New Jersey: aid after freshman year
Four-year colleges in New Jersey, ranked by the gap between the average freshman grant and the average grant in later years.
Official price reports: Rutgers
We have IPEDS 2022-23 grant data for 31 four-year colleges in New Jersey. At 25 of them, the average grant for continuing undergraduates was lower than the average freshman grant. The median gap was $1,606 per recipient, compared with $1,064 nationally.
The largest gaps: Pillar College ($13,329), Saint Elizabeth University ($7,179), Felician University ($6,025). Median gap at public colleges: $1,622 (12 colleges); at private nonprofits: $1,259 (19 colleges).
Explain the numbers
- Freshman grant: total grant aid to first-time, full-time freshmen divided by the number who got grants (2022-23).
- Later years: the same average for all other degree-seeking undergraduates who got grants, including transfers and part-time students.
- Drop: freshman average minus later-years average. Above zero means later-year recipients averaged less. In New Jersey, 25 of 31 colleges are above zero and 28 meet our traditional 4-year filter.
- Median: half of the colleges in New Jersey have a smaller drop than $1,606, half larger.
- IPEDS data runs about two years behind; current-year prices come from state reports where available.
Averages across recipients, not a prediction for one student. Colleges with large part-time or online enrollment are marked; read the methodology. See 2026-27 published costs for this state.
| # | College | Drop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pillar College Newark · Private | $13,329 |
| 2 | Saint Elizabeth University Morristown · Private | $7,179 |
| 3 | Felician University Lodi · Private | $6,025 |
| 4 | Saint Peter's University Jersey City · Private | $5,688 |
| 5 | William Paterson University of New Jersey Wayne · Public · large part-time/online share | $5,316 |
| 6 | Georgian Court University Lakewood · Private · large part-time/online share | $4,988 |
| 7 | Drew University Madison · Private | $4,797 |
| 8 | Seton Hall University South Orange · Private | $4,671 |
| 9 | The College of New Jersey Ewing · Public | $2,544 |
| 10 | Rutgers University-Camden Camden · Public | $2,115 |
| 11 | Rowan University Glassboro · Public | $2,094 |
| 12 | Rutgers University-Newark Newark · Public | $2,051 |
| 13 | Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken · Private | $1,941 |
| 14 | Caldwell University Caldwell · Private | $1,696 |
| 15 | New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark · Public | $1,637 |
| 16 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick · Public | $1,606 |
| 17 | Kean University Union · Public | $1,587 |
| 18 | Yeshiva Toras Chaim Lakewood · Private | $1,259 |
| 19 | Monmouth University West Long Branch · Private | $1,161 |
| 20 | Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Teaneck · Private · large part-time/online share | $976 |
| 21 | Yeshiva Gedolah Shaarei Shmuel Lakewood · Private | $891 |
| 22 | New Jersey City University Jersey City · Public | $825 |
| 23 | Bloomfield College Bloomfield · Private | $614 |
| 24 | Stockton University Galloway · Public | $423 |
| 25 | Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah · Public | $56 |
| 26 | Montclair State University Montclair · Public | −$407 |
| 27 | Centenary University Hackettstown · Private | −$1,406 |
| 28 | Rider University Lawrenceville · Private | −$1,644 |
| 29 | Rabbinical College of America Morristown · Private | −$2,255 |
| 30 | Princeton University Princeton · Private | −$2,686 |
| 31 | Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus Madison · Private | −$5,893 |
Source: IPEDS SFA 2022-23.
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