The College of New Jersey? Or any other colleges in NJ?

[Lola]

[COLOR=royal blue]I'm going to be a senior in high school this September, so of course I'm thinking about college .. a little. I'm leaning towards majoring in Graphic Design and hope to pursue a career in advertising (hopefully with Nike. ) Ever see What Women Want? I'd love to have Mel Gibson's job! LOL

Anyway, I live in New Jersey, and would prefer to stay in-state, so I could come home on the weekends . I've been looking into The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State) and would love to visit the campus. I've heard that there isn't a lot to do around there - but I'll be the judge of that when I go to visit .

I'm also considering Seton Hall, Monmouth University, Fairleigh Dickinson, Rutgers ..

So I was just wondering if anyone went to TCNJ, and what they thought of it .. or any other colleges in New Jersey that would be worth my looking into.

Thanks soo much,
Laura[/COLOR]

 

[Kallison]

I went to Trenton State, but I was a commuter and married at the time, so couldn't tell you about the social scene. My middle DS's Godmother got her teaching degree and she seemed to enjoy it. After her soph year she got a house off campus with a bunch of other girls. I enjoyed the classes I took there, I had some super history profs. Good luck with your decision. I graduated from Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ for my first degree. I can't think of any other Garden State colleges.

 

[Tiggeroo]

as my dd just graduated in NJ. She has several friends at TCNJ who like it alot. It has a nice small town feel to the campus. DD had considered it. We also visited Rutgers. What you have to watch is that Rutgers has several campuses. Not all are in good neighborhoods. Definitely alot of social stuff there and a great school. My DD is pre-med and is seriously considering their med school UMDNJ.
She ended up choosing the closest school Richard Stockton State, although she had full scholarships to several choices. She wanted to live at home and comute during her under grad degree. Visit all the campuses, take advantage of overnights. Her friends love TCNJ and their rankings have improved quite a bit. It was one of her top 5 choices. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[allicat]

I went to school there in the early 90's,when it was known as Trenton State. If you are looking to go home on the weekends then you probably arent concerned with the parties. Good, because when I went there, there was never any good parties!

Aside from parties, Im sure there is a "social" scene living in the dorms but I transferred there after two years elsewhere and lived off campus. Maybe someone who actually lived in the dorms will respond.
Truthfully, I didnt think there was all that much to do around there. Rutgers has tons of things going on!
That being said, TCNJ is a beautiful campus and offers a great education. I have heard that its getting harder and harder to get accepted there.

 

[bsnyder]

I hear Monmouth is a nice school in a nice area. The son of one of my best friends is going to be a freshman there this fall....he got a full ride basketball scholarship, so we'll be following the Hawks for the next 4 years!

 

[Cindy B]

Stockton was a party school, back in the late 80;s.. I looked into going there, and my parents, well had other ideas..

What is Glassboro State called now? It has a new name, my nephew is going there now.. he likes it. My SIL graduated from there as well, .. I think its called Rowan now...


RUtgers New Brunswick and Rutgers Camden are both pretty urban areas. I can tell you factually Rutgers Camden is well probably fine during the day with groups, but don't take a night class there, ok?

My old bf dad was the director of admissions for the law school at Rutgers Camden. We visited the campus all the time, we never had a problem, but my bf did when he was way younger....

 

[PamOKW]

I think its called Rowan now

That's right. Rowan University.

 

[Gillian]

I don't know if I'd call Rutgers New Brunswick campus urban exactly. It certainly isn't like Camden! New Brunswick is fun. But I didn't want to go home on weekends

Douglas campus is nice. The dorms are all female, and I think my friends who went there bonded really well with their roommates/floormates. It's a different atmosphere than a coed dorm. They could take classes at any of the Rutgers campuses in the area.

I guess another thing to consider with the going home on weekends plan, is will there be people to go home to see? Just a thought, because it might be fun to go somewhere that has a weekend social life, just in case

 

[MonaCK]

I'm a graduate of Douglass College/Rutgers University - Class of 1995.

I have to say -that you'll be able to find your niche just about anywhere if hyou go here. It's big enough to have many varied social sets, whijch is what I needed.

I went to William Paterson Colllege (now University) my freshman year, and I hated it. Rutgers offered much more to me. And to follow up what the last poster said, while New Brunswick is very much a city, it is by far not what I would call ultra urban. It's very very much a college town.

 

[ZPT1022]

One of my best friends went to TCNJ and liked it. He is now working there, so it must not have been too bad!

 

[jx3smom]

My sister and I went to Trenton State in the 70's. My DS's girlfriend is going into her last year there and she loves it. It is a beautiful campus. It is very tough to get into and is rated very highly. If you are going to visit the campus send me an e-mail and I could get you in touch with the girlfried. She is very outgoing and would be happy to give you any info that you'd like to have.

 

[danacara]

I've heard people rave about Douglass, and Mona's endorsement echoes that. I took a math class there one summer and thought it was really well done. Also, there is a DISer named gumdrop who just graduated from William Paterson - she and I have PMed in the past, and I'm sure that she would be more than happy to talk to you about her experiences.

Have fun this year! (Senior Year of HS is a big one!)

 

[MissMinnie]

Hi! I've been away from the DIS for awhile and thought your post was the place to start. I went to Rider University which is in Lawrenceville, NJ right next to Trenton and few miles from Princeton. It is a very small school, about 5,000 students including commuters when I attended. A lot of the students there did go home on the weekends, thus Thursdays were the party nights. I usually stayed, even though I lived only about an hour away. I always had fun there and had plenty to do. I was in a sorority which helped facilitate the social scene. The Greek organizations were a strong presence on campus. I don't know if this is still the same, as I attended several years ago. I know we did get a lot of CNJ students coming over to visit and hang out. We also went to Princeton on weekends for fun. Now that the good stuff is out of the way........Rider offers a first rate educational program. You cannot go wrong there. Check out the campus to make sure you would be comfortable in a smaller campus setting. No problem with the neighborhood.......suburban homes and low crime. Major shopping mall 10 min away for convenience, as well as plenty of other neighborhood businesses. Good luck in choosing your college. I know it is a hard decision, but you will know which one is right for you when you find it. Do campus tours and speak to the students. Ask them anything about the school. I found they were always honest and gave good information and "real" answers, not brochure hype. New Jersey has many fine schools. You cannot go wrong staying in state for college. I now live in Florida, and miss NJ like crazy! (People here think I am nuts!) Just came home from visiting there (Monmouth County) and want to go back!! More homey atmosphere and nicer people in NJ!! (No offense to the Floridians out there!!) Have fun and study hard!!!

 

[Patricia]

My daughter is starting her Jr. year this year so we are starting to consider her options as well. She also wants to stay close to home. The decision seems so tough doesn't it? Anyway, my nephew just graduated from TCNJ as a Bio major and has raved about his experience. My niece, his sister, will be a freshmen there this year. Both these kids were in the top 10% of their class with SAT's over 1300. The school has seriously raised it's standards and has a terrific reputation. I haven't visited the campus since '81 when my husband, then boyfriend, graduated, but it was beautiful back then. I hear it still is. Best of luck with your decision and have a safe and fun senior year!

 

[luvwinnie]

and loved it. I commuted though.

 

[DisneyDancer22]

Hello there,
I went to TCNJ and ABSOLUTELY loved it!!! Truthfully, I was unsure if I would like the social scene b/c it was not a "big" school...but this is what made it soooo much better for me. I felt like I knew more people and was not lost in the shuffle. There are plenty of things to do if you know where to look and you find friends who are outgoing. It is totally waht you make of it. I became involved in groups and organizations that had events that made me make plenty of friends and do plenty of activities throughout the week and weekend. The classes are great and professors are amazing. The sizes of the class are small so you won't be lost and the professor gets to know you!! (which is always what I liked!!) IT IS SUCH A GREAT SCHOOL FOR ACADEMICS and I had no problem getting plenty of job offers for teaching (and look at what I am doing now!! ). Everyone was like, "wow you go to TCNJ" - it has quite a wonderful reputation!!! It was the #1 public school in the NE recently. The campus is sooooo beautiful and a lot of the buildings have been reconstructed and updated while I was there and still are from what I hear. (I graduated May 2001). Anyway, you have any questions feel free to PM me since I can find out answers that I do not know since I still have friends that are there...or I can answer them to the best of my ability.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I went to Trenton State College (TCNJ now) in the late eighties. It was OK, but in retrospect, I am not sure it was a good choice for me. I lived in the dorms the first two years (in Decker), and really did not have much social life. Everyone takes off on the weekends, and my parents refused to pick me up, so I was usually the only one around. I was always pretty bored and lonely. Maybe this has changed, I don't know. I lived in an apartment off campus the last two years, which was a big improvement socially. And I got my first car, which helped immensely.

The real issue that bothered me was the lack of placement done by the college. Back then, there basically was none. The placement office basically taught students to write resumes. They hardly helped in arranging interviews or make contacts for students to get jobs. I left Trenton State College with no job prospects, and ended up working in a field (nursery school teacher) that had nothing to do with my degree (computer science). Even worse, a few years later when I tried to get a letter of recommendation from the computer science department for my grad school application, no one at TCNJ would return my phone calls or emails or letters. This went on for months before I gave up. . You would think they would be happy to help alumni (and pontential money donors!)

OK, I fully admit I have a serious case of sour grapes where it comes to TCNJ, but I certainly hope the placement office is actually somewhat effective nowadays. In retrospect, I would have gone to a college that had stronger job placement programs. Of course, I graduated in the early nineties, when almost no newly graduated college student had a job.

So, sorry for a negative note on TCNJ. I had some other problems with the college (which I won't get into here). But, I would think the college has changed by now, so hopefully none of this matters anymore! Maybe it is a good choice.

On a happy note, I currently go to grad school at Rutgers New Brunswick, and love it! Already have a job lined up, thanks to their connections.

 

[DisneyDancer22]

Changes have taken place at TCNJ and it now has a WONDERFUL job placement program. They have job fairs, and several other opportunities, where one could come in contact with a variety of possible employers in one's field. They have a website where you can set up interviews held at the school. One can keep their resume (even a few versions of it) on this site and then electronically send it to the employers listed that one is interested in. You will hear back if you are selected by that company to interview and schedule a day to meet at the college (it will all be explained to you at a seminar your junior year or the beginning of your senior year how it works - a lot of the times the interviews occur on certain days where one can go from interview to interview...I had 4 in just one day and I went to a total of 4 or 5 days). It was so helpful and they assisted me with my resume when I had asked them to critique it. They mailed out my resume, or faxed, to possible employers. They have everyone's name on file, along with your information, and will recommend you to an employer if you meet the traits specified. This new system, Lionspro (I think that is still the name), was quite beneficial to me (and there is soooo much more to it, but that is just a little info). I came out of TCNJ with quite a few call backs for teaching opportunities, as well as some job offers! I think it is an amazing college and wonderful choice!!

IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT!!! If you go out and join organizations or make friends that stay at the college on weekends...then you will find things to do...I DID! Just don't get into the mentality that a lot of people do...that everyone goes home and there is nothing to do. I PMed you and told you of the variety of things there are to do...need anything more...just ask.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

DisneyDancer22,

Thanks for the info - I'm so glad TCNJ has improved!!! I wish they had all those different ways to help get that first job when I was there!

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