{"id":226770,"date":"2025-10-01T16:14:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=226770"},"modified":"2025-10-02T06:50:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T10:50:57","slug":"why-montclair-state-university-is-a-nationally-recognized-dream-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2025\/10\/01\/why-montclair-state-university-is-a-nationally-recognized-dream-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Montclair State University is a Nationally Recognized \u2018Dream School\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Montclair State University has been named one of 75 Dream Schools in bestselling author Jeff Selingo\u2019s new book <em>Dream School: Finding the College That\u2019s Right for You<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Drawing on research and a survey of more than 3,000 parents, Selingo highlights schools where graduates achieve strong job prospects, thrive in supportive communities and benefit from innovative programs. Montclair stands out for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/career-services\/\">preparing students to launch successful careers<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/office-of-student-belonging\/\">thrive in supportive communities.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Come see why we stand out and experience Montclair at our Open House on October 12 or November 9. <a href=\"https:\/\/apply.montclair.edu\/portal\/open_house?&amp;utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=oh&amp;utm_campaign=register_ay26&amp;utm_content=\">Choose your date and register today.\u00a0<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><strong>What Makes Montclair A Dream School?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Selingo\u2019s research identifies colleges with strong support, affordability and career success. At Montclair, Selingo says, students experience more than access \u2013 they achieve results with higher-than-expected graduation rates, personalized belonging programs and meaningful career pathways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">President Jonathan Koppell affirms the University\u2019s core commitment to belonging, excellence and accessibility, echoing Selingo\u2019s message: The true value of college comes from opportunity, support and impact, not exclusivity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe value of a Montclair degree as a growing research institution is undeniably strong,\u201d Koppell says. \u201cGreat schools prioritize both excellence and accessibility, providing opportunities for students of all backgrounds to engage with one another, grow and impart a positive impact on their communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAt Montclair, we are committed to being a place where all people have a sense of belonging \u2013 it\u2019s at the core of our identity,\u201d he adds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Highlights from <em>Dream School<\/em> include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Montclair\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/office-of-student-belonging\/\">Office of Student Belonging<\/a>, which supports first-year, transfer, international, first-generation and military-affiliated students and fosters inclusion, student success and retention<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Accelerated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/health-careers-program\/health-careers-program-combined-bs-md-program-eight-year\/\">pre-med partnership with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School<\/a> \u2013 qualified science majors receive support and automatic advancement to medical school<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Career-expanding programs in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/\">Computing<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/\">Communication and Media<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Six-year graduation rates notably higher than predicted<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alumni succeeding at leading regional employers, including Hackensack Meridian Health, ADP and Prudential Financial<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Selingo\u2019s book encourages families to look beyond rankings and prestige, focusing on fit, value and future opportunities. These priorities align with Montclair\u2019s public-serving, inclusive mission \u2013 providing transformative experiences and financial stability.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Recent Honors and Rankings<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Montclair\u2019s recognition as a Dream School comes alongside notable rises in national rankings:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2025\/09\/23\/2026-college-rankings-montclair-named-among-nations-best-in-u-s-news-world-report-best-colleges\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>U.S. News &amp; World Report<\/em> 2026 Best Colleges<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. 9 in Social Mobility among national universities (No. 5 among public institutions)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. 177 in Best Value Schools \u2013 up 28 spots from last year<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tied for No. 158 in National Universities, with recognition for innovation, student support and strong career outcomes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2025\/09\/30\/2026-college-rankings-montclair-named-no-1-public-institution-in-nj-top-30-public-in-the-nation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>\/College Pulse 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ranked No. 67 overall out of 584 colleges and universities<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. 29 among public institutions nationwide<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. 1 public institution in New Jersey (No. 2 overall in the state, behind Princeton University)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. 1 in New Jersey for Social Mobility (No. 14 overall in the country) <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong style=\"font-size: 1.75em\">Are You Ready to Start Your Montclair Journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/admissions\/visit-us\/\">Plan your visit<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apply.montclair.edu\/register\/inquire\">take your first step<\/a>\u00a0in applying to become a Red Hawk!<\/p>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/\/ Output tags as a list for Google Analytics custom dimension\nwindow.MSU_TagList = [];\n<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Montclair excels in career preparation, student belonging and academic opportunities \u2013 featured in new book \u2018Dream School: Finding the College That\u2019s Right for You\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":226772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,123,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-admissions","category-homepage-news","category-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226770"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226779,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226770\/revisions\/226779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}