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Does anyone know anything about it?

By Ozmaweez7 (Ozmaweez7) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 11:41 am: Edit

good school without the big reputation

By Jerseygirl05 (Jerseygirl05) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 11:45 am: Edit

I do not know exactly what kind of information you are looking for but it is located in Jersey by Trenton. Around where I am it has a pretty good reputation. (Unlike Rutgers) I believe it is around $16,000 a year with tuition and board. Average SAT on Princeton Review is 1240. You probably know all this but this is just the basic information I have heard.

By Jerseyshoregirl (Jerseyshoregirl) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 01:09 pm: Edit

Thanks...yeah, around here people are more into TCNJ than Rutgers, and a couple people have suggested that I look into it. Is it a party school? How are the classes? It's a good school for people who want to be teachers, right? Are there any other strong areas that the school has? If anyone knows...

By Morgantruce (Morgantruce) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 02:14 pm: Edit

history of he College of New Jersey

Profile of TCNJ


I used to live in Belmar... a long time ago.

By Barrons (Barrons) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 02:17 pm: Edit

More of a suitcase and commuter school. NOTHING to do nearby.

By Musicmom (Musicmom) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 04:30 pm: Edit

Gorgeous campus; walkways over ponds, new buildings that look (beautifully) old.
TCNJ was Trenton State many moons ago when I was a kid. It was primarily a teacher's college and was not very well regarded.

It has basically reincarnated itself within the last 10 years or so. Admissions is considerably more selective than the other state schools, including Rutgers.
Our son attended the Governor's School at TCNJ last summer and loved the campus and the faculty involved. TCNJ is one of the 6 schools he is applying to for music performance.

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 07:41 pm: Edit

TCNJ is probably the best public school in NJ... I would say best school if it wasn't for the shining star, Princeton.

Keep in mind that when I say "best public school," I'm referring to just a broad liberal arts education. If you want the big science facilities and research oriented learning, Rutgers has the advantage. TCNJ also has a much better reputation than Rutgers among students.

When people think of TCNJ, they usually think of Trenton. Yes, it's near Trenton, but it's not actually in it. It's in a suburb called Ewing, which is no doubt not an exciting town, but saying there is nothing to do around TCNJ is like saying there's nothing to do around Princeton, since TCNJ is very close to Princeton. Two major cities are within reasonable distance: Philly and NYC, so you could always go clubbing there and whatnot. The Princeton area is also culturally rich, so there's plenty of things going on.

Although TCNJ has a beautiful campus, Barrons is right about it being a suitcase school. I have heard elsewhere that people go home often (since just about everyone is in-state). I guess you won't get a really "close-knit" feel as opposed to some other schools.

Quite a few people in my class (top students, btw) applied to TCNJ not for regular decision, but early decision and were accepted. One student's "dream school" was TCNJ, and it wasn't even a reach for her. I think that says a lot. TCNJ's ranking in the USNWR (although this doesn't mean much to some people) is indicative of the excellent education TCNJ has to offer.

Haha, look at me, I'm praising TCNJ and I'm not even going there. That should say a lot too! And yes, they are known for their teaching programs... or so I've heard. TCNJ is a good all-around school, meaning many of their departments are strong... biology and psychology to name a couple. The only problem is that I found their majors to be limited and too general (i.e. just "biology" instead of something more specific like molecular bio or biopsych or neuroscience), so I ended up not applying. That's where Rutgers has the edge, so I applied there instead. Environment-wise, I would have definitely gone with TCNJ.

Sorry for the ridiculously long post.

By Horseman (Horseman) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 08:37 pm: Edit

Jerseygirl05 (Jerseygirl05), TCNJ comes out to be cheaper than Rutgers! It is about $6,500 Tution In-state and 3,000-4000 dollars based on the option of room and board. Unlike Rutgers, TCNJ gives more merit scholarships and grants. Have a good day