We are from NY and my son may be deciding between these 2 schools. We visited both and toured. I am concerned over some reviews that I have read about both schools not having much to do on the weekend. Does anyone have any knowledge of either school? Any comments would be appreciated!
@Debbie34 Really? I think there is plenty to do on the weekends! I had friends who attended each and visited, there were always parties, events, etc. That was also a long time ago!
What does your son want to study? It’s probably a little easier to get around Montclair and the town has its own charm; it’s nicer than Wayne and there is more to do downtown there. Also, if he wants to go into the city (NYC), it’s easier by train. I think WP only has bus service which means increased likelihood of sitting in traffic. But I can’t really speak to where college kids hang out these days. You might want to have him connect with some current students.
You said you toured, but did he attend admitted student days?
He is undecided right now. We have accepted students day at WP tomorrow and Montclair in a couple of weeks. We will be able to get to see more then I suppose. But yes both have a lot of reviews about it being dead on the weekends and everyone going home. But both had very nice campus, etc.
I live in NJ and have a friend at Montclair and know a bit about WP. Overall, keep in mind that it’s NJ. Overall, the state is not crazy but has enough amenities. Montclair has a nice downtown with plenty of great restaurants and stores. Wayne is slightly smaller but has a shopping center I believe. However, the towns are only like 5 miles apart and you really have access to both with a car!
Also, since it’s NJ, overall the schools are pretty commuter based. Montclair and WP are also quite small. Most of the students will be from NJ, so a lot of the times they will go home and be with their families. My friend at Montclair has a job off campus and often goes home, but she is also part of a small sorority.
Overall, the schools are less commuter and more community based than most of the CUNYs (Hunter, Baruch, City College), but they aren’t the most residential or diverse.
I think Montclair has a better teaching and language program than WP. WP seems to have an edge in nursing. Overall, I would choose Montclair for the area and the community seems to be a bit more active in sports, clubs, sometimes greek life…which I think is what you are interested in!
I’d choose Montclair. I took a tour there in the fall, the campus was lovely.
I know many people who attend both schools, WP is definitely more of a “suitcase school”. Montclair is a nice town, and has more extracurricular.
From a NJ student who chose to attend college OOS: choose Montclair. Far better of the two in every department, really. Though I know someone who transferred to my school from Montclair and said there wasn’t a lot to do on the weekends, there definitely is more substance than at WPU, which is one of the weakest schools in the state.
Actually, the schools are very diverse. As far as commuting, first year, both are about half and half residential vs. commuters. After freshman year, about 30% continue to live on campus at Montclair and about 24% live on campus at WP.
Thank you. These comments are very helpful! We have accepted students day at Montclair in a couple of weeks.
@Fishnlines29 well, I think 70% off campus or 75% off campus definitely equals more of a commuter school than residential !
And my diverse, I meant geographically. Montclair is more than 90% NJ students. Same with William Paterson. Montclair at least had 21 states represented, WP only had 6! Population-wise, they are very diverse with large representation from POC 
More questions…came from seeing monmouth today. How is this compared ro montclair? Both schools seem academically similar…help.
There isn’t much of a difference between them in terms of academic quality, no. Montclair is definitely far cheaper, though.
I never got why your son wants to attend a NJ school coming from OOS, though…?
Montclair and WP are state schools. This makes them particularly attractive to NJ students, because of the low in-state tuition. According to College Navigator, 96% of Montclair students and 97% of WP students are from NJ. Furthermore, both WP and Montclair are located in the densely populated northeastern corner of the state, where most NJ residents live. So you can assume that a high percentage of WP and Montclair students are quite close to home, and either commute from home or go home on weekends. The social atmosphere at a school may suffer if a large percentage of the student body disappears during the evening and on weekends.
Monmouth is private. This means that it doesn’t discount tuition for state residents, and so it is less attractive to students from NJ; Monmouth has only 82% NJ students. Furthermore, Monmouth is located in a somewhat more isolated part of the state, further from the main population center. Given these factors, it’s likely that a higher percentage of Monmouth students stick around the campus during the evening and on weekends. The out-of-state students obviously aren’t going home because it’s too far, and there are probably fewer NJ students going home as well.
But none of them have the highest academic quality (Montclair and Monmouth are mediocre, while WP is one of the weaker schools in the state of NJ), so I wouldn’t say that they’re necessarily “particularly attractive” to NJ students. Not to mention the commuter/suitcase school reputation also hurts its ability to attract above-average students.
For purposes of this thread, the point is that Montclair and WP are “particularly attractive” to NJ residents relative to Monmouth. It’s true that none of these schools are standouts in terms of academic selectivity, but at least Montclair and WP offer low in-state tuition to NJ residents, while Monmouth doesn’t. If you are an NJ resident, then Montclair or WP is probably going to be much less expensive than Monmouth, especially if you live at home and commute, which would be a feasible option for many students.
For out-of-staters, the math is different. They have to pay high out-of-state tuition at Montclair and WP, so for them, Monmouth is more cost-competitive. So Monmouth does better at attracting out-of-state students, and you can reasonably assume that such students will be residential rather than commuters.
Thank you! It is not easy and obviously we want him to be happy
Our in state achools are several hours away. Not wanti g to go that far. We live very close to the NJ boder.
Which school is more affordable? Did your son receive scholarships/financial aid/merit aid to any of the schools? That could also play a role. In terms of sticker price, Montclair is the cheapest, has a pretty campus (I have not seen Monmouth but I personally prefer Montclair’s campus to WP’s!), and has a more vibrant environment/location.
I don’t think Monmouth would be worth the extra money just to be around more OOS students.
What major / program is your son thinking about? That could be a factor as well.
My d is currently at Montclair and really really loves it there. The opportunities for her have been endless. She is a science major and has been able to take summer and winter classes and take around 16 credits to be able to graduate a year early. She also obtained a internship during spring semester in NYC and travels into the city twice a week using the NJ Transit train across the street.
Montclair surprised me. I saw Montclair back in 2008 with my oldest D and we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. When I toured in 2012 with youngest D I was surprised at the beautiful campus and new buildings.
D also like that she can stay on campus during summer and take classess, that Montclair is open 365 days a year. She also spent Winter break studying abroad. There are many many opportunities at Montclair!
The main advantage of William Paterson is its low tuition. Since you and your son are out of state, that advantage is slightly negated, although it’s still fairly cheap for a college. It’s not at the absolute bottom of NJ schools - it at least has a published ranking on US News - but it is among the lower rankings. William Paterson is best suited for in-state students who are unable to afford other public options.
Montclair is regarded as slightly below the mid-ranking NJ schools, but it tends to be the top choice for in-state students who are financially-challenged and / or weren’t accepted to the higher ranked colleges because it’s also relatively inexpensive. It’s not as inexpensive as William Paterson, but it’s also classified as “National University” (whereas William Paterson is a Regional), meaning that it has a greater offering of courses. It’s probably the better bet.
As for Monmouth, it has an arguably better reputation than Montclair, but being private means its tuition is significantly higher and most would tell you its price tag isn’t worth it. It doesn’t have the academic benefits and reputation to justify its higher costs. Also, it’s worth nothing that Monmouth is Division I in athletics, whereas William Paterson and Montclair are Division III. But I’m assuming athletics aren’t a factor since it hasn’t been mentioned in previous posts.