Rutgers is excellent, but the full cost of attendance for an in-state student without any aid is about $45,000 per year. So, sending a student there may cost a family with an income of about $150,000 to $200,000 about as much as sending the student to a SUNY school, Arizona State or a private LAC with some merit aid. The cost means that Rutgers isn’t a great default financial safety option for New Jersey families, even though it’s a fine school. |
Yes, this and it's in the center of the state, so nearly everyone lives <1 hour away, which is fine if that appeals to you, but many kids would like to explore something a bit further away. So, expensive in-state + too close to home + non-contiguous campus with bussing required between locations. Many NJ residents end up commuting into NYC or Philly. No point doing it during college too. Plus very strong public education throughout the state means high SAT scores, many competitive students who can get merit aid to explore a more immersive residential campus in another state. |
| Rutgers is viewed in higher regard than UMD in NYC, but probably not in DC area. Consider them peer schools, with a slight edge to Rutgers for business, law, premed and engineering - UMD better for teaching, nursing, and social sciences. Rutgers much better location with proximity to NYC, and a lively social landscape. IMO Rutgers all day every day over UMD |
This may be statistically accurate, but there has been real distress among NJ families on reddit who believed that, based upon the past, that EA to Rutgers was a safety, but then learned that it no longer is after Rutgers went to the Common App. |
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Not sure where you get your information. USNWR BUSINESS Undergrad UMD 24 Rutgers 77 Grad UMD 52 Rutgers 53 LAW UMD 63 Rutgers 104 ENGINEERING Undergrad UMD 21 Rutgers 50 Grad UMD 18 Rutgers 72 |
-100 This poster is ridiculous. I went to RU and had a great time, it was a true college experience, I made tons of friends and didn’t hang out with anyone from HS. Yes it’s a disjointed campus but you just got used to taking buses as needed. NJ is absolutely proud of its school. My DC is at UMD and while it’s a great school, College Park is just okay. Being close to DC is nice but nothing like being close to NYC. |
People aren't going into the city every weekend, though. The disjointed campus is a turn off for many. My niece hated taking the bus to class, and during the winter (like the arctic freeze we had a few weeks ago), she would not bother going to class because she didn't want to wait for the bus outside. Rutgers and UMD are probably on par, but IMO, UMD campus layout is much better. |
| A couple of years ago, I took my son to look at Rutgers. We are from Pennsylvania. His grades were good but not great. So, I had no idea what was possible. He wanted a big sports school because he had cousins at Ohio State but he didn't like Penn State. I was guessing it was going to be an easier admit than Ohio State or Penn State but a similarly ranked/viewed school. He didn't like it. It was much more urban than we thought it was going to be. There was a lot of construction too at the time. It just appeared very busy. And this was over the summer. |
PP here, I went to RU too and am from NJ. I wouldn't want any kids from the DC area going unaware to Rutgers. Maybe if they have family nearby? But if I'm ridiculous, that's good news to me-- I have a soft spot in my heart for Rutgers, am proud I went there, and grateful for the opportunities it gave me. I would love it if Rutgers had become a UMich and I just didn't notice. I did visit recently, and still I just don't see it as like a UVa, UMich or even UMD experience. |
I have no affiliation with either school, but when I saw that statement, I knew it couldn't be close to true, so thank you PP for looking it up. |
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It is only known because of that Nappy comment made many years ago.
Maryland kids who cant get into UMD would rather go UDELL, Viginia Tech, Penn State or Pitt. Mabye even UMASS Amherst. Rutgers is not very pretty or in a real college town. SUNY New Paltz is a way cooler school if doing a state school for less. |