The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey is located on the New Jersey Shore in the middle of acres and acres of pinelands. Atlantic City and miles of beaches are the closer landmarks. The buildings have a space aged 70s feel and are interconnected and the school is in the middle of a huge building project on a student center. A small, liberal arts state college with just under 7,000 students attending. Admissions are competitive (SAT CR/M1130) and admitted students are in the top 25% of their high school class. An interesting feature of the school is Instant Decision Days – show up with your admissions materials, meet the criteria and you are in! Otherwise, when your file is complete, you receive a decision (latest application submissions for this fall was May 1st). It is a Div III school and seems to have a bunch of “Osprey” spirit – Men’s soccer has done very well.
Academically, Stockton describes itself as hands on. There is an Honors Program that allows students to work directly with a professor on a research project and present at a conference prior to graduation. There is a General Studies requirement that makes up 25% percent of the courses a student will take in order to graduate. Criminal Justice, Nursing, Dance, Literary Studies, Business, Computer Science, Biology and Marine Biology are some of the majors that students can choose.
Tuition with room and board for out of state students in 2008-2009 was $26,153. There are both need based and merit based scholarships.
There are colleges similar to Stockton closer to Springfield, so a student interested in Stockton would have to want to attend for a specific major or to be in this location (i.e. Marine Biology).
