Once the (major) decision is made to go to college another (major) decision looms: where to go? Fortunately, in New Jersey, you have plenty of top-flight schools to attend.

Money published their annual list of the best colleges, combining quality education with affordability. Money doesn’t rank them best to worst; rather, they assign a number of stars to each school, with five stars being the highest.

Money analyzed dozens of data points, including graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid and alumni salaries. Out of 2300 eligible schools, they measured the top 736 “Best Colleges.”

Asian college student
Suprijono Suharjoto
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New Jersey is pretty well represented on the list, with five schools getting either five or four and a half stars. Without further ado, the schools are:

5 Stars: Princeton

Photo by Tim Alex on Unsplash
Photo by Tim Alex on Unsplash
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4 ½ Stars:

  • New Jersey Institute of Technology
  • Rutgers- New Brunswick
  • Stevens Institute of Technology
  • The College of New Jersey
The entrance to TCNJ in Ewing (Dan Alexander, Townsquare Media NJ)
The entrance to TCNJ in Ewing (Dan Alexander, Townsquare Media NJ)
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New Jersey also had ten schools that earned a four star rating:

  • Caldwell University
  • Centenary University
  • Felician University
  • Monmouth University
  • Montclair State University
  • Ramapo College
  • Rider University
  • Rowan University
  • Saint Peter’s University
  • Stockton University
TSM South Jersey
TSM South Jersey
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NJIT President Teik Lim told roi-nj.com,

Money’s analysis affirms NJIT as one of the best values in higher education and considers factors that are most important to students and their families,” he said. “As a public polytechnic research university, NJIT prepares students for success in fields that are critical to businesses, are in high demand across all industries and encourage entrepreneurial spirit.

All in all, a pretty good showing for New Jersey schools and good news for college bound students, and their parents: there are plenty of excellent choices close to home.

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