The college admissions process can be stressful, cold-hearted and a major ego killer.
And that’s not even considering how students feel.
New Jersey colleges get rejected, too. Sometimes far more often than you would think.
Consider what it’s like to work in admissions at Seton Hall, the respected Catholic university that 90% of high school seniors said “thanks, but no thanks” to after getting accepted in 2023.
A college’s yield — the percentage of students who actually enroll after they are accepted — is a point of pride for dream universities like Princeton. And it’s a potential panic attack for institutions that see droves of students turning them down.
Colleges with a low or unpredictable yield can be left scrambling to fill their freshman class and risk being under-enrolled for the fall. A chronically low yield can also lead to the dreaded “safety school” label.
Yield isn’t everything — Seton Hall says it’s still surpassing enrollment goals — but it’s especially important in New Jersey, where colleges face intense out-of-state competition for top students.
Here are the colleges that students rejected the most (and least) in 2023, according to the most recent state data.
Read more: N.J.’s hardest (and easiest) colleges to get accepted to, ranked
27. Princeton University
Princeton
Offers: 1,782
Enrollments: 1,366
Yield: 76.7%
26. Rutgers University - New Brunswick
New Brunswick
Offers: 28,326
Enrollments: 7,793
Yield: 27.5%
25. The College of New Jersey
Ewing
Offers: 7,251
Enrollments: 1,547
Yield: 21.3%
24. Kean University
Union
Offers: 9,335
Enrollments: 1,968
Yield: 21.1%
23. Montclair State University
Montclair
Offers: 20,629
Enrollments: 4,039
Yield: 19.6%
22. New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark
Offers: 9,367
Enrollments: 1,793
Yield: 19.1%
21. Stockton University
Galloway
Offers: 8,233
Enrollments: 1,530
Yield: 18.6%
20. Rowan University
Glassboro
Offers: 13,948
Enrollments: 2,555
Yield: 18.32%
19. Ramapo College
Mahwah
Offers: 5,530
Enrollments: 1,012
Yield: 18.3%
18. Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken
Offers: 6,244
Enrollments: 1,036
Yield: 16.6%
17. Felician University
Lodi and Rutherford
Offers: 2,119
Enrollments: 350
Yield: 16.5%
16. Centenary University
Hackettstown
Offers: 1,261
Enrollments: 189
Yield: 15.0%
15. Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus
Teaneck
Offers: 4,097
Enrollments: 598
Yield: 14.6%
14. Georgian Court University
Lakewood
Offers: 1,634
Enrollments: 232
Yield: 14.2%
13. New Jersey City University
Jersey City
Offers: 5,134
Enrollments: 682
Yield: 13.3%
12. Monmouth University
West Long Branch
Offers: 7,530
Enrollments: 975
Yield: 13.0%
11. Drew University
Madison
Offers: 3,197
Enrollments: 404
Yield: 12.6%
10. William Paterson University
Wayne
Offers: 7,174
Enrollments: 883
Yield: 12.3%
9. Saint Peter’s University
Jersey City
Offers: 3,966
Enrollments: 455
Yield: 11.5%
8. Rutgers University - Newark
Newark
Offers: 13,997
Enrollments: 1,580
Yield: 11.29%
7. Rider University
Lawrence
Offers: 7,201
Enrollments: 806
Yield: 11.2%
6. Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus
Madison
Offers: 4,606
Enrollments: 512
Yield: 11.12%
5. Saint Elizabeth University
Morristown
Offers: 1,377
Enrollments: 139
Yield: 10.1%
4. Seton Hall University
South Orange
Offers: 18,738
Enrollments: 1,573
Yield: 8.4%
3. Bloomfield College
Bloomfield
Offers: 2,347
Enrollments: 182
Yield: 7.8%
2. Rutgers University - Camden
Camden
Offers: 9,293
Enrollments: 655
Yield: 7.1%
1. Caldwell University
Caldwell
Offers: 5,208
Enrollments: 345
Yield: 6.62%
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Adam Clark may be reached at aclark@njadvancemedia.com.
