These North Jersey colleges give you the best bang for your buck, survey says

Six North Jersey colleges were ranked among the top 10 best value schools in the state, including two tech-focused institutions and a college that is among the top schools of most students enrolled.

Princeton University in Mercer County nabbed the top spot in a study by SmartAsset, a consumer-oriented online financial advisory system, but students that attend the following higher-education colleges at the top of the Garden State are also getting the best bang for their buck: Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Ramapo College, Seton Hall University and Drew University all made the top 10 in the Garden State.

SmartAsset audited the state's 31 four-year colleges and universities and compiled the list of Best Value Colleges based off a variety of factors and data sets. The company rated each college on a scale of 100, calling it an education value score, and gave 25% weight to starting salary of graduates, tuition, using in-state tuition fees if applicable, and living costs, such as room and board, books, supplies and transportation. An additional 12.5% weight was given to scholarships and grants as well as retention rate (the number of students who re-enrolled at the college the next year).

Earning a college degree increases skill sets, job prospects and net worth, but choosing the college where the degree will be valuable for years to come is key. Here's the North Jersey colleges that SmartAsset determined are among the top 10 best value:

No. 2: Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, Hudson County)

Stevens is not quite in New York City, but just over the Hudson River in Hoboken and boasts strong programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. A private research university founded in 1870 as one of the oldest technological universities in the nation, Stevens received a 76.31 college education value score in the survey.

An audit of the premier school found it had the second highest tuition on the top list, which was $61,598, second to only Princeton, but did offer an average of $28,755 in scholarship and grants monies to students, the second highest on the list.

Undergrads returned the next year on average 93% of the time and student living costs were just over $20,000.

But is the tuition worth it in the long run? Graduates on average raked in a salary of $80,400 — a number that surpasses the $76,128 average annual income of New Jersey residents, according to data from 2023 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

No. 4: New Jersey Institute of Technology (Newark, Essex County)

NJIT, located in the University Heights district of downtown Newark and roughly a 20-minute train ride to New York City, is a public research university that offers over 125 degree programs, ranging from STEM disciplines to architecture and humanities.

SmartAsset gave the college an education value score of 63.85, with a tuition of $20,459, nearly a fourth the cost of Stevens. NJIT did have the second largest living costs among the schools in the top 10 (Princeton was top here as well) with students having to fork over $24,072. The school had a retention rate of 88% and offered $13,836 in scholarships and grants on average.

The median starting salary of an NJIT graduate was $69,200.

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No. 6: Rutgers University - Newark (Essex County)

The Newark location of the State University of New Jersey, one of three regional campuses, offers a diverse population in a large city not far from New York City with 40 undergraduate majors and 50 graduate and professional degree programs. It also is home to Rutgers School of Criminal Justice and Rutgers Law School, one of two the college offers in the state.

With an annual tuition of $17,003 and an average salary of $62,200 post-graduation, SmartAsset gave the college an education value score of 61.13.

The college boats an 86% retention rate, has an average student living cost of $21,593 and scholarships and grants averaged around $13,039.

No. 7: Ramapo College of New Jersey (Mahwah, Bergen County)

A public liberal arts college in Mahwah, the school offers more than 40 academic programs among five schools on its 300-acre campus, located adjacent to the Ramapo Valley Reservation.

The school outshines others in the top 10 by offering students the lowest tuition of $16,961, but its education value score of 52.27 is due in part to the college's average salary of $54,700 and average scholarships and grants of $10,213. It's retention rate was 87% with a student living cost of $20,294.

No. 8: Seton Hall University (South Orange, Essex County)

Seton Hall's 58-acre campus is located in South Orange, an area most know for its rich architecture, demographic diversity and its quick commute into Manhattan, according to The New York Times. The private, Roman Catholic school scored an education value of 51.86 by SmartAsset, likely due to an annual tuition of $49,761, which is higher than the five preceding schools on the list.

The college does offer $28,235 in scholarships and grants on average to students — the third highest in the top 10 — a median starting salary of $61,700 and a cost of student living of $20,650, but may lose some points for its 83% retention rate, the second lowest on the list.

No. 10: Drew University (Madison, Morris County)

Rounding out the list is Drew, a private university located on 186 acres that offers suburban living roughly an hour car trip from New York City.

With over 60 courses of study, the college has a retention rate of 88%, higher than the four schools preceding it on the list and on average offers $26,175 in scholarships and grants. The school scored an education value of 49.19.

While a cost of living of $20,567 is around average for the colleges on this list, the school's tuition nears $47,000, the fourth highest among the top 10 value colleges on the list. Graduates on average receive a salary of $57,800.

NJ college with best value and full top 10

Princeton University in Central Jersey, a private, Ivy league school, boasts an impressive 96% student retention rate, an an average offering of $50,583 in scholarships and grants to students. The college received an education value score of 87.90.

For those among the 6% accepted each year, students will have to cough up $59,401 for tuition and an additional $24,261 for living costs. In hindsight, though, graduates may find it worth the hefty price tag when considering the median salary of graduates is $81,800 — nearly $6,000 over the state average.

Here are the remaining schools that cracked the top 10 list:

• No. 3: Rutgers University - New Brunswick (Middlesex County)
• No. 5: The College of New Jersey - (Ewing, Mercer County)
• No. 9: Rutgers University - Camden (Camden County)

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