#TCNJ vs Rutgers

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

fickle sinew
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*Note that I would be a transfer student

Schools:: Rutgers (New Brunswick) and TCNJ (The College of New Jersey)
Intended major: Data Science (or Specialization in Data Science)
Similarities: Both schools have Data Science related majors with Rutgers having a pure Data Science major with multiple tracks (for example a Statistics path which gives a lot less CS related classes and more statistics based ones and the CS track which gives a lot more math and a few more CS classes). Each seem to have decent programs either way.

Rutgers (N.B)
School 1 Pros:

  • Know a bit of friends that currently go there (none are same majors, but still friends are nice)
  • Well known college from what I've researched online not just in NJ as well as throughout America (supposedly).
  • Rated highly in national universities at least according to usnews.com
  • Assumedly a huge network of people for jobs and such.
  • Has a rock wall which I enjoy doing
  • For the Statistics track I'd be able to complete it most likely in a year (and therefore earn my bachelors in a year)

School 1 Cons:

  • Huge school that has 30,000+ undergraduates alone.
  • Will most likely receive no form of scholarship, merit. etc.
  • Will have to constantly be taking busses to get to different campuses which are usually always late, delayed, or broken down commonly.
  • Not the greatest administration (advising most importantly)
  • Expensive parking passes with hard to find spaces typically.
  • If I wanted to go into the CS track I would have to take Calc 2 and Calc 3 which I'm just not a fan of, as I'm more of a fan of the coding/CS related courses/topics not really math.
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TCNJ
School 2 Pros:

  • Know 1 friend currently going
  • Major is technically considered Computer Science there but specialized in Data Science which is a more broad major to have for future jobs.
  • Small school. Has around <=7,000 current undergraduates
  • Most likely will receive potentially a scholarship/some form of merit money
  • Cheaper parking passes with most likely more space to park than rutgers.
  • Seems safer. (No way to easily prove that besides random posts/articles regarding things like that).
  • Small but nice town with the campus.
  • Would not have to take any further Calculus courses.

School 2 Cons:

  • Does not have from what I know of any rock climbing gyms/walls nearby.
  • Not necessarily known for Data Science/Computer Science more so Engineering which of course has some parallels with CS/DS, but most CS classes are more Engineering centered.
  • Hard to make new friends especially as a transfer due to small student numbers and cliques already being formed by Junior year of college.

Tiebreaking considerations:

  • Any clarification on either programs or just some explanations of how each programs have been to someone who has taken/currently is taking them for both colleges.
  • Financials obviously if one college is going to give me a better deal by a decent margin I'd be more inclined to go there.

Addendum: I definitely prefer a smaller college as I'm just not a fan of big schools especially party schools which I'm aware rutgers is, however I also want to ensure that I can actually find friends or interact with current ones as that's been one of my biggest issues. Most importantly though I want to be in a program that can currently assist me in an internship for Data Science that I am currently doing as a way to broaden my skills and help me out in future jobs and such.

broken drift
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Did u get into both already

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If so when does financial aid come out

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Also where r u coming from

fickle sinew
# broken drift Did u get into both already

Technically yes and no. Its complicated but I was going to be attending Rutgers this fall (which I got accepted in) without my A.S due to a stupid program change, however that change was reverted so I had to unenroll as they did not allow me to difer for the next semester while taking courses elsewhere. However, I can't apply to TCNJ yet, since its for the Spring semester so yeah. I most likely believe my stats are good enough to get into both. Also I am in-state for both of these colleges

paper elm
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rutgers

fickle sinew
paper elm
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well rutgers is just a stronger school overall

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also for CS and stuff, knowing calc 2 and calc 3 is beneficial

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from my knowledge, rutgers has a stronger statistics program

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take my advice with a grain of salt, as i'm not in college though

fickle sinew
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fair enough

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The only reason I hesitate on taking calc 2 and 3 is because in the grand scheme of at least data science I probably wont ever be using it while a class like linear algebra and the statistic classes are prob a lot more useful

golden plover
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you def will

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linear algebra has vectors in it, which you wanna do calculus on

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you'll need series for all sorts of stuff

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not to mention parametrics in general

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TLDR I don't think not doing Calc II/III should figure into this

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it sounds like TCNJ is a better learning environment for you, although I will say Rutgers is really really nice in this field

fickle sinew
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You're probably right