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2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey

10 Ranked Colleges
1,494 Degrees Awarded
$21,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor's in New Jersey

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts general studies students received their degree, making the major the 1st most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across New Jersey, there were 10,421 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,230 and $15,125 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,494 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,288 and $24,807 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in liberal arts general studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts general studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the liberal arts general studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in New Jersey

#1

Thomas Edison State University

Trenton, New Jersey

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Thomas Edison State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey list. Located in Trenton, New Jersey, this fairly large public school handed out 473 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our new jersey bachelor’s degree liberal arts students list, TESU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” ranking.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at TESU

#2

Stockton University

Galloway, New Jersey

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stockton University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey. Stockton State is a public institution located in Galloway, New Jersey. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 111 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Stockton State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” list. The yearly cost to attend Stockton State is $19,678 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Stockton University

#3

Rowan University

Glassboro, New Jersey

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey that were part of this year’s ranking, Rowan University landed the #3 spot on the list. Rowan University is located in Glassboro, New Jersey and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 193 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

Rowan also took the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Rowan is $25,454 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Rowan University

#4

Montclair State University

Montclair, New Jersey

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Montclair State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey list. This large school is located in Montclair, New Jersey, and it awarded 48 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Montclair State, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Montclair State University is $18,034 for new jersey bachelor’s degree liberal arts students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Montclair State

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend William Paterson University of New Jersey. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey. William Paterson University of New Jersey is located in Wayne, New Jersey and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 78 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

William Paterson University also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for William Paterson University is $19,547 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at William Paterson University

#6

Rutgers University - Camden

Camden, New Jersey

Rutgers University - Camden came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey ranking. Camden, New Jersey is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts degrees to 24 students in 2019-2020.

Rutgers Camden also took the #9 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” ranking. It costs about $13,660 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend Rutgers University - Camden.

The low student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at Rutgers University - Camden

Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey ranking. FDU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Teaneck, New Jersey. It awarded 350 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

FDU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” list. It costs about $15,147 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students per year to attend FDU.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at FDU

#8

Seton Hall University

South Orange, New Jersey

Seton Hall University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey list. Seton Hall is a private not-for-profit institution located in South Orange, New Jersey. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 126 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Seton Hall also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend Seton Hall is $29,845 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Seton Hall

Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey ranking. This small school is located in Madison, New Jersey, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

FDU also took the #10 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” ranking. The yearly cost to attend FDU is $22,809 for New Jersey Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts students.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at FDU

#10

Rider University

Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Rider University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in New Jersey list. Rider is a small school located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey that handed out 20 bachelors’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Rider did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in New Jersey” list. It costs about $27,964 for new jersey bachelor’s degree liberal arts students per year to attend Rider.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at Rider University

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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