New Jersey
N.J.’s hardest (and easiest) colleges to get accepted to, ranked
The odds of getting into your favorite New Jersey college range from almost certain to nearly impossible, depending on your school of choice.
But there’s good news for most high school students. Applicants at the vast majority of the Garden State’s four-year universities have at least a 50% shot.
Check out the list below to see the 2023 acceptance rate for each of the state’s four-year institutions with at least 1,000 applications, not including for-profit colleges.
The rates were calculated by NJ Advance Media using data from the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
27. Centenary University
Hackettstown
Acceptance rate: 96.7%
Applications: 1,304
Offers: 1,261
26. Felician University
Lodi and Rutherford
Acceptance rate: 94.0%
Applications: 2,254
Offers: 2,119
Machuga Student Center on the University Commons at William Paterson University in Wayne. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)
25. William Paterson University
Wayne
Acceptance rate: 92.5%
Applications: 7,754
Offers: 7,174
24. Saint Peter’s University
Jersey City
Acceptance rate: 90.5%
Applications: 4,381
Offers: 3,966
23. Monmouth University
West Long Branch
Acceptance rate: 89.5%
Applications: 8,410
Offers: 7,530
22. New Jersey City University
Jersey City
Acceptance rate: 89.2%
Applications: 5,758
Offers: 5,134
21. Stockton University
Galloway
Acceptance rate: 88.2%
Applications: 9,338
Offers: 8,233
Rocky the Red Hawk greets students as they move onto Montclair State University’s campus. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media
20. Montclair State University
Montclair
Acceptance rate: 87.4%
Applications: 23,599
Offers: 20,629
19. Fairleigh Dickinson University – Florham Campus
Madison
Acceptance rate: 86.5%
Applications: 5,325
Offers: 4,606
18. Fairleigh Dickinson University – Metropolitan Campus
Teaneck
Acceptance rate: 84.3%
Applications: 4,862
Offers: 4,097
17. Rider University
Lawrence
Acceptance rate: 79.4%
Applications: 9,069
Offers: 7,201
16. Seton Hall University
South Orange
Acceptance rate: 78.9%
Applications: 23,748
Offers: 18,738
Rutgers-Newark received 17,779 applications last year.Steve Hockstein | For NJ Advance
15. Rutgers University – Newark
Newark
Acceptance rate: 78.7%
Applications: 17,779
Offers: 13,997
14. Rowan University
Glassboro
Acceptance rate: 77.82%
Applications: 17,923
Offers: 13,948
13. Rutgers University – Camden
Camden
Acceptance rate: 77.8%
Applications: 11,951
Offers: 9,293
12. Saint Elizabeth University
Morristown
Acceptance rate: 77.3%
Applications: 1,781
Offers: 1,377
11. Bloomfield College
Bloomfield
Acceptance rate: 77%
Applications: 3,048
Offers: 2,347
Kean Hall at Kean University.NJ Sport Pics
10. Kean University
Union
Acceptance rate: 76.9%
Applications: 12,142
Offers: 9,335
9. Ramapo College
Mahwah
Acceptance rate: 73.2%
Applications: 7,553
Offers: 5,530
8. Georgian Court University
Lakewood
Acceptance rate: 70.5%
Applications: 2,317
Offers: 1,634
7. Drew University
Madison
Acceptance rate: 69.4%
Applications: 4,604
Offers: 3,197
6. Caldwell University
Caldwell
Acceptance rate: 67.04%
Applications: 7,769
Offers: 5,208
New Jersey Institute of Technology made offers last year to 9,367 students. Julian Leshay | For NJ Advance Media
5. New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark
Acceptance rate: 66.9%
Applications: 14,010
Offers: 9,367
4. Rutgers University – New Brunswick
New Brunswick
Acceptance rate: 65.4%
Applications: 43,347
Offers: 28,326
3. The College of New Jersey
Ewing
Acceptance rate: 62.1%
Applications: 11,668
Offers: 7,251
2. Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken
Acceptance rate: 44.1%
Applications: 14,170
Offers: 6,244
1. Princeton University
Princeton
Acceptance rate: 4.5%
Applications: 39,644
Offers: 1,782
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Adam Clark may be reached at aclark@njadvancemedia.com.