NEW JERSEY — More than six months into the new coronavirus pandemic, colleges are struggling to resume in-person classes and, in some cases, reverting back to online courses only days into the new semester.
Such challenges raise a question: Is a college degree today worth the actual cost?
Enter Money magazine. The publication this week released its annual ranking of the best colleges for the money. The list, which includes 21 schools in New Jersey, is meant to assuage the financial anxiety associated with the high price of college in the United States.
The 2020 list includes more than 700 colleges and universities. Colleges included in Money’s rankings had to meet certain criteria, such as having a graduation rate at or above the median and having at least 500 students. Colleges were then ranked based on 26 factors in three categories: quality of education, affordability and outcomes.
Each category is weighted equally in calculating the rankings.
See the full methodology used by Money.
Here are the colleges in New Jersey included on this year’s list, with their national ranking:
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Princeton University – 3
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The College of New Jersey – 68
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Rutgers University-New Brunswick – 78
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Montclair State University – 106
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New Jersey Institute Of Technology – 127
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Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus – 134
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Ramapo College of New Jersey – 142
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Saint Elizabeth University – 198
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Stevens Institute of Technology – 230
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Stockton University – 311
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Georgian Court University – 322
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Monmouth University – 331
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Rowan University – 338
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Kean University – 358
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Seton Hall University – 367
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Centenary University – 381
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Rider University – 413
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William Paterson University of New Jersey – 437
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Saint Peter’s University – 533
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Felician University – 561
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Caldwell University – 672
According to Money, the top 10 colleges for your money are:
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Stanford University, Stanford, California.
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Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
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University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
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Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
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University of California-San Diego
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University of California-Davis
See the full rankings and read more about Money’s list.
This article contains reporting from the Patch national desk.
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This article originally appeared on the West Orange Patch
