Choices - State School - Private small - Name recognition (help me choose) New Jersey

College Search & Lists
1

We went from 13 schools to 3.
I chose small - suburban - and primarily private although this was before i had any clue about the financial aid elements.
Childs SATs were low GPA decent - she is an average student…great extra curricular + Varsity sports.
my choices -

ROWAN ranked #18 in North east medium size/suburban
pros-
-Great 6 week summer program for kids that need a transition /help /remedial classes
-ranked highest (18th in North east)
-campus is like mini city very cool college experience
-Affordable
-although large small class size

Cons-
-middle of no where
-said to have great reputation but has anyone heard of it outside of NJ?
-will classes be to difficult for my average child? ( an honor roll friend of hers did not even get accepted and got into an IVY-it was due to friends major apparently there engineering school is superior)
-never had a faculty - type open house so not clear in the strength of majors dept -

RIDER ranked #23 - small suburban
Pros
-similar intro summer program just shorter
-smaller
-great staff super attentive and responsive
-D1 school more prestige
-amazing department in her major (went to a symposium)

Cons
-facilities not as nice
-seems like more of a commuter school but she would be dorming
-EXPENSIVE 52-56k per year I would have to write an appeal ASAP(may 1st deadline) to make it affordable
*10k difference in our cost vs Rowan

LaSalle

Pros-
-similar summer program just shorter
-super high name recognition
-strong alumni
-strong funding
-city atmosphere great for networking and internships

Cons-
-EXPENSIVE equal to Rider, the difference I would have to pay is an additional 10k compared to Rowan (per year)
-Heard it was in a bad area - urban vs suburban
-my daughter prefers suburban

I cannot really say more about LaSalle b/c we haven’t visiting. I just love it b/c of the name I suppose.

I am a young single mom so I am getting advice from my parents and here with you - :slight_smile:
-My parents suggested the major should not be a factor as she will likely change it
-They also suggest from friends from PA that LaSalle isn’t the best area despite being a decent school
-They said that name recognition and prestige is important but really only on an IVY level.
(dad went to Tufts and no one outside of Mass had heard of it went he travels)
(Mom went to BC and Harvard so um…ya)

Everything leans towards Rowan at this point but I would appreciate -
Any additional insight you may have on these schools would be helpful or general answers as well.

2

LaSalle is ranked #31

3

None of the three will have much recognition outside the region. The student should choose based on cost, academics, and other fit factors.

You say that the private schools are $52,000 to $56,000 per year and about $10,000 more than Rowan. But Rowan lists is cost of attendance as $24,022 in-state and $31,976 out-of-state. These do not include books and other costs, but adding a typical estimate of those costs comes to at most $27,522 in-state and $33,476 out-of-state. So the difference in price is much more than $10,000 between Rowan and the private schools.

4

Thanks! In that order? No - I said “our” final cost is @ that difference. :slight_smile:

5

What is the net price of each after subtracting financial aid grants (not loans) and scholarships from the list price?

6

Lets say school A is 50k then subtract the merits - school grants - state grants - etc the net balance (which in my spreadsheet is the subtotal before any loans) is 20k. School B is 10k subtotal before any loans. So the difference in cost before any loans is @10k between A and B - for what I would need to incur. I have opportunity for appeals and other factors to decrease the costs but not sure if it is worth the effort if we decide on the less expensive school.
The private schools gave MORE merit - school based aid but I guess that is due to the higher cost of admission, and is standard.