New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ

                                                                           Sophomore architecture contest photo

NJIT is on 45 acres, a few square blocks, in the University Heights section of Newark, NJ.  There is a light rail station next to campus which goes to Newark Penn Station. There is a limited amount of green space on campus.


NJIT is the only NJ state college with an architecture program.  It is also strong in engineering and the sciences.  The college has an  Honors college that offers enrichment, a significant scholarship, its own housing floor, and its own space on campus.  There is an engineering class that Freshman can take to help them decide on an engineering major.  Clubs that have to do with your major and internships (e.g., with at&t or PSE&G) are popular.

Housing is limited and there are many commuters. Students who want housing seem to get it. Freshmen have a choice between long hall building with the bathroom in the hall or a building with 2 room suites with a private bathroom for each suite. There is an Electrical Engineering floor and an Honors floor.  Upper classmen can live in those buildings or in apartment style buildings. There seems to be a strong safety focus on campus. I wouldn’t want to stray far from campus alone after dark.


I think a NJ student who wants to study science, engineering, or architecture but wants a school smaller than Rutgers with a multi-ethnic group, doesn't mind that the school is only one quarter female, and is not too interested in social life would be happy here. A student we met in the dorm said he went to class, studied, ate and slept.

Check out my business Facebook page for additional photos of NJIT.  If you are an NJIT student, add your comments to this blog.

Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA

Bucknell University has a beautiful campus in the Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania. It is a three-hour drive from Somerset County, N.J., not far from I-80 in the small college town of Lewisburg.

With colleges in Arts and Sciences, in Management, and in Engineering, this private university has more than 60 majors for the 3500 undergraduate students. Classes are small and professors spend three hours a week in office hours. There are few colleges that primarily award bachelor’s degrees in the liberal arts that also have strong engineering programs. Bucknell University is one of them. The employment and graduate school information of recent Bucknell graduates is encouraging.

Bucknell students are involved in over 200 organizations, including Division I Athletics; club sports; academic organizations; arts and entertainment; Greek life; leadership groups; multicultural groups; music, dance and theatre; publications; religious organizations; service organizations and political groups. Freshmen can participate in theme-based housing options, where hallmates take a seminar together and have opportunities to travel together. Forty-five percent of students study abroad.

On of my son’s best friends attended Bucknell (like his father) and studied accounting.  He got a great education and had a great time.

What did you think of Bucknell University, when you visited?