Just recently, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) held an Open House event and I was able to attend with my family. Located in south Jersey, the college is about an hour and a half away from North Arlington. There are currently about 4,000 undergraduate students enrolled at the school, making it a medium sized school. Classes have about 22 students on average and that number is cut in half for lab classes. According to their website, TCNJ has 50 liberal arts and professional majors, leaving a lot of options for students. Professors, as a tour guide told us, are also required to have office hours, which makes communication with teachers very easy for students.

How is life at TCNJ? The students seemed to enjoy the library and the different areas to dine in around the campus. Along with the food-court style dining hall, there are many options for food outside of campus and other smaller areas to eat outside of dining hall hours. I was also told that there are many options food-wise, so people with allergies or other dietary concerns shouldn’t have to worry about restrictive meal plans at TCNJ. The college is also close to two train stations which lead into town areas where there are an assortment of stores at the students’ disposal, and they also make stops to New York City. Overall, the environment seemed very student-oriented and friendly. There were hundreds of students around to help guide people on tours and into different events.  The community feel was definitely present at TCNJ.

But what is TCNJ like when it comes to entertainment and getting involved? In addition to many academic options, the college offers over 200 clubs and activities for students to participate in. Participants in Greek Life make up about 20% of the student body; students of music form their own little bands and can broadcast their music on the campus radio station. The college also has its own TV station and a newspaper which students can contribute to. As for other programs, internships are very much an option for students at TCNJ. I’m looking to major in business; and many large companies (especially in the pharmaceutical business) take on TCNJ students as interns. Business students can also go abroad to Heidelberg, Germany to spend a semester overseas. There are about 30 countries in total available to TCNJ students to study abroad in. I will continue to search for the college that has the right fit for me, but TCNJ is a great option for people looking to go to a respected state school.