New Jersey is full of high school students with an impressive GPA, high SAT scores, and affluent parents willing to pay for even the most expensive colleges. This has made New Jersey students quite attractive to top colleges in nearby states and has resulted in what is referred to as a “brain drain” for the Garden State.
More than fifty percent of New Jersey’s college bound students exit the state for their higher education, according to statsamerica.org. In fact, New Jersey is ranked 6th in the country as a leading exporter of students pursuing a college degree.
Where do migrating students go? Typically, not very far. New Jersey is the #1 feeder to many colleges in nearby states comprising a sizeable portion of their student body: Lehigh University (26%), Villanova University (25%), University of Delaware (23%), University of Maryland (10%), Loyola University of Maryland (26%), American University (11%).
New Jersey is the #2 or #3 top feeder to additional top schools, also comprising a sizeable portion of their student body: NYU (12%), Columbia University (9%), Cornell University (9%), University of Pennsylvania (12%), Carnegie Mellon University (13%), Johns Hopkins University (12%), Georgetown University (10%), George Washington University (13%), Catholic University of America (15%). Statistics are from collegefactual.com.
It’s not that New Jersey is lacking colleges. It houses 19 public community colleges where high school graduates can begin their education and strive to earn an associate degree without accumulating substantial student debt. New Jersey is also home to 11 public four-year colleges and universities. Rutgers University alone enrolls some 35,000 students at its New Brunswick campus, with another 6,000 at Newark, and 3,500 at Camden. Montclair State University and Rowan University enroll about 15,000 and 13,000 students, respectively, while Kean University and NJIT enroll about 9,000 and 7,500 students, respectively.
There are also private universities within the Garden State, and local students comprise the largest portion of the student body at Princeton University (18%), Stevens Institute of Technology (66%), and Seton Hall (74%).
Why does this brain drain exist? New Jersey is a small state, making it easy for students to cross the border to attend college while still remaining close to home. New Jersey is also an expensive state. The high cost of attending college in New Jersey -- even the public universities -- makes out-of-state schools extremely attractive when they offer substantial scholarship funds.
Susan Alaimo is the founder & director of Collegebound Review, offering PSAT/SAT® preparation & private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362
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