National Student Scholarship Attracting Talented Students from Coast to Coast

A National Student Scholarship will be offered at Montclair State University for high-achieving out-of-state students beginning in fall 2019. The awards guarantee that academically qualified college students pay in-state tuition.

The move paves a path for students, coast to coast, to defray college costs while pursuing their academic and career passions. Located just 12 miles from Manhattan, Montclair State offers a traditional campus experience with the iconic New York City skyline visible from modern residential halls and state-of-the-art academic buildings.

“The National Student Scholarship offers the equivalent of in-state tuition to students from beyond New Jersey’s borders so that as broad a population as possible may benefit from the exceptional academic, social and cultural offerings of one of the region’s premier institutions of higher education,” says University President Susan A. Cole.

Montclair State is recognized as a Carnegie-designated national research doctoral university and state-designated public research institution, and is listed among the nation’s top 90 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. It rewards the best minds in New Jersey and beyond by offering a variety of generous merit- and need-based scholarships, including a Presidential Scholars program. More than 80 percent of undergraduates at Montclair State receive some form of financial aid.

“Montclair State University has long been committed to providing affordable access to higher education,” says Director of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Gant. The current freshman class comes from all 21 counties within New Jersey, 27 states and 23 foreign countries. With the introduction of the National Student Scholarship, Montclair State hopes to expand and further diversify the students who contribute to an already-vibrant learning experience, Gant says.

Montclair State’s reputation for nurturing research drew Will Cherry, a freshman physics major from Salem, Massachusetts. Cherry plans to merge his physics and sports background with an entrepreneurial spirit to make safer football helmets. When he told family living in New Jersey he was considering Montclair State, “all their eyes lit up and they all gave me rave reviews about the school.”

New Jersey has long been a hub for the pharmaceutical industry, “and the tech industry is growing by leaps and bounds,” Gant says. “More and more, industries are taking notice of New Jersey and putting down roots here. The National Student Scholarship affords students from all around the country the opportunity to be a part of this incredible growth and to do it at one of the region’s premier institutions of higher education.”

Montclair State is New Jersey’s second largest university. In fall 2018, University enrollment hit a historical high with 21,115 undergraduate and graduate students, a significant milestone to mark Montclair State’s 110th anniversary.

Top-tier drama, dance and theatre arts programs, communication and media, business and sustainability, fashion and the arts – in all, more than 300 programs of study – provide real-world professional experiences, including internships and career opportunities on Wall Street, Broadway and throughout the New York City metro area, Gant says.

Brady Mock, a freshman from New Freedom, Pennsylvania, says arts programming sparked an initial attraction. “Montclair State stood out to me because of the Animation and Illustration major and its reputation,” he says. “As someone aspiring to be working in the visual aspect of either the video game or film industries, the close proximity to New York City is an added bonus.”

New Jersey resident tuition and fees for a year of full-time study is currently $12,790. For students attending from outside the state, the scholarships amount to a cost savings of more than $30,000 over four years of study. To be eligible, students need to have earned a grade point average of 3.0 or better on an unweighted 4.0 scale in high school.

To learn more, visit the Montclair State website at montclair.edu/red-hawk-central/paying-for-college/scholarships.