Rutgers University to raise costs for tuition, fees, meals and housing
- Thread starter T2Kplus20
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All of your examples are anecdotal. What you may or may not have "seen" is not only un-provable - but also without any statistics and therefore irrelevant to the greater comparison.
I think families should do whatever they think is best for them and their child. That said, I think people throw around “scholarship” a little too loosely these days. Very few public schools give a true scholarship anymore. They are basically a branch of financial aid, which is factor in awarding scholarships (such as at Rutgers). And I’m not even talking about the FAFSA, which is based purely on income. I chuckle when I hear parents talking about the great “package” they got from a school when really it means that based on the set calculation they determined the parents can only pay “x”, which is less than full tuition, so they give you the difference in aid.
In the end it doesn’t matter of course, but by using those terms I think it creates a misimpression for parents and students about to go through the process.
In the end it doesn’t matter of course, but by using those terms I think it creates a misimpression for parents and students about to go through the process.
Not buying the Rowan nonsense. The next time I meet anyone who says "oh my conpany recruits at Rowan" will be the first.
Honest question. Do you work for Rowan's admissions office or something? Nothing against Rowan, but that whole paragraph above screams hyperbole especially without actual evidence.
Rowan at its core is still a safety school. Credit given for trying to improve themselves, but at the end of the day, no sane family is sending their kid to Rowan over Rutgers-NB if the costs aren't radically different.
Rowan having two medical schools is also a joke. College of Osteopathic Medicine should still be part of Rutgers Camden.
Fair question. I don’t. All I did was make a comment that countered the concept Rutgers was some amazing deal for in state students. I then expanded in the comment and it turned into this nonsense. You would have to read through all of the thread to get all of it.
As for the anecdotal evidence? Sure it is. I’ve worked with thousands of high school kids and their families over a three decade career. I watched all of this change. I’ve seen the outcomes. RU is just not through of the way it was 20-40 years ago for in state families. Don’t kill the messenger. Most if the issues have to do with cost when compared to other options. Those options are usually out of state schools in the south and schools like Rowan and TCNJ. These aren’t just safety schools. More families that have been accepted to RU are saying no and saying yes to other options.
I feel bad for all the families you worked with.
I don’t make decisions. I don’t take the tours. I don’t hear from admissions reps. I don’t have to pay someone else’s bills. Other peoples decisions have nothing to do with me.
Why are you so upset about this stuff?
Not upset. Just calling BS because that’s what this is.
Exhibit A of the stupidity of the average NJ household then to turn down the strongest academic public university in the Northeast by US News if that's the case. Going OOS for a school like a UVA or a Michigan or a UNC over RU-NB makes sense. Going OOS for some of these other schools does not.
For the folks complaining about RU cost, we recently finished the college decision process for my son.
We live in PA.
PSU
Tuition/fees for in-state: $19,286
Total cost of attendance for in-state estimated at $32,270
Pitt
Tuition/Fees for in-state: ~$21,000
Total cost of attendance for in-state estimated at ~$36,000
Compare this to RU:
RU
Tuition/fees for in-state: $16,263
Total cost of attendance for in-state estimated at $30,172
Rutgers is a relative bargain for NJ residents.
We live in PA.
PSU
Tuition/fees for in-state: $19,286
Total cost of attendance for in-state estimated at $32,270
Pitt
Tuition/Fees for in-state: ~$21,000
Total cost of attendance for in-state estimated at ~$36,000
Compare this to RU:
RU
Tuition/fees for in-state: $16,263
Total cost of attendance for in-state estimated at $30,172
Rutgers is a relative bargain for NJ residents.
Here is my understanding of the State colleges and where they have improved.
TCNJ overall very strong student body but I am not certain what program they have a strong reputation for. Except nursing and teaching
Rowan- strong engineering. Adding a Vet program
Stockton- I have heard good things about their health science programs like speech pathology, physical therapy and pre-physician assistant program. This might be more reflective of the fact that those careers are in demand as much as the programs are superior to other schools. To determine that I would need to know how their students do on required licensing tests.
TCNJ overall very strong student body but I am not certain what program they have a strong reputation for. Except nursing and teaching
Rowan- strong engineering. Adding a Vet program
Stockton- I have heard good things about their health science programs like speech pathology, physical therapy and pre-physician assistant program. This might be more reflective of the fact that those careers are in demand as much as the programs are superior to other schools. To determine that I would need to know how their students do on required licensing tests.
Not true.
Check USNWR comparisons of cost per family income. They might be a bit off, but probably not by much. Data.
I don’t think people are upset. But as parents going through the process, your comments don’t add up.
Rowan should target NJ families and offer a discount. There are a lot of NJ students looking for a school.
question- how many NJ HS senior go to a 4 year school after graduation? How many NJ students does RU take? What’s the remaining number of students, 40-50k?
The problem is journalism major don’t really have a path for a career since newspapers and magazines are going out of business.
I thought less than 50% pay the full sticker price. The only problem is not one member of our family ever pay less than full price. It’s terrible making a good income.
You are talking about the cream of the crop and they normally get full scholarships at some schools.
Yes. High average to high achieving students. That is where this discussion started.
We took all of them on a million campus tours. The third one liked the American campus and that they had a cool internship program which she then never took advantage of. She liked it a lot, so that's cool by me.
Listen - there is nothing wrong with Rowan and it’s a good option for many NJ kids who might not be interested in Rutgers, or don’t get into Rutgers. Their expansion was a good thing because it kept kids in state.
But otherwise just gotta LOL at your posts in this thread on this topic.
- Rowan has not “surpassed” Rutgers.
- Rowan is not 10K less than Rutgers. Show your work or stop making $hit up.
- The undergrad experience and reputation has only continued to improve at Rutgers.
- If you travel 150 miles away from NJ chances the average person would have no clue what or where Rowan was. Outside of a few majors (i.e. Engineering), Rutgers reputation and credibility blows Rowan away.
- If you’re basing any of your thoughts or decisions on what guidance counselors in NJ think than this just shows was a fool you are. The guidance counselors at my school were useless and tried pushing kids to little known, crappy, expensive and out of state schools. I’m sure there are good guidance counselors out there - but college is a decision that should be made by the kid and parents…you don’t need a guidance counselor lol.
Don’t take this the wrong way but it honestly sound like your kid just didn’t get into Rutgers and ended up at Rowan. That or something else is driving your posts.
You keep saying the same thing over and over again supported by your own weak and limited anecdotal evidence, and you downplay any countervailing evidence. For our two kids, both extremely high achievers from magnet high schools in the last 5 years, Rowan was nowhere on their radar screens, nor do we recall any of their classmates giving Rowan any consideration. Both of our kids applied to Rutgers as a top choice, with one enrolling and graduating.
You can keep pushing your narrative, but it seems way off. Despite your atatements to the contrary, your anti-Rutgers bias is seeping through your keyboard. Stick to shower ring sales, Neal.
I don't see what this adds to the discussion, but if they had to pay full price, I feel sorry for your wallet, savings and/or their loan burden.
Now, if each of them chose their respective schools for a particular major or program, good for them. Brown, OK, because it's an Ivy. Nothing against American or Vassar, they are very nice schools, but way overpriced.
About 30 years ago I met a couple in law school who both were Vassar graduates. They graduated law school with a combined education debt of $400-500K. Not a recipe for a great start in life to have that much debt.
Not everyone can always live up to your high standards for posting, Knight Shift. I'll try to do better.
I was just reacting to RutgersDave'ls lament over making too much money for his kids to get a scholarship. As an old RU prof, free tuition was on the table, but my wife and I told our kids they could go wherever they wanted. And that is what they chose.
You might think these schools are/were overpriced, but I'm guessing you actually know very little about them, or what they were like 25 years ago when my kids went there.
I can tell you that the ones who went to Vassar and American really loved their undergraduate experience. Worth every penny. The Brown grad loved it as well. We were happy with their choices and happy to pick up the tab for all three.
You have to understand that college is more than figuring out how to get the highest possible salary when you graduate. First, it's a great four years of your life, and second, if done well, it can prepare you to live a worthwhile and rewarding life.
And the couple you met in law school must have been vacationing in the Riviera every year to have run up that much debt. Tuition, room and board at Vassar in 1986 (about when this couple would have started Vassar) was $14,580. Hard to get to half a mill from there even if you folks all went to a pricey law school. Costs simply were not that high. And unless they have had misfortune in their lives, I'll bet they are quite wealthy today.
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We toured American because it’s in DC. But she liked GW better. The big surprise was that she didn’t like Gtown.
Well thank you for the lecture, professor. It seems you were a bit triggered by my post, and that was not my intent. Frankly, while it was likely not your intent, your post came off a tad bombastic, considering the context of the discussion of Rutgers vs Rowan or TCNJ. I'm well aware of your background,.and I think we have messaged off board before. Let's try to dial down our responses, shall we?
I'm glad your kids had wonderful undergraduate experiences. As you are well aware, the same is possible for the poor slobs who must choose a State U such as Rutgers or Rowan as the lowest cost option. I did not read Rutgers Dave's post in context to your response, so perhaps I missed your point.
As for the couple I knew from Vassar, maybe my memory is foggy and one of them went to a different school. But the time frame would have been 1988-92. For the sake of the debt exercise, they could have easily had about $100K in undergrad debt each, and law school ran about $20K per year for all expenses, not including housing and meals, which would have added another $20K per year with no on campus housing. So, my figure of about $400K is not far off. My point stands about that being an insane amount of debt to incur early in life, which was part of the context of the discussion.
Now, I did not know this couple well and why they were paying their own way with only loan burden. But I do remember their remark about debt as part of a casual group discussion. We did not stay in touch, and I have no idea how it worked out.
But back to the topic at hand, I think we will agree that the cost of a Rutgers education is an absolute bargain for an outstanding University with a stellar reputation and stellar professors such as yourself. Like any large institution, it has its warts and weak spots, but the experience my wife and I had was first rate, and 30 years later out oldest child has an even better experience in the Honors College. Go RU!
My original post, which I think you may have misinterpreted, was in commiseration with Rutgers Dave over paying for kids' college. I was pointing out that my kids could have gone to RU for free, but ended up going to private schools which cost me a fair amount of money. It was in no way intended as a knock on RU, where I taught for 29 years and where my wife served on the Board of Trustees. I wouldn't be on this board if I wasn't a loyal RU person. My family proudly holds two masters and a doctorate from RU.
Rowan is a different question; I know little about it, but it is clearly not in a class with Rutgers in terms of research power or prestige. It may have a strong student-centeredness; I wouldn't know.
It is absolutely possible to get an outstanding education at Rutgers, but I haven't been there for 18 years now, so I can no longer speak to the nature of the undergraduate experience. When my older two kids were choosing colleges, RU would not have been a good choice for them. They are both very bright from an intellectual perspective, but neither are particularly streetwise or assertive. They needed a more nurturing environment. The RU Screw would have ground them down. The third one is slightly less of an intellect, but much more streetwise and tough, and she would have thrived at RU. Back in the day, RU wasn't for everyone.
So, no hard feelings here. And here's to football turning the corner, and basketball getting some amazing recruits signed.
We are good. Please take into account that at the time of my reply to your post, I was in a sleep-deprived state at the wee hour of 1:18 a.m. I knew you were not knocking Rutgers, nor was I knocking any of the schools your kids attended. You obviously had the money to pay for those schools for your three kids and that is great. Fortunately, we were in the same position with our children. For our oldest, the choice was between UCLA vs. Rutgers Honors College, and we actually encouraged our oldest to go to UCLA, but the smart kid chose RU and loved the experience. Our youngest was offered similar scholarship package to go to Rutgers Honors College, but chose a very specific program at a private college that we were not familiar with, but we have come to understand is a leader in his chosen program. In addition, he wanted to be at a smaller school. We have no problem forking over the tuition--he loves the school, the program, and he is thriving.
Yawn. Click bait. Our news media sucks and could do a better job of shining a light on how much the State underfunds the State Universities.
Did they take out loans to cover 100% ? Did they not get any financial aid if they couldn't pay? Did they not work at least in the summer while attending? And unless they were attending NYU Law, housing/food in 1990 would not have run 20k for each. Especially if they shared an apartment.
For those keeping score at home:
Average SAT scores:
RU 1360
Rowan 1180
TCNJ 1260
Yes it's such a mystery which of these schools is hardest to get into. It's a real head scratcher!
And for our moms on the Shop Rite line:
Cult 1260
UDel 1250
Anyone want to throw out one of the flavors of the month "down South" (which we know aren't UNC and Duke) for some more fun?
Average SAT scores:
RU 1360
Rowan 1180
TCNJ 1260
Yes it's such a mystery which of these schools is hardest to get into. It's a real head scratcher!
And for our moms on the Shop Rite line:
Cult 1260
UDel 1250
Anyone want to throw out one of the flavors of the month "down South" (which we know aren't UNC and Duke) for some more fun?
I don't remember the particulars on housing, etc. but my recollection is they were 100% loans, and the parents were not helping financially at all . This was northern NJ/NYC. I forget the rents, etc at that time, but in 1989, a 2 BR was $1200 in Hamilton NJ. So for 1992-95, a safe bet is a 1B was at least $1500/month. That's $18,000 for rent alone. Insurance, parking, gas, car insurance, food of at least $500/month, and and at least $30,000/year for living expenses is a reasonable low end estimate. I'm done debating the particulars on this.
Tampa, Clemson and Tennessee are 3 schools that I hear often from my kids friends.
