Thursday, July 8, 2010

New Jersey hopes to keep college students in-state | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/07/2010

New Jersey hopes to keep college students in-state | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/07/2010

New Jersey hopes to keep college students in-state

Admissions strategist Steve Goodman helped two New Jersey students with their college applications this year.
Both were accepted at Rutgers, the state's largest university. Neither will attend.
Instead, Goodman said, they chose prestigious out-of-state research institutions: the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan.
The decisions by his clients fit a long-term trend, say Goodman and New Jersey higher-education authorities.
New Jersey exports more college students than any other state, and its colleges and universities attract relatively few students from elsewhere. Some higher-education advocates say they hope those facts will get attention from a task force appointed by Gov. Christie to make changes in a system he says has not kept pace with other states'.
Several factors influence New Jersey's student migration, experts say. The state is surrounded by cities - New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington - with high-caliber universities. Garden State public institutions have neither the prestige to attract the state's top students nor money to develop it.
What's more, experts say, New Jersey has an identity issue.
"There is a reverse-snobbery," said Cigus Vanni, a counselor at Cherry Hill High School West who is active in the

Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20100707_New_Jersey_hopes_to_keep_college_students_in-state.html#ixzz0t5lJr5TK
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In this file photo from 2009, prospective students and their parents wait for the start of an information session at the new $7 million plus Rutgers University Visitor Center. ( Tom Gralish / File)
Admissions strategist Steve Goodman helped two New Jersey students with their college applications this year. Both were accepted at Rutgers, the state's largest university. Neither will attend.
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