NJ community colleges now offer free tuition for families with an income under $50,000. There were news articles and billboards with headlines like “Free College in NJ” but when I heard the details, I felt let down. It doesn’t quite compare to NY’s Excelsior, does it?
My D got a great deal at Rowan. It was much less expensive than anything else. She had pretty good stats and would have done comparably well at other NJ “regional” universities, but not at private universities where her costs came down to NJ publc IS costs without merit for the most part.
TCNJ and Rutgers aren’t great with merit, but Rowan, Stockton, and Ramapo are… Places like William Patterson and Kean will also give students very good merit. I’ve heard Montclair isn’t as generous but it offers great opportunities for NJ kids in the performing arts.
Rutgers Camden has the “Bridging the Gap” program that promises to cover any gap in tuition costs after federal and state aid at 100% for families with an AGI under $60,000, 75% for families with an AGI between $60,000 and $80,000, and 50% for families with an AGI between $80,000 and $100,000. They also still have merit for families above those income levels. I want to call and see if the federal aid they are talking about includes the federal loan. Rutger’s Camden has a nice nursing program.
I’m not sure about Rutgers Newark FA and merit. They appear to have special opportunities for Newark kids. D applied and got in but I haven’t done the FAFSA yet to see how she might do there. It’s not really likely that she’ll go. We are SJ and she wants to be close to home.