Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Elementary School Teachers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Essex County College, Stockton College, Rutgers, and William Paterson University.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider New Jersey City University, Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan, Kean, and William Paterson University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider College of Saint Elizabeth and Georgian Court University.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Saint Peter's College, Felician, Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan, and Seton Hall.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider College of Saint Elizabeth, Caldwell College, Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan, and Georgian Court University.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Seton Hall, Rider University, Fairleigh Dickinson - Metropolitan, and Caldwell College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of The College of New Jersey, Fairleigh Dickinson Florham, Saint Peter's College, and Rider University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at The College of New Jersey and Rutgers.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at New Jersey City University, The College of New Jersey, Montclair State, and Saint Peter's College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Saint Peter's College, Felician, Seton Hall, and College of Saint Elizabeth.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Ocean County College • Toms River, NJ
Studying American Sign Language (completion in 2008)
• 7/11/2011
"For being a community college it was great. The only drawback was the minimal amount of research and books in the library."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The professors there are very good and flexible. And also the career placement services they have are unbelievably good. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | The rating was average to say the least. The only reason I went there was because low funds and I was to lazy to try for scholarships. |
| Program Quality | 9 | First off, the town I teach in is beautiful and full of nice people. Second is that there's a great number of disabled students here who need to learn sign language so it's treated as a high priority. |
| Instruction | 7 | At first it's hard to understand a whole new language. But we do learn LOTS about sign language and sociology as well. And the teachers are also great, too! |
| How Difficult | 8 | Like I said before, it's a whole new language. Unlike switching from English to Chinese, you switch from English to talking with your hands. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of our education involved using our hands obviously for sign language. To learn the material, though, we needed to mostly use books. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | My school was a community college. I had scheduled classes but if I told my professor I had things to do, we'd reschedule accordingly. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | There were not very many books on my subject. During non-school hours I'd do as much research as I could, but there wasn't much available for my degree. |
| Social Life | 6 | We weren't a four-year college so there were no dorms. However, despite being a community college, we always had the stands filled at home games for every sport. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Again, like I mentioned before, I was offered numerous jobs in just 3 months. And before my job now I was an aid to other sign language teachers. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | My network was the best. Three months after graduating they gave me a list of all the open job opportunities. |
Rutgers University • New Brunswick, NJ
Studying Music Education (completion in 2011)
• 7/13/2011
"The program was extremely appropriate and effective. I felt very prepared for the "real world" once I graduated."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I feel that Rutgers has the right combination of good curriculum and helpful faculty. The location is also important, as the school is in between two major music cities - Philadelphia and New York. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | My school has produced very successful students who get jobs immediately after graduating. We even have some famous alumni! |
| Program Quality | 10 | Rutgers University does not just focus on the performance aspect of music. All music students are encouraged to teach lessons and become great leaders. |
| Instruction | 8 | The subject material was extremely relevant. However, college classes just don't prepare you well enough for things like behavior problems. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Most college students take about five classes at most. Music majors at Rutgers often take nine, ten, or eleven classes with credits totaling to more than twenty. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Books were necessary to pass the class. We did have ample opportunity to observe actual elementary classes and teach our peers. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | As a music major, I took a lot of classes. It was often hard to schedule everything I needed because of the amount of classes offered. I ended up graduating late as a result. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Rutgers is a research institution. There are libraries for everything, including a music library and a science library. |
| Social Life | 10 | I participated in the marching band the summer of my first year, and so I came into the program knowing quite a few people. Rutgers also organized activities for music majors. |
| Placement Services | 8 | The school expects us to find jobs on our own. However, they prepare us for interviews. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | We are always kept in the loop through e-mail. However, the alumni association seems entirely consumed with the idea of getting us to give them money. |
Fairleigh Dickinson University • Madison, NJ
Studying Special Education - Learning Disabilities (completion in 2002)
• 7/17/2011
"I got a great education, a Master's degree, and I was able to advance my teaching career because of this program."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The program was geared toward teachers, so they allow you to work while getting your Master's. Also, the program has a reputation for being one of the best in the state. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | While I am out of state now, I think that the program was wonderful and I know it still has a great reputation in state. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I feel I worked harder than some of my friends who went and studied psychology or sociology, but I know the science degrees had a very different type of workload. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Some classes used students to help us work with, while others involved only book and article reading. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | This was designed to be an evening programs for teachers while they worked during the day. Some of the classes were flexible while others were not. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The materials I needed were always there, and there was never an issue. |
| Social Life | 5 | Since my program was an evening program, these were available. However, my classmates and I opted to do social events on our own since we were graduate level students and these events were geared more towards undergrads. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I had a job lined up before I officially graduated, so I did not use their job placement/career services. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I get emails, phone calls, and mailings. I have opted not to participate in these at the current time, but they do keep me up to date about my school. |
William Paterson University • Wayne, NJ
Studying Music (completion in 2004)
• 7/22/2011
"I am able to hold a position with my education. My education at WPU doesn't give me a competitive edge over others."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I didn't feel that I got proper training in the music teaching field. I got education training and music training as separate entities, however there was not a lot of music education training. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | WPU has a good reputation for its music dept. This is carried mostly from the Jazz dept. |
| Program Quality | 8 | WPU is a fantastic Jazz music school, however their classical music program is lacking comparatively. Their education program is also lacking because it's focus is almost exclusively on band. |
| Instruction | 6 | The quality of professors at William Paterson was a toss up. Some were very good while others were not good at all. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I never wrote a paper more than 10 pages in my entire academic career at William Paterson. That being said, the jury qualifications were difficult and there was not much support in preparation. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The music dept. had a very hands on approach. Students were still expected to read, however learning by doing was the focus. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | This is probably the area that WPU most excels in. There are many classes and the times are flexible. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The computer labs for the most part were outdated and dirty. The library did not have much staff available for help and there were not many tutoring groups available. |
| Social Life | 3 | WPU didn't have a great sense of community due to fact that it was mainly made up of commuter students. There was never a great effort made to have commuter social clubs or groups. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I hear it is just so-so. I have never actually used it myself. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I occasionally get an email or mailing form them. WPU is not the best at keeping in touch with their alumni. |
Stockton • Absecon, NJ
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 1995)
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Program Reputation | 10 | It is excellent. I'd say it's one of the top schools to get an educational degree. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I love working with the children. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. |
| Instruction | 3 | They didn't prepare me for all that would come with this job. Also, the times have changed since I went to school. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The workload wasn't too bad. However, going for in-school instructional time was hard (to earn credits). |
| Placement Services | 5 | They didn't help me schedule any interviews. However, going to that school gave me a an advantage due to its name recognition. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | I'm still friends with most of my schoolmates via Facebook. Also, the school keeps us very connected as well. |
Rutgers Graduate School Of Education • New Brunswick, NJ
Studying K-5 Certification (completion in 2010)
• 9/28/2011
"I received my Master's and undergraduate degrees in five years. I also had a blast in the process."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I'd recommend it if you want to have an exciting college career and if you don't need a lot of structure. But if you prefer small class sizes and structured learning environments you may want to consider somewhere else. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Rutgers is one of the best public schools in NJ. It also boasts a five year Master's program which I completed. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I believe Rutgers did a great job in the placing me for student teaching. However, I felt completely unprepared the first time I set foot in my own classroom. |
| Instruction | 5 | There is a huge disconnect from what is learned at Rutgers and what is taught in schools today. Often at Rutgers I felt like I had no direction in planning lessons. Once I had students with real needs I was able to easily plan lessons. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Readings were abundant and application was limited. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I skated through my undergraduate career because classes only consisted of power point slides from the readings in the book. However, for graduate school my attendance was necessary due to group work and hands-on lessons. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | You are placed in the classes according to your specialization. There are only 30 students total so you have all the same classes with the same people. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Rutgers has many accessible libraries and computer labs. Also, the graduate school has it's own computer lab. |
| Social Life | 10 | I was a cheerleader and in a sorority. I had some of the best times of my life and met my best friends at Rutgers. |
| Placement Services | 2 | We had a job fair and receive occasional emails, but you are pretty much on your own. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | We rarely have alumni event, at best once a year. They are poorly promoted and don't feature anything exciting. |
Ramapo College Of New Jersey • Mahwah, NJ
Studying Primary Education (completion in 2009)
• 10/4/2011
"Very satisfied. The people and professors I had were great. I do wish the school pushed me more to get involved though. I should have studied abroad."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's a great place to learn the fundamentals of teaching. You will also be pleased with how sincerely your professors want you to succeed and help whenever possible. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Ramapo is a small school but for its low cost you can receive a great education and be confident that you are prepared for your teaching career. The professors are very serious about the teaching program which makes it extremely successful. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The professors were great and always helpful when providing me with student-teaching options. They were always a great resource to go to if I had questions on what to do in the classroom. |
| Instruction | 8 | There were always teachers on campus to help provide students with internship opportunities and advice. However, I do not think I learned as much as I could have. The first year I spent with a class by myself I felt extremely unprepared. |
| How Difficult | 4 | I do not believe going to college to become a teacher is difficult. It is more of a skill that cannot be taught. I believe certain people are born with the patience to handle children in an appropriate manner. Being told about a classroom environment and various teaching strategies can only take you so far. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I would say the classes I took as a freshman and sophomore were all about book learning. But as I progressed in my classes we had more hands-on learning. Senior year we had to partake in student teaching which is as hands-on as you can get. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | I took 5 courses every semester. This was common at the school because one would have to pay for extra credits otherwise. The school offered many summer and online winter courses. I never had the need to retake or take any extra courses. I was free most weekends except for doing homework on Sundays. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | My school had great academic advisors as well as a tutoring service for anybody struggling in class. I even considered signing to tutor fellow classmates in math (my strongest subject). Many professors were accessible and gave students their cell phone number. The school did have pretty bad computer lab facilities and our library was definitely not state of the art. My hometown library was bigger and more professional than the college's. |
| Social Life | 10 | Although nobody at the school really cared too much about the sports, Ramapo was a great social experience. Everyone at the school was friendly and there were a great deal of social events especially on the weekends. Community service was also very big at the school. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Ramapo is very successful at providing graduates with career and job opportunities in New Jersey. However, one of my friends who is not from New Jersey was not given much help for finding a job in his home state. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | I feel my school's alumni network was very good. I just recently put my name and contact information on a list for undergraduates to use in case they have any questions. |
The College Of New Jersey • Trenton, NJ
Studying Elementary Education (completion in 2008)
• 10/7/2011
"TCNJ provided me with a great education and college experience. I am happy that I chose the college and the career path I did."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | TCNJ is known as a teaching school. They provide their students with great opportunities. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | TCNJ has a great teaching reputation. Everyone identifies it as "the teaching school." |
| Program Quality | 8 | TCNJ is known for their education program. They set me up with great student teaching jobs and I had knowledgeable professors. |
| Instruction | 8 | |
| How Difficult | 4 | Because I enjoyed what I was studying so much, the work was not difficult for me. I enjoyed the hands on opportunities, and did not have to do too much that was unrelated to my major. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My college experience was very hands on. I worked with a lot of children and did a lot of research. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | TCNJ offered summer courses, online courses, and evening classes, amongst other things. I did not participate in these but knew people who did. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | TCNJ had a great library. There were also tutoring options for free. |
| Social Life | 8 | I had a great social life in college. The dorms were always busy with parties and other organized social events. |
| Placement Services | 8 | TCNJ set me up with a variety of student teaching positions. When my student teaching was concluded, they helped me find jobs. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The Alumni network is not that great. I do not participate in Alumni programs. |
Rutgers University • New Brunswick, NJ
Studying Mathematics (completion in 2004)
• 10/28/2011
"I could not be any more pleased. Great student body, professors, atmosphere in general and education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would absolutely recommend it. They would have the time of their lives and expenses would be worth it while receiving a rewarding education. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | RU is a great school for almost everything. Pharmacy, pre med, math, education. etc |
| Program Quality | 7 | Rutgers is a great school for teaching. The professors were very insightful. |
| Instruction | 8 | The RU staff was amazing, and the hard work I put in made my preparation worth while. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Math was not too hard because I had great professors and I used my time wisely to study. I was challenged and the workload was formidable but I pushed through it. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | We got to pick the classes so the flexibility was on us. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Rutgers has everything a student would need in order to boost his education. the libraries are state of the art, as well as technology. They basically pamper you. |
| Social Life | 10 | Rutgers is excellent in school spirit, partying, Greek life, and especially Football. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The RU network is incredible it's like RU alumni are everywhere. |
College Of St. Elizabeth • Convent Station, NJ
Studying English & Elementary Education (completion in 2003)
• 12/5/2011
"The preparation for my field that I received at the College of St. Elizabeth was a great start for my teaching career. I enjoyed my time at the school, meeting many new friends with whom I keep in touch, and getting to know several excellent professors."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school provides a solid base for a future career as a teacher and does a good job of building in extracurricular opportunities for students. Plus, it has a lovely campus in a great suburban area with several other colleges in the nearby towns. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school is well-known in the area for its education program. It is involved with other area colleges and K-12 school districts to implement new educational ideas and to foster an environment for continuing learning. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The professors in the program really knew what they were doing and were very supportive of the students. Plus, there were many opportunities to interact with children and get a feel for the teaching profession. |
| Instruction | 9 | The coursework included all pertinent current topics: standards-based learning, differentiated instruction, and integration in the classroom. In addition, there were panels with current teachers sharing their experiences and answering college students' questions. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The academic program was of average difficulty. Coursework was rigorous but did not require a huge amount of time, and it was possible to do well on it if effort was put forth. I did not feel that the work was either too easy or too demanding. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The program at the school used texts but was also very hands on. Beginning in the sophomore year there were field experiences at local Catholic elementary and middle schools; these generally consisted of observations or one-on-one or small-group tutoring. There was also a junior and then senior practicum and student teaching. Assessments in the education courses included traditional papers but also included methods we were learning about, such as portfolios, oral presentations, and discussion groups. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | The school offers a wide variety of class times, including evenings, and programs. There is an accelerated program that meets on weekends to finish the degree quicker. At the time I attended there were not online classes, although there may be now. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The facilities at the school were average, although the library had a nice collection of books on pedagogy and practical lesson materials. The advisors and professors, however, were above average in their availability and willingness to help. |
| Social Life | 5 | There were athletic teams which competed on campus to participate in or watch, and organized events like concerts and bus trips. Being a Catholic girls' school, there were more restrictions on unorganized events: limits on who was allowed in dorms at certain times and things of that nature. |
| Placement Services | 6 | The school's job placement services are average. But, they are very helpful in making sure the necessary testing and paperwork for certification are completed, which is of course important for even being able to get a job. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | The alumni network consists mostly of updates on people's current whereabouts. The alumni network has an office which organizes some regional get-togethers. |
Rutgers University • New Brunswick, NJ
Studying Undergrad: English Major With Education Minor. Grad School: Elementary Education (completion in 2004)
• 1/5/2012
"If I didn't like the school as an undergrad, I would have looked elsewhere for my graduate studies. But Rutgers professors were accessible and up to date on current trends in academics, and the campus life was a good fit for me. I also enjoyed that the school was a fairly short train ride into NYC, but still had a strong campus feel, with lots to do on the weekends. The in-state tuition and grant and scholarship opportunities offered an excellent value as well."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, especially if you're considering teaching in New Jersey. Rutgers has some excellent professors; just do your homework on them, to make sure you get the right ones! The ability to study education as an undergraduate, and even take some graduate-level courses while majoring in other subjects, allows for flexibility. Teaching won't make you rich and can sometimes be a very frustrating career, but my experience at Rutgers reinforced for me how much I wanted to pursue it and how rewarding it can be. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Since I've been in the workforce for a few years now, I'm not as concerned or updated on my school's reputation. Also, this is really a question of perspective; to me, Rutgers has a solid reputation and produces lots of excellent teachers. However, to an undergrad in the middle of the country, or a high school student considering applying to colleges with the hopes of being a teacher, I have no idea what the reputation might be. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The professors were patient and fairly accessible. The courses prepared me well for my first few years as a teacher, and the student teaching element was invaluable. |
| Instruction | 9 | Most of my professors really seemed to enjoy what they were doing. The overwhelming majority made an effort to engage the students and made sure we knew what we were getting ourselves into! |
| How Difficult | 8 | The undergraduate courses were, for the most part, easier than those I took in other subjects. The graduate courses were far more time-consuming and challenging, but that is to be expected. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a lot of book learning, especially in concern to educational theory. What made up for it were the student teaching opportunities, which were required in graduate school and also gave us a hands-on experience that couldn't be replicated in a college classroom or lecture hall. Teaching is (or should be) about the kids, so what better way to learn than to actually be in the schools with them, seeing how lessons work (or don't), and having that crucial real-time feedback you can only get from a classroom of children? | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | For the most part, the required core courses were easy enough to schedule in a way that allowed for a reasonable balance between school and work. Some of the scheduling got difficult towards the end of my degree, especially if there was a particular professor I wanted to study with. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | I can't really speak to the availability of tutors or lab space. However, there was sufficient study space, and course material was always available in the library or bookstore. The professors were very accessible (for the most part), and especially at the graduate level, there was good study group support. Some of my strongest friendships started in study groups! |
| Social Life | 6 | I was at Rutgers as an undergraduate and then later as a grad student. I was really into the social scene as an undergrad, but much more focused on "being an adult" as a grad student. I didn't really go to parties; I spent more time in downtown New Brunswick and rented an apartment fairly far off campus. As an undergrad, though, I always felt like there was something to do, or something going on, even if I wasn't into the frat/sorority scene or going to football games. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Career services helped a lot with the preparation of documents (resume, cover letters, etc.). I probably could have taken more advantage of the alumni support network and other networking opportunities. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | The career center helped me work on my cover letters, resume and educational philosophy statements. When it came time to finding open positions, though, I don't feel like there was a particularly strong alumni support network, although that may have been my fault more than the school's! |
Montclair State University • Upper Montclair, NJ
Studying Family Child Studies - Concentration In Early Childhood (completion in 2006)
• 1/13/2012
"MSU gave me a lot of opportunities and a quality education. It is also much more affordable than many other 4 year colleges and, in my opinion, offers a higher quality of learning."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend MSU for the reasons I listed in this survey. That said, I would not recommend pursuing teaching as a career at this time unless you have a true calling. Summers might be "off," but the stress and thanklessness of the other 10+ months is not well compensated and is increasingly subject to liability. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | MSU has a strong reputation in NJ as a teaching college, and it is gaining popularity as an overall great value in higher education. I think that principals, especially in NJ, know that graduates are well-prepared. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Montclair had excellent professors who were experienced educators and stand-outs in their fields. Many had worked in public schools or special programs, like the New School elementary pilots in NYC. |
| Instruction | 10 | Many of the concepts I learned were applicable, despite teaching being something you really learn by doing. One aspect that made the program strong was the amount of time college students were required to spend in a variety of school settings observing and interacting with teachers. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There are probably other majors more difficult at the college level, because I truly believe teaching is not something you learn entirely in a college classroom. That said, we were held to a high standard and were required to spend a lot of time traveling to elementary schools for field work. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | In education, most campus-based experiences were related to books. We also spent a lot of time doing observations and field work in real classrooms with elementary students. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | As a large college, MSU offers plenty of different sections of the same course (not including really specialized 400 level classes). One issue, however, is that classes at prime times fill quickly and you are required to take so many "gen-eds" that it can be difficult to make a schedule that allows one to graduate in 4 years. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | MSU definitely had a wealth of academic and career resources and support. It is a large school and prides itself on having so many opportunities for students. I did not use all of these resources, but I know they were available. |
| Social Life | 6 | MSU is a dry campus (no alcohol) and at the time I was there most people went home on weekends, so there were not as many parties as there were at other schools. I know in recent years they have expanded campus residency, however. There were a lot of offerings for small and large campus events like movie nights, diverse cultural organizations, Greek life, and others. |
| Placement Services | I know there were resume-writing and career centers available year-round. I did not take advantage of these, so I am not in the know. | |
| Alumni Network | I know that there is an alumni network, but I do not participate and have requested removal from mailing lists. |
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