2021 Best Colleges for the Money (With No Aid) in New Jersey
There are lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best New Jersey Schools For The Money For Those With No Aid ranking.
After analyzing 27 schools, we came up with our list of those that were the best for overall value for the money with no aid in New Jersey. This ranking doesn't just identify the colleges with the lowest costs. Rather, it highlights those institutions that offer excellent educational experiences for a lower cost than other schools of roughly the same caliber. So it is possible that College A may rank better than College B, while College B is less expensive to attend.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
When determining average cost, we look at total expenses, such as tuition, fees, books and supplies, room and board, and other living expenses. This gives a rough estimation of how much money you can expect to pay out-of-pocket or through loans each year.
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Top Colleges for the Money (Without Aid) in New Jersey
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2021 rankings named Rutgers University - New Brunswick the best school for overall value for the money with no aid in New Jersey for students working on their bachelor’s degree. New Brunswick, New Jersey is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 8,719 students in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Rutgers New Brunswick about 4.3 years to graduate, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $33,457 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers New Brunswick be around $143,196. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. Rutgers New Brunswick also made our Best Colleges in New Jersey list, coming in at #4.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The College of New Jersey. It ranked #2 on our 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey list. This medium-sized public school is located in Ewing, New Jersey, and it awarded 1,685 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at TCNJ graduates in less than 4.1 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $36,093 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $149,064 to get a bachelor’s degree from TCNJ. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. TCNJ also made our Best Colleges in New Jersey list, coming in at #2.
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Out of the 27 schools in New Jersey that were part of this year’s ranking, Ramapo College of New Jersey landed the #3 spot on the list. Ramapo College is a medium-sized public school situated in Mahwah, New Jersey. It awarded 1,307 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Ramapo College about 4.2 years to graduate, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $32,404 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Ramapo College is $137,069. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
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Out of the 27 schools in New Jersey that were part of this year’s ranking, Rutgers University - Newark landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Newark, New Jersey, the fairly large public school awarded 1,775 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.6 years for the average student at Rutgers Newark to complete their degree, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $33,730 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $153,809 to get a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers Newark. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
The low student loan default rate of 3.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Rutgers Newark also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges in New Jersey list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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Out of the 27 schools in New Jersey that were part of this year’s ranking, Rutgers University - Camden landed the #5 spot on the list. Rutgers Camden is a medium-sized public school situated in Camden, New Jersey. It awarded 1,368 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Rutgers Camden graduates in less than 4.5 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $32,930. This means that the average student pays around $149,502 to get a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers Camden. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
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New Jersey Institute of Technology landed the #6 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Newark, New Jersey, and it awarded 1,646 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at NJIT about 4.7 years to graduate, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $38,574 for students who receive no aid. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from NJIT is about $180,526. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
The low student loan default rate of 4.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. NJIT did well in our quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Colleges in New Jersey list.
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Rowan University landed the #7 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking. Located in Glassboro, New Jersey, the fairly large public school awarded 3,684 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
At Rowan, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.4 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $35,638 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Rowan be around $156,094. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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Stockton University landed the #8 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking. Stockton University is a medium-sized public school located in Galloway, New Jersey that handed out 2,018 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Stockton State graduates in less than 4.3 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $31,364 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Stockton State is $133,924. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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With a ranking of #9, Montclair State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey list. Montclair State is a large public school situated in Montclair, New Jersey. It awarded 4,013 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Montclair State is 4.4 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $32,108 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Montclair State is $140,954. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
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Princeton University did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking, coming in at #10. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Princeton, New Jersey. It awarded 1,297 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.1 years for the average student at Princeton to complete their degree, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $74,150 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Princeton is $304,756. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
The student-to-faculty rate of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Princeton did well in our quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Colleges in New Jersey list.
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William Paterson University of New Jersey ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey list. This fairly large public school is located in Wayne, New Jersey, and it awarded 1,785 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at William Paterson University about 4.5 years to graduate, and it costs students who receive no aid about $30,660 per year to attend the school. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from William Paterson University is $138,583. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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Kean University did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking, coming in at #12. Kean University is a fairly large public school located in Union, New Jersey that handed out 2,493 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Kean graduates in less than 4.7 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $30,678 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Kean is $143,266. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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With a ranking of #13, Stevens Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey list. Located in Hoboken, New Jersey, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 766 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Stevens is 4.5 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $72,034 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $324,873 to get a bachelor’s degree from Stevens. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Stevens also made our Best Colleges in New Jersey list, coming in at #3.
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With a ranking of #14, Seton Hall University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey list. South Orange, New Jersey is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,683 students in 2018-2019.
The average student at Seton Hall graduates in less than 4.2 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $63,002 for students who receive no aid. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall is about $262,718. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
The low student loan default rate of 3.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
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With a ranking of #15, Drew University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey list. Drew is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Madison, New Jersey. It awarded 345 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Drew about 4.1 years to graduate, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $58,514. This means that the average student pays around $239,907 to get a bachelor’s degree from Drew. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
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Monmouth University did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking, coming in at #16. Monmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in West Long Branch, New Jersey. It awarded 1,185 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Monmouth is 4.2 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $59,054 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Monmouth is $248,617. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
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Rider University landed the #17 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking. Rider is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The school has a small population, and it awarded 854 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.1 years for the average student at Rider to complete their degree, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $63,850. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Rider is $264,339. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
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New Jersey City University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey ranking. New Jersey City University is a medium-sized public school located in Jersey City, New Jersey that handed out 1,295 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at NJCU about 4.9 years to graduate, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $32,896. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from NJCU is about $161,848. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
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Georgian Court University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and it awarded 375 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Georgian Court is 4.4 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $52,760 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Georgian Court is $232,672. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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With a ranking of #20, Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey list. Madison, New Jersey is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 573 students in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.3 years for the average student at FDU to complete their degree, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $62,522 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from FDU be around $270,720. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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Centenary University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey list. Centenary is a private not-for-profit institution located in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The school has a small population, and it awarded 351 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Centenary graduates in less than 4.2 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $50,140. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Centenary is $210,588. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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Caldwell University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey ranking. Caldwell is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Caldwell, New Jersey. It awarded 333 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Caldwell is 4.5 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $54,155 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from Caldwell is $241,531. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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College of Saint Elizabeth ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in New Jersey list. College of Saint Elizabeth is a small private not-for-profit school located in Morristown, New Jersey that handed out 171 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At CSE, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.1 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $53,178 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from CSE be around $220,157. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
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Saint Peter’s University landed the #24 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking. Jersey City, New Jersey is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 535 students in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Saint Peter’s College about 4.4 years to graduate, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $57,010 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Saint Peter’s College is $251,414. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus landed the #25 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in New Jersey ranking. FDU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Teaneck, New Jersey. It awarded 732 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at FDU is 4.3 years, and it costs students who receive no aid about $59,976 per year to attend the school. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from FDU is about $258,497. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- For our state-specific rankings, we use in-state tuition to calculate average cost. For our national and regional rankings, we use a weighted average of in-state and non-resident tuition.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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