The New Jersey Institute of Technology

Being a engineering school, NJITs student body is mostly smart kids. I can honestly say that 99% of the people in my major actually have a genuine interest in the field. The pay can be attractive, but there's no way someone could get through an engineering curriculum without a general interest in the material, unless you were a robot. But we make robots at NJIT, so who knows.

Since you'll be taking a lot of major-specific courses, you surround yourself with people in your major, creating a supportive community of colleagues. They've ramped up admissions over the last few years, so the campus getting a lot bigger and almost reminds me of a big, state school at times.

I'm a commuter so I don't really have a social life on campus except the occasional club meeting, but those who do live in or around campus seem to make things fun for themselves. If you look, you can find a lot to do on campus. Frequently, there are guest lecturers and workshops. If you are very motivated, you can volunteer or perform research. Or you can spend all day in the library, which is very popular.

The academics are pretty tough here, especially for me because I'm procrastinating and lazy. But it's very easy to get into the study-all-the-time mindset because that's what everyone else is doing. The professors I've had have all been very good. To make it short, I will just say that, so far, they've taught me more than I thought I could know in a semester.

Again, it's in Newark. I don't really go off campus because I have no reason to, but I hear about bad things happening to those who do, then get lost. There are occasional muggings in the surrounding areas, sometimes on the Rutgers-Newark campus. But all that happens at Columbia, too. That's life in a big city. I've heard a lot of good things about Newark from other students. I just haven't had the time to check it out, yet.