Ramapo College -- Alumni Reviews

Introduction
Choose the place you feel most comfortable at. Ramapo was close to my home, close to most of the important places in northern New Jersey, and I had a good group of friends that were going there. Some of you may not have all that, or wish to get away from those things I embraced; the bottom line is, choose the place you feel the best at. Now, on to my plugging of Ramapo: it's a school that is skyrocketing upwards, for good reasons. New construction has put in some fantastic places for students to live, eat and study. It's relatively cheap, easy to get to, and close to all the major highways in northern Jersey. The faculty is solid and has a promising, intelligent president at the helm. The arts program is very strong and boasts a teriffic building (the Berrie Center) with some excellent programs. Overall, this is a school that, given the rising popularity, will easily challenge Rutgers and TCNJ in popularity amongst New Jersey citizens within the next decade.

Campus Life and Social Life
There are many people who choose to leave campus on the weekends, or commute, due to the proximity of the college to their homes. It's not so much a suitcase school as it is one that is socially hamstrung by the financial situations of their students--I would estimate 85% of the campus works part-time. But the social situation is very solid; there are many stores offering spirits nearby, and Fridays and Saturday nights at the senior-housing village or Apartments are always entertaining. Nearby Suffern, New York, offers some teriffic bars, and there are ample places for fine dining, drink and food on nearby Route 17. The sporting scene (Division 3) is negligble. The club scene is solid, and growing. Advertisement
Academics
Academics at Ramapo are, assumedly, like most other schools; not overtly hard, but needing a lot of time and effort. The new cirriculum enacted by the president shows some promise, clearing up a lot of problems that were induced with the old scheduling system. Communications and Arts programs are very strong. The professors, like all places, are a mixed bag--you'll get a good one here, a bad one there, and most will be indifferent. Overall, very solid.

Student Body
The majority of the students from Ramapo are New Jersey born-and-bred, mostly from the suburbs of the northern region. Most work near the school or head home on the weekends to resume their jobs; the majority are hard-working, intelligent and aware students who have helped to make Ramapo a very solid, growing campus.

In Closing...
I hope you consider Ramapo. Good luck!