tri-state areas' higher end of the applicant pool. In any case, I usually get extremely positive feedback when I ask about Rutgers, New Brunswick campus - which I believe boasts quite a few Princeton Ph.Ds on its faculty. I am not sure what dynamic is at work here, but it's truly a shame - New Yorkers tend to unjustly bash the SUNY system as well! </p>

<p>Kitty56 Congratulations! Btw, PA does indeed have a wide range of fantastic schools to choose from!</p>

<p>Meganvirg - all the best with lucky seven! My sister and her rising senior D are on a college tour trip to California right now. They are just about finished looking around So. Cali and plan to wrap up the trip with visits to several schools in the north by early next week. My sophomore S (still hard to think of him as rising junior!) would love nothing better than to go to college in California!</p>

<p>asteriskea, I was quoting post #18, and commenting that I can see why NJ students leave the state. I find that Rutgers-NB is too large. It has a very good reputation. I would have visited Rutgers-Newark, but there is not enough on campus housing. I love TCNJ, but it is very tough for those from a more competitive hs to gain admission. Many of our other state schools have poor four year graduation rates. Also, unless one is in the top 15% of the high school graduation class merit aid does not seem to be available when attending Rutgers-NB. I find their instate COA to be too high. My son is going oos to a public for between 2500-3000 more than the instate cost at Rutgers.</p>

<p>Just like the SUNYs in NY, the NJ schools are shunned by some of our 'high acheiving' students. I think it is natural for most kids to want to put some distance between themselves and parents at age 18.</p>

<p>Having said that, the caliber of some NJ schools is very good. Our son completed two years at TCNJ and is moving over to Rutgers- Mason Gross School of the Arts to complete his music ed degree. Very different schools with much to offer the right kid. I DO agree that the instate cost is waaayyy high compared to other states' publics. Our son had a 3.8 something in hs with about 1250 SAT at competitive hs. He did not qualify for any 'merit aid' at the NJ schools since the pool of applicants is even stronger than his record.
Best of luck to those still figuring this out! If I can help, send a message.</p>

<p>with the cuts coming in higher education in NJ this year and most likely next year more kids will leave. I did a spread sheet and there are many o/o/s public schools that a NJ resident could go to for the in state cost to Rutgers or TCNJ. These o/o/s schools are considered to be just as good an education value. NJ state budget is in dire straits and higher ed aid is going to be cut severely and many surrounding state are flush with cash and intend to increase higher ed aid.</p>

<p>tom, I agree with you about students being able to go oos for what instate tuition costs. This is what my son is doing, and he is paying a little more for the right fit. He will also be in a school with a high graduation rate for a public school. He does have one friend that is going into the honor's program at Montclair, one is going to a cc for one year, one friend going to TCNJ, and one other friend that is going to Rutgers. The others in his circle of friends and school aquaintances are leaving the state for a private, or oos public school.</p>

<p>tom, could you elaborate as to what surrounding states are flush with cash and intend to increase state aid? I am really curious. Thanks!</p>

<p>I have heard that NY State is looking to increase higher ed aid. My understanding is that MD and Pa also have very nice surpluses in their budgets. NJ is one of only 3 states without surpluses this budget cycle.</p>

<p>I am a 2005 grad from WPU. I majored in Graphic Design and Photography. I think I got an amazing education. The art department there is very strong. There are 2 buildings, 1 built just a few years ago. Accomplished faculty. It really is not a bad school. I think the entrance stats are deceiving. A lot of the kids there are passionate about what they do. I had relatively good stats as a freshman, and never felt unchallenged, or that I was surrounded by "dumber kids." Also, there is a lot of construction going on there now. 2 new dorms were built, as well as a new student center in progress. I never felt the school seemed like a community college. I've never gotten a negative reaction when I tell people where I graduated from. I think overall I had a good college experience there. I am tired though of the negative comments jersey schools receive on this board.</p>

<p>My next door neighbor (very intelligent, middle aged woman) recently received a Master's Degree from William Patterson. She was extreemly impressed with the quality of her instructors, thought very highly of the program, always raved about the library facilities (superb) and was generally very complimentary about the whole experience. I cannot comment on the other people in her program, as they were her cohorts from work, all in the same degree program, and also much older than any incoming undergrads, but I respect her opinion very much and so pass it on.</p>

<p>Whats the point of even having a college if the grad rate is 14%?</p>

<p>NeedsAJob, I am glad that you had a good experience at WP.
I am sorry that you do not like the comments about the NJ state schools, but facts are facts. </p>

<p>I agree with CKmets about what is the point with a four year grad rate of 14%. Thankfully, the 6 year grad rate is much higher. Still these are the facts. They are not a figment of my imagination. The facts are that
they only graduate 13% of their students in 4 years (13% rather than 14% according to nces.ed.gov). Their 6 year graduation rate is 48%. 25% of students have below a 450 verbal, and 460 math score.
These are the statistics that I found on the National Center for Educational Satistics website. They should not be swept under the rug. The numbers speak for themselves.</p>

<p>It probably takes an exceptionally focused and motivated student to be able to graduate within 4 years when that is so out of the norm like at WP. I'd be wary.</p>

<p>I'm not saying that the statistics should be swept under the rug. What I'm saying is that numbers do not mean quality. WP has a large number of minority students and first generation college students. There are also many adult students who have come back to college. Many of the students at WP are working and putting themselves through school. There are also programs in place there for the kids that want to go to college, but are academically underqualified. There is a lot of academic support, and EOF programs for the people who need those services. Obviously, the people accepted to the college for these programs are not going to have the numbers that an average applicant may have. Also, the people in these programs, if they struggle academically are obviously going to take longer to graduate, which brings down the 4 year graduation rate. </p>

<p>WP is in no way a prestigious college. I think though that they really take interest in students, and help students to succeed. It is a place for B or C students, or students who did not do well on SAT's; students who have drive and talent, but would have been overlooked for admissions to other colleges. If a student wants a degree, but has difficulty academically, there is plenty of help along the way. For a larger school, classes are small, and professors readily available. </p>

<p>Its no Princeton, but I think WP has its place in good colleges for students who were not academic superstars. The campus is nice, and improving and growing over time.</p>

<p>NeedsAJob, I am sure that what you are saying is accurate. I just think that we also need another college for students who are likely to be accepted to Rutgers-NB, but would like a resident campus, and something smaller than Rutgers. Perhaps something 25%-50% the size of New Brunswick. There is TCNJ, but many very good NJ students are not getting in. There is Ramapo, but their student stats are not as high as Rutgers, and most students in my son's hs find it to be a school they do not want to attend. That is not true about TCNJ. That is a great instate school.</p>

<p>BTW, how is the career service office at WP? Do you really need a job, and if you do, has WP helped you?</p>