Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
Paying for college in New Jersey
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply. See every New Jersey college priced for your income
From the colleges
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
In our New Jersey scenarios, with good parent credit, a SmartTuition plan saves a median of about $7,800 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
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From the state
New Jersey's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
Tuition Aid Grant
A need-based grant for New Jersey residents at New Jersey colleges, public and private. The amount depends on the kind of college, and the state sets the table each year.
Source: New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority
“The Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) offers need-based assistance to New Jersey students enrolled at approved New Jersey higher education institutions”
“TAG award amounts vary based on the type of institution at which students enroll.”
“In accordance with State law, the value of your grant may decrease depending upon appropriated funds, actual tuition charges, cost of attendance, estimated family contribution and other available resources.”
Garden State Guarantee
For the third and fourth years at a New Jersey public college: tuition and fees cost $0 after other aid, up to a family income of $65,000.
Source: New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority
“New Jersey residents who attend an in-state, public, four-year institution and have an annual adjusted gross income (AGI) between $0 and $65,000 will pay a net price of $0 for tuition and fees during their third and fourth years of study.”
“GSG covers the cost of tuition and fees that are not already covered by federal and state financial aid or other scholarships.”
“Students must be enrolled full time (at least 12 credits per semester) and must be working toward completing their first Bachelor’s degree.”
NJ STARS II
A merit scholarship of $2,500 a year for up to four semesters, for a student who earned an associate’s degree on NJ STARS and transfers to a participating New Jersey bachelor’s college.
Source: New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority
“The New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship II (NJ STARS II) is a merit-based scholarship awarded to NJ STARS students who have earned their associate’s degree from their community college and then transfer to a participating bachelor’s degree-granting college or university in New Jersey.”
“The NJ STARS II scholarship provides $2,500 per academic year for up to four semesters.”
New Jersey's 529 tax deduction
Money you put into an NJBEST account comes off your New Jersey income, up to $10,000 a year, when your gross income is $200,000 or less. Take money out for anything other than school costs and New Jersey taxes what you deducted.
Sources: New Jersey Division of Taxation, New Jersey College Affordability Act and New Jersey Division of Taxation, Income Tax Changes for Tax Year 2022
“You can deduct up to $10,000 of contributions made during the year into an NJBEST account.”
“If your gross income is $200,000 or less, you can deduct the maximum amount of $10,000.”
“Qualified distributions from an NJBEST account are exempt. If you deducted contributions to an NJBEST account on a New Jersey Income Tax return, then later take a nonqualified distribution from that account, the portion of the distribution that is attributable to any contributions previously deducted (and any interest earned) is taxable.”
From the colleges
What each college gives for grades, what it promises on aid, and its full price.
| College | Merit scholarships | Promise on aid | Full price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caldwell University private |
| — | $62,971 |
| Drew University private |
| — | $73,828 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University Florham private |
| — | $61,469 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University Metropolitan private |
| — | $61,469 |
| Felician University private | None published | Felician Promise: tuition and mandatory fees for incoming freshmen from New Jersey with a household adjusted gross income of 65K or less, from fall 2026 | $62,258 |
| Kean University public | None published | Kean Tuition Promise: tuition and fees after other aid for incoming freshmen with a household adjusted gross income under $65,000 (worth asking about) | $38,952 |
| Monmouth University private | None published | — | $73,489 |
| Montclair State University public | None published | Red Hawk Advantage Award: up to four semesters of tuition and fees for New Jersey students with an adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less (worth asking about) | $37,688 |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology public | None published | — | $45,553 |
| Princeton University private | None published | Says it covers 100% of what a family cannot pay; Full cost of attendance covered: incomes up to $150,000; No tuition: incomes up to $250,000 | $95,289 |
| Ramapo College of New Jersey public | None published | — | $39,440 |
| Rider University private |
| Rider Tuition Guarantee: free tuition for New Jersey students with a 3.5 GPA, income of $50,000 or less, and full TAG and Pell grants (worth asking about) | $68,297 |
| Rowan University public | None published | Rowan Opportunity Program: tuition and mandatory fees after other aid, for New Jersey students with a family adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less | $38,337 |
| Rutgers University Camden public | None published | Rutgers: in-state tuition for New Jersey students with a family income below $65,000 (R-UN to the Top, Bridging the Gap and the Scarlet Guarantee) | $43,921 |
| Rutgers University New Brunswick public | None published | Rutgers: in-state tuition for New Jersey students with a family income below $65,000 (R-UN to the Top, Bridging the Gap and the Scarlet Guarantee) | $44,106 |
| Rutgers University Newark public | None published | Rutgers: in-state tuition for New Jersey students with a family income below $65,000 (R-UN to the Top, Bridging the Gap and the Scarlet Guarantee) | $43,351 |
| Saint Peter's University private | None published | Gateway Tuition Program: tuition after other aid for New Jersey residents with a family adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less | $65,437 |
| Seton Hall University private | None published | — | $80,122 |
| Stevens Institute of Technology private | None published | — | $93,781 |
| Stockton University public |
| Stockton Promise: tuition and fees after other grants, for New Jersey students with a family adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less | $36,397 |
| The College of New Jersey public | None published | — | $40,055 |
| William Paterson University public | None published | — | $34,523 |
Each college's page has a promise's conditions, in the college's own words. “Worth asking about” marks a program the college describes in words that stop short of a promise.
Full price: tuition and fees, housing and food, and books; in state at a public university. What your family would pay after grants depends on your income: the finder shows it.
4 more New Jersey colleges have no page here. For 1 of them, the federal data has no cost or no price by income. The rest mainly teach graduate students or run online programs. Show them
- Beth Medrash Govoha
- Thomas Edison State University
- New Jersey City University
- Georgian Court University
Paying the rest
Your SmartTuition plan uses your savings, your 529, your loans and your award letter.
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How we worked these out
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The $7,800 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving over our New Jersey scenarios. Each scenario is a household in New Jersey at one of its colleges. Its income is one of 8 from $45,000 to $200,000, and its savings are none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price each college at the aid it reports for the income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. A saving is the difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest, the federal tax credit and New Jersey's tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan. Credit matters: parents with fair credit borrow at a higher rate, which changes the saving.
A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out, as is one at a college that reports no aid for the income. The figure is for a household that lives in New Jersey.
Costs: each college's own published price where it has one, otherwise the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, carried forward to fall 2027. Grants: each program’s own page. Scholarships: each college's own page, read by us and checked against it. SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any institution named here.