These NJ Colleges Earned Top Score On New National Ranking

Several New Jersey colleges have been named to Money’s 2025 Best Colleges in America ratings, which focuses on institutions that are affordable, have strong academic programs and give graduates a strong shot at a good salary after graduation.

Money said its 11th annual ratings can give families of college-bound students some control in the uncertain landscape and help them find a college they can afford, with the academic programs and campus culture they want.

The 732 colleges are those where students are most likely to graduate and land jobs, Money said.

Schools from New Jersey include:

Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)

• Star Rating: 5
• Acceptance Rate: 5%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $87,210
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $21,000
• Graduation Rate: 97%

NJ Institute of Technology (Newark, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4.5
• Acceptance Rate: 67%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $42,910
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $17,800
• Graduation Rate: 80%

Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4.5
• Acceptance Rate: 43%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $84,940
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $46,300
• Graduation Rate: 87%

The College of New Jersey (Ewing, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4.5
• Acceptance Rate: 62%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $41,540
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $23,700
• Graduation Rate: 86%

Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4
• Acceptance Rate: 87%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $36,350
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $14,700
• Graduation Rate: 70%

Ramapo College of New Jersey (Mahwah, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4
• Acceptance Rate: 73%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $36,060
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $18,400
• Graduation Rate: 70%

Rutgers University-New Brunswick (New Brunswick, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4
• Acceptance Rate: 65%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $39,140
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $20,200
• Graduation Rate: 82%

Saint Elizabeth University (Morristown, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4
• Acceptance Rate: 77%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $56,840
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $19,500
• Graduation Rate: 62%

Saint Peter’s University (Jersey City, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4
• Acceptance Rate: 91%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $63,240
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $15,400
• Graduation Rate: 59%

Stockton University (Galloway, NJ)

• Star Rating: 4
• Acceptance Rate: 88%
• Estimated Full Cost (2025-26): $40,510
• Estimated Price with Average Aid: $21,000
• Graduation Rate: 76%

In addition to NJ schools with 4-5 star rankings, the list also included:

• Drew University (3.5 stars)
• Georgian Court University (3.5 stars)
• Kean University (3.5 stars)
• Monmouth University (3.5 stars)
• New Jersey City University (3.5 stars)
• Rowan University (3.5 stars)
• Centenary University (3 stars)
• Rider University (3 stars)
• Felician University (3 stars)
• William Paterson University of New Jersey (3 stars)
• Seton Hall University (3 stars)

Money looks at about two dozen data points to assemble the final lists, which were weighted by affordability (40 percent) and quality of education and outcomes, including post-graduation salaries (30 percent each).

Money said its ranking comes as the Trump administration reshapes higher education, including cuts to research grant funding, increased taxes on endowment, shrinking federal funding for some college access programs, and a crackdown on international student enrollment. The recently signed budget bill also makes changes to federal Pell grants and overhauls student loans.

“The volume of higher ed news right now is, frankly, overwhelming,” Marc Zawel, who cofounded the admissions consulting company AcceptU in 2009, told Money. “There’s a lot of noise that [students are] trying to work through to make sense of what actually affects them.”

Go here to see all rankings.

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