Rutgers University - New Brunswick

Rutgers is more affordable than Penn State. If you live in New Jersey, you pay $9,926 for Rutgers compared to $14,412 at Penn State as a Pennsylvania resident. In four years, that is a $13,944 difference. You pay $21,388 instead of $26,276 for Penn State if you live outside of the state. It is $19,552 difference in four years. Lately, the economy is poor, so a lot of people don't have that kind of money. That is a big factor in choosing the right college. For students to pay for their education, they want the best college for the least amount of money. As you can see, Rutgers is a better investment than Penn State.

A smaller class size leads to a better education. It is preferable to have a professor teaching a small group of students rather than a large one. The average student-to-teacher ratio is 14 ?to-1 at Rutgers University, however, at Penn State, it is 17 ?to- 1. Jeremy D. Finn of the University at Buffalo said, "Our results contradict arguments that just one year in a small class is enough to reap long-term academic benefits. Three or four years of small classes are needed to affect graduation rate, and three or four years have been found necessary to sustain long-term achievement goals." Students in a small class feel calmer; have more individual time from the teacher, and achieve higher test scores. At Rutgers, 2009 graduation rates were 76.8% compared to 67.8% at Penn State. This is considerably higher and most likely can be contributed to the smaller class sizes. Therefore, Rutgers is the better college of the two of them.

Rutgers University is close to the biggest cultural center in the US, New York City. It is less than one hour or forty miles away from this metropolis. Penn State, however, is four hours and thirty minutes or 245 miles away. NYC has places that draw millions of people from around the world. Some attractions are Coney Island, sports stadiums like Madison Square Garden, museums such as Ellis Island, the Bronx Zoo, Times Square, and Broadway. While in NYC, you can learn about different issues, events, and experiences on many things. For example, if a student goes to the city to a museum and shares their experience with the class, everybody's learning something new. In NYC, mostly everything is walking distance and has plenty of sidewalks. If something is far away, you can take a taxi, ferry, subway, bus, bike, helicopter, or cruise. This proves having the largest city located close to Rutgers provides opportunities to learn about many diverse cultures. Therefore, Students are going to be more educated than undergraduates in Penn State.

Rutgers University is a better college to choose than Penn State. It is less expensive. The Students have a better chance of graduating from Rutgers. It is located closer to the biggest city. Applying to Rutgers University will help you achieve further in life and have better opportunities.