Rutgers or TCNJ?

Last Updated on September 16, 2023

[This post is from 2013 when I was deciding whether to attend Rutgers University or TCNJ. In 2017, I graduated from Rutgers. I just have to say that I LOVED my four years of college. Rutgers changed my life, taught me so much, and provided me with countless opportunities to grow, challenge myself, and learn.

Today (4/30/2018), I released my Rutgers Archives with ALL of the blog posts I wrote throughout my four years at Rutgers, organized chronologically and sorted by year.

If you’d like to browse them, it might help you get a feel for what to expect from Rutgers. Obviously, we all have our individual experiences and you have to choose whichever university makes more sense for you.

My four years were highly nontraditional but I still believe it can be helpful to see what a college was like through the eyes of someone else. Have a look!]

Original Post:

Help! I can’t decide which college I want to attend this fall…

Should I pick Rutgers Business School or TCNJ’s School of Business?

I’m thinking of possibly majoring in Supply Chain Management and minoring in Chinese. I like the idea of being a part of a large alumni network. I want to eventually apply to an Ivy League for grad school and one day work in a large global company, so in that case, Rutgers would be the way to go.

I want to study abroad, join Circle K, and have an internship or two during my time in college. For all three of those things, either college would be just fine.

At the same time, I’m scared of going to a school that might be too big and has classes in huge lecture halls. I’m not saying I won’t do well in that kind of classroom environment, but it’s just scary because I’ve never had a class like that before. So for that reason, I’m leaning towards TCNJ.

Both schools have pros and cons and even unknowns including: Which has better food? Which has nicer dorms? Which student body will I get along with better?

I don’t want to go to TCNJ and get stuck in a bubble where I know every person on campus and lose touch with the outside world but I also don’t want to go to Rutgers and have to fight to be noticed and compete with other students for local internship opportunities.

It’s tricky! Any opinions/insight would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

I will be traveling to both universities to see them in person.

UPDATE (4/24/2014)

This post seems to get a lot of traffic from high school seniors trying to decide between Rutgers and TCNJ. I just thought I’d stop back to let you know that I chose Rutgers and I am SO HAPPY I did. I think it was a great decision and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for certain professors I’ve met through the university. I highly encourage you to search “Rutgers” on my blog and check out some of my other stories.

UPDATE (11/20/2017)

I graduated from Rutgers this past May and I couldn’t have asked for a better four years of college. I LOVE RUTGERS AND EVERYTHING IT HAS DONE FOR ME.

UPDATE (4/30/2018)

Today, I published a COMPLETE Rutgers Archive that lists EVERYTHING I blogged about while I was still in college. If you’re debating whether or not to choose Rutgers as your college, it is definitely worth taking a look through. You might see something that could catch your interest! Check it out and feel free to contact me with any questions!

The Rutgers Archives

7 Comments

  1. It is tricky. Toss a coin! LOL Just Kidding. I’ll cast my vote for Rutgers because you need the experience of competing with a large group. You will have to in the real world after college, so it’s best you learn now. That’s just my opinion. You know yourself better than anyone and you should be happy, so choose the one that you know will make you the happiest. 🙂

  2. NJstudent

    I wanted to chime in on this subject since i have experience at both schools (also a supply chain major)
    I graduated from TCNJ ’09 and I am currently an MBA Supply Chain student at Rutgers ’16.
    I found both schools to have their benefits and will allow you to decide.
    This is from my perspective, just want to make that clear!

    TCNJ Business
    Pros
    -Professors are extremely helpful and will challenge you. Especially Mayo, Patrick,Carver, Hume along with Accounting and Econ professors that I have not mentioned
    -Classes/ exams are hard (you really need to study your ass off), i must say my undergraduate experience really helped me prepare for graduate school and lead basic projects after graduation. I talked to a couple of other friends that went to Columbia and NYU for B-School, and they said the same about TCNJ helping them excel at school (huge plus)
    -Small and focused class sizes (easy to talk to Professors)

    Cons
    -Networking/ Career Fair- Limited selection Merrill, E&Y and J&J, Goldman, Blackrock (seems more tailored toward finance/ accounting majors)
    -No Supply Chain Major, one course in marketing on the subject

    Rutgers Business School
    Pros
    – Professors care, teach from real life experiences, great teachers like TCNJ
    – Exams are a little easier, you still have to study to do well
    -Wealth of Majors to choose (including supply chain)
    -More professional societies to join
    -Career Fair is 10X than TCNJ’s: They even have their own supply chain meet and greet (C&D, Phizer, Caterpillar, J&J, along with the big finance and accounting firms like E&Y, Merrill)

    Cons
    -Bus transportation can be slow
    -Large class sizes can be a downside at first
    -Professors are a little harder to access due to the amount of students

    Anyway, best of luck deciding and congrats on getting into these great schools

  3. Ken Schoonover

    I hold a B.A. and M.A. from TCNJ and my doctorate is from Rutgers. So, I feel qualified to comment.
    (BTW – my son selected TCNJ over Rutgers)

    Thanks to the Rutgers emphasis on big time sports rather than education, TCNJ has attracted many scholars who might have chosen Rutgers had their academic standards not been discarded. Let’s hope the new President will stay the course at TCNJ.

    1. The Rocky Safari

      Whoa, whoa, whoa haha. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say that! Nah, all joking aside, I believe both universities are excellent. I am sure I would have enjoyed TCNJ had I selected it. There were points when I absolutely HATED Rutgers. Like anything else, it has its pros and cons. And some are BIG cons. Overall, I enjoyed my time there and got a lot out of my undergraduate experience. Thanks for commenting and sharing your story!

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The Rocky Safari