Nine N.J. schools make list of best 50 northern U.S. regional universities

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College search and rankings website College Choice has come out with its first ranking of the best 50 regional universities in the northern United States, and several New Jersey institutions are prominently featured.In fact, nine of the 50 — 18 percent — are located here in the Garden State, including one in the Top 10.

“When ranking regional universities, it made sense to us to consider which factors the largest survey of actual college freshmen said was most important to them when they chose their school,” Jeremy Alder, managing editor of College Choice, said in a prepared statement. “Every college ranking involves decisions about what elements of a college to consider. You can’t measure or include everything, so why not go with what real students said they valued most in making their own college decision?”

Some of these factors included academic reputation, financial aid offerings, overall cost and success of graduates in the post-college job market, College Choice said in a news release. The regional university rankings include schools that “offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s programs, but relatively few doctoral programs.”

The nine New Jersey colleges and their ranking:

50. Montclair State University

49. Monmouth University

43. Saint Peter’s University

40. Rider University

32. Fairleigh Dickinson University

28. Ramapo College of New Jersey

27. Rowan University

23. Rutgers University-Camden

6. The College of New Jersey

Villanova University in suburban Philadelphia ranked first, followed by Bentley University in Massachusetts and Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore.

For College Choice’s full list, click here.