The program will focus on prospective students from 14 New Jersey communities that have been identified by the Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) as having the greatest need for student aid; the towns include Camden, Newark, Paterson, and East Orange. Students will need to meet additional requirements to receive their $1,000 in assistance, including maintaining a 3.0 GPA and at least a year of residency.

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The state of New Jersey has a very strong economy as it has a per capita gross domestic product of $54,699, which ranks second in the United States of America. The state’s economy is home to a diverse range of industries that furnish jobs for residents of New Jersey and surrounding states. The major industries of the state include the pharmaceutical industry, the financial industry, chemical development, telecommunications, food processing, electric equipment, printing and publishing and tourism. New Jersey is also home to a number of agricultural outputs as it ranks second in the United Sates in blueberry production, third in cranberries and spinach and fourth in bell peppers, peaches and head lettuce. Large corporations that have their headquarters in New Jersey bolster all of the industries that drive the economy for New Jersey.

Major Companies in New Jersey by Industry

Pharmaceutical Industry

• Johnson and Johnson – Headquartered in New Brunswick, Johnson and Johnson was ranked 40th on the 2011 Fortune 500 list. The Johnson brothers, Robert, James and Edward, founded the company in 1886. They were inspired by a speech by antiseptic advocate Joseph Lister and created ready-to-use surgical dressings in 1885. The company was officially incorporated in 1887. Johnson and Johnson creates well-known consumer brands such as Tylenol, Band-Aids, Benadryl and Sudafed among others. The company is a leader in corporate responsibility, consistently ranks at the top of Harris Interactive’s National Corporate Reputation Survey, and is ranked the world’s most respected company by Barron’s Magazine.
• Medco Health Solutions – Originally operating as a partnership with Merck after being founded in 1983 by Martin Wygod and acquired by Merck in 1993, Medco Health Solutions became an independent company in 2003 headquartered in Franklin Lakes. It is a pharmacy benefits management company, providing information technology solutions for pharmacy operations.
• Merck – This pharmaceutical company is based in Whitehouse Station and was founded in 1891 as a subsidiary of Merck KGaA. It was established as an independent company in 1917. Merck was one of the first pharmaceutical companies to offer patient assistance programs for people unable to afford their medications.

Financial Industry

• Prudential Financial – Founded in Newark in 1875 as The Widows and Orphans and Friendly Society by future United States Senator John F. Dryden. The company originally sold one product, burial insurance. It has since evolved as a company and offers services in the areas of life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, pension- and retirement-related investments, administration and asset management, securities brokerage services, and commercial and residential real estate.

Telecommunications Industry

• Verizon Wireless – Verizon Wireless is officially known as the Cellco Partnership as it is a joint venture between Verizon Telecommunications and the Vodafone Group. It was established in 2000 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge. The company came about as the result of various mergers and corporate shifts between telecommunications companies. It is currently the nation’s largest wireless communications provider due to its acquisition of Alltell Wireless in 2009 for a deal valued at $28.1 billion.

The hallmarks of a state or country are what cause it to be an attractive place to live. The more attractions a state has that cater to various interests people may have the greater chance it has to be a viable tourism location and cultural center. The state of New Jersey is home to a variety of cultural venues that attract visitors from many places, both locally and nationally. The sandy beaches and picturesque boardwalks of the Jersey Shore offer a retreat from the summer heat. The Meadowlands are home to sports teams such as the New York Jets, Giants and Red Bulls. New Jersey is also the setting for many museums that educate the population on many different topics.

Museums Benefit the People

A museum is ‘an institution that houses and cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary.’ The benefits of museums are that they serve to broaden the scope of knowledge for visitors. Museums are important cultural landmarks that are forms of entertainment and education and blend these two aspects beautifully. New Jersey is home to many museums including the Newark Museum, Princeton University Art Museum and the Grounds for Sculpture. These museums, however, focus more strongly on the arts than the sciences. The chief science museum in the state of New Jersey is the Liberty Science Center.

Liberty Science Center History

The Liberty Science Center is a science museum that is located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1993 as the first science museum in the state of New Jersey founded as a public enterprise. It is a relatively new museum when compared to other institutions that have its size, breadth and scope of exhibits. The museum underwent a tremendous expansion that was completed on July 19, 2007. This expansion cost $109 million, took twenty-two months to complete, and expanded the facility by 100,000 square feet, bringing the total square footage to 300,000 square feet.

Exhibits at the Liberty Science Center

The Liberty Science Center, in its short time of existence, has expanded to house a large number of exhibits. It is home to the largest IMAX Dome Theater in the entire United States of America. Other exhibits at the Science Center include:

• Skyscraper! Achievement and Impact - This is the largest exhibition on skyscrapers in the world and features artifacts from the World Trade Center, a two-story tall walk along an I-Beam among many other things.
• Eat and Be Eaten – This exhibit demonstrates the relationships between predators and prey, displaying various animals like vipers and puffer fish to show how they hunt their prey and evade being prey themselves.
• Wildlife Challenge – This interactive exhibit simulates the environments where animals live and allows people a chance to explore their habitats in action.
• Communication – This demonstrates the many ways in which people communicate including body and language, symbols, writing, and speech.

Monmouth University started in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, founded in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Twenty three years later, on January 18, 1956, Monmouth University received accreditation to award Bachelor’s Degrees. In March of 1995, the school received its university charter from the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and became known as Monmouth University.

Current Student Body Statistics

Monmouth University is an expanding university located on the southern shore of the state of New Jersey. It is home to 4,300 full time and 400 part time undergraduate students and 1,750 graduate students. There are 590 administrative staff employed by Monmouth University and the student to faculty ratio at Monmouth is fifteen to one. The university’s relatively low student population allows for favorable class sizes. Class sizes are capped between 20 and 35 students and there are no courses taught by teaching assistants at the university. Monmouth University generally recruits students from the northeastern United States but it is a relatively diverse school. The students at Monmouth University hail from 29 different states and 28 foreign countries. Sixty percent of students at Monmouth University are women and 21 percent are minority students. 44 percent of students are classified as on-campus, meaning they receive housing from Monmouth University.

Tuition and Costs of Attending Monmouth University

Annual college cost information is drawn from the College Board. Tuition and fees at Monmouth University were $28,000 per year for the 2011 school year. Room and board totaled $10,459 while books and supplies were estimated to cost $1,200. For part time students, the cost per credit was $793.

Financial Aid at Monmouth University

The financial aid packages at Monmouth University are relatively strong with 72 percent of average need met for students. The average financial aid package totals $19,500, leaving the average graduate of Monmouth University indebted for $29,921 at graduation. 56 percent of total undergraduate aid was awarded in the form of scholarships or grants. In order to qualify for financial aid, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Organization of Monmouth University

Monmouth University is organized into eight different schools including:

• Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• School of Education
• Leon Hess Business School
• School of Social Work
• School of Science
• Marjorie K. Unterberg School of Nursing and Health Studies
• The Graduate School
• The Honors School

These schools offer 29 undergraduate majors and 16 graduate degrees for students to pursue.

Activities and Athletics at Monmouth University

Monmouth University has many different clubs and organizations for students including the campus television and radio stations (Hawk TV and WMCX-FM). Monmouth University’s athletic teams are known as the Hawks and they compete as a Division I school in the Northeast Conference. There are twenty teams fielded by the university at the Division I level. Famous athletes from the school include Miles Austin, receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, and Brad Brach, pitcher for the San Diego Padres.

The story of the American ideal is one that has been repeated countless times throughout generations of families living in the United States of America. Through hard work and dedication, a person can rise up and overcome whatever circumstances they are faced with to become what they dream of being. These are the principles of our country’s beliefs and they largely hold true given that people apply themselves fully. Some people may need to do so more than others, depending on their living situations, but hard work will generally be rewarded. What kind of hard work? In a word, education. A child who is born into unfavorable circumstances such as a household in poverty can overcome these struggles by gaining an education. The Bureau of Labor Statistics conducted a study titled “Education Pays” and demonstrated that a Bachelor’s Degree holder makes $20,600 more per year than a high school graduate. This amount of money is already more than an income at the poverty line.

The Costs of Attending a College or University

The benefits of an education are quite clear from the above figures, but this education is not free. The typical college student must pay for tuition, fees, housing, textbooks and a meal plan in order to finance their educational experience. The costs of tuition have been increasing year after year for a long time. According to the College Board, tuition and fees range from an average of $2,713 per year at public two-year colleges to $27,293 at private four-year institutions with public universities charging an average of $7,605 for in-state students and $11,990 for out-of-state students. The education attained should pay off within a few years, but the costs still must be paid for while attending a college or university.

New Jersey Cares About Higher Education

The state of New Jersey realizes that education is a property for growth and advancement among its population and provides opportunities for all students to attend a college or university. One of these is the New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Rewards Scholarship (STARS).

STARS Scholarship Criteria

There are two separate areas of the STARS program: STARS I and STARS II. STARS I is the scholarship for students attending one of New Jersey’s nineteen community colleges and STARS II is for students transferring from the STARS I program into a public four-year college or university.

• Student Requirements for STARS I
  • Must graduate in the top 15 percent of their high school class
  • Must take at least 12 credits per semester and will be allowed to take up to 18 credits per semester
  • Must maintain a 3.0 grade point average to renew scholarship in second year
  • Have five semesters of eligibility for STARS I
• Student Requirements for STARS II
  • Must earn a 3.25 grade point average from STARS I program
  • 3.25 to 3.49 GPA = $6,000 per year scholarship; 3.5+ = $7,000 per year
  • Family income must be below $250,000 per year
  • Must enroll in a public college or university

Ever since the founding of the United States of America, the people who collaborated to bring forth the origin of this great nation decided that it would be rooted in certain principles. These principles grounded the United States into a foundation of justice. They decided that those charged with crimes would have the chance to defend themselves against the accusations through a fair trial by a jury of their peers. This differentiated the United States of America from a number of other countries at the time and even until this day. The fact that our country provides people with the ability to protect themselves from accusation, and fix problems when their rights have been infringed.

Lawyers are a Necessity in the United States

Due to the grounding of the United States of America into the footholds of justice and legality, there is constantly a demand for lawyers. Not only do people require lawyers to defend them from accusations (both criminal and civil), but various organizations and persons use lawyers to interpret the wide array of law in the United States. Corporations must consult the legal services of law firms before entering a product into the market to make sure it conforms to legal standards in the country. They also consult lawyers to discuss their tax structures and the best way to limit their costs. There are many other reasons why lawyers are a required profession in the United States of America.

New Jersey Law Licensing Procedure

The process of becoming a lawyer in New Jersey is relatively similar to that of every other state. Here are the steps:

1. Attend a college or university and earn your bachelor’s degree.
2. Take the Law School Admissions Test and apply to law schools.
3. Complete your studies at a law school. This takes three years and includes courses in trial law, writing briefs and all areas of the law.
4. After graduating law school, you must pass the bar examination. This is the examination that is required to pass in order to become licensed to practice law in the state. The New Jersey Bar Exam lasts 2 days. The first day consists of the Multistate Bar Examination, which is a uniform exam administered across states. This consists of 200 questions that test six subjects related to common law and the Uniform Commercial Code. The second day consists of seven essay questions assigned by the state of New Jersey. The two parts are weighted equally.
5. Once you pass the bar examination, there are still other requirements for being able to practice law in New Jersey. The state of New Jersey requires that an attorney must have a bona fide office. This means that they must have a place where “clients are met, files are kept, the telephone is answered, mail is received and the attorney or a responsible person acting on the attorney’s behalf can be reached in person and by telephone during normal business hours to answer questions posed by the courts, clients or adversaries and to ensure that competent advice from the attorney can be obtained within a reasonable period of time.”

As human beings, we can only inhabit 29 percent of the world’s surface due to our inability to live on or under the water. Seventy one percent of the world’s surface is accounted for by the oceans. If this sounds staggering, consider that the oceans encompass nearly 300 times the habitable volume of the terrestrial Earth. Humans have only begun to explore the vast stretches of water across Oceania. There are consistently new species of organisms being discovered under the water’s surface. The study of these organisms and those that reside in brackish waters is referred to as marine biology. It is a growing field that remains largely untapped due to the incredible amount of ocean left to explore.

What Schools have Marine Biology Programs in New Jersey?

Marine biology is a specialized area of the general science of biology. This means that it is less common to find marine biology as a major than as a course. There are, however, a number of colleges and universities that teach marine biology as a major rather than a class or two on the subject. These schools include:

• Fairleigh Dickinson University – This university has two campuses in Teaneck and Madison, NJ. It offers a bachelor’s degree in marine biology that includes a semester of warm-water field experience in the Dominican Republic at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s field station in Samana.
• Richard Stockton College of New Jersey – This college is located in Pomona, NJ. The marine biology degree is actually called a marine science degree with a marine biology track.
• Rutgers University – Located in New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers University’s Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences offers a marine biology major for students who maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA and a 3.4 GPA in classes required for the major. Students apply for the program in their junior year.

Marine Biology Curriculum

While different colleges and universities have varied curriculums, they share many similarities since there are certain concepts that are requirements for becoming a marine biologist. Some of these courses include:

• Chemistry – As a requirement for understanding the concepts taught in marine biology, students must take several units of general chemistry. Here they will learn the concepts of chemical equations and basic properties of chemicals.
• Biology – Students will also take general biology courses that teach concepts such as cellular structure, classification of species, and organism structures.
• Organic Chemistry – After taking general courses in chemistry and biology, students will take organic chemistry. This is the study of the chemistry of living organisms and carbon-based molecules.
• Oceanography – This course teaches students the fundamental mechanics of the ocean. They learn things such as plate tectonics, tidal formations, and the carbon cycle.
• Marine Ecology – Ecology is the study of the forces that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms. Marine ecology examines the reasons why certain organisms thrive in different areas of the ocean.

There is something exceptional to be said about dedicating your life and career to the benefit of your country or community. This commitment can take many different forms depending on a person’s interests, skills and opportunities. Some people who are dedicated to their country choose to express this by joining the nation’s armed forces. Others pursue careers within public policy, which is the amalgamation of various government initiatives taken to change conditions that affect the nation. The state of New Jersey is home to one of the best public policy schools in the nation, the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs at Princeton University.

Origins of the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs

The Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs, often shortened to the Woodrow Wilson School, is relatively new compared to the rest of Princeton University. The school was founded in 1930 as the School of Public and International Affairs. It sought to emulate Woodrow Wilson’s (a 1879 Princeton alumnus, the thirteenth president of Princeton University, and the 28th president of the United States) beliefs that students should be prepared as potential leaders in public and international affairs. The school originally awarded bachelor’s degrees until 1948 when the graduate professional program was added. During this time, the school was renamed in honor of Woodrow Wilson and became the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs.

Thirteen years later, the Woodrow Wilson School saw a large expansion as it received a $35 million grant from Charles (1926 Princeton alumnus) and Marie Robertson, the owners of the A&P grocery store chain. This donation allowed for the construction of Robertson Hall, where the school is currently housed.

Degree Programs

The Woodrow Wilson School offers three degree granting programs and has an undergraduate program which allows students to major in a subject of their choice under the umbrella of the Woodrow Wilson School. The three degree-granting programs are:

• Master in Public Affairs (M.P.A.) – The M.P.A. program is a two-year full-time residential program for current bachelor’s degree holders. The program is highly committed to ensuring all students with the required credentials can earn this degree. More than 90 percent of students receive financial aid and more than half receive full scholarships. There are four fields of concentration available to every M.P.A. candidate, and those include international relations, development studies, domestic policy, and economics and public policy.
• Master in Public Policy (M.P.P.) – The M.P.P. program is a one year program intended for mid-career professionals who already have considerable work experience. The curriculums are tailored to students depending on their current careers. Different programs for lawyers, scientists, mid-career professionals and physicians are also available.
• Doctor of Philosophy in Public Affairs (Ph.D.) – The Ph.D. program at the Woodrow Wilson School is extremely selective as it seeks to admit and enroll a class of six students per year. They are given the tools to conduct pivotal research in public policy. Students select a field of concentration, called a ‘cluster’. There are five clusters offered including security studies, political economy, population and public policy, urban policy and science technology and environmental policy.

The fundamental underpinnings of the business world are changing rapidly. There are constantly new phenomena happening which can significantly affect the course of a corporation. The economy can wreak havoc or prosperity upon a company. This is evident throughout the course of recent history as the nineties saw a huge boom for technology companies and the recent recession caused the demise of many banking institutions. People working at corporations in business-oriented roles must be trained to handle this uncertainty. The best way to ensure that they are ready for it is to obtain a solid business education. The Rutgers Business School does a wonderful job of preparing its students for careers in the business world.

History of the Rutgers Business School

The Rutgers Business School was founded in Newark, NJ in 1929 as the Seth Boyden School of Business. It shared space with the New Jersey Law School and Dana College. It offered only one degree – the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. The next twenty years saw periods of restructuring and reorganization for the school. It became part of the newly created University of Newark. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 1941 accredited the school and five years later it became part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey along with the University of Newark. In 1950, the school launched its Master of Business Administration program and decided to focus solely on this in 1956 when it discontinued the undergraduate program. In 1980, the business school launched an Executive MBA (EMBA) program for middle managers. This allowed them to earn their MBA’s while working full time. One year later, the school reinstated an official undergraduate program in New Brunswick.

Rankings and Honors

The Rutgers Business School is ranked highly among many different publications. Some of these include:

• #1 – Most Diverse National University, since 1997 (U.S. News and World Report)
• #6 – Most Competitive Students: Nationwide (The Princeton Review)
• #15 – World Ranking for Research Productivity, Department of Accounting & Information Systems (Accounting and Finance)
• #24 – Overall in job offers (Business Week)
• Rutgers one of the “Top 10 Quant Schools” (The Wall Street Journal)

Programs of Study

Rutgers Business School offers programs in a variety of disciplines and at all levels of education.

At the bachelor’s degree level, students earn a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in one or more of the following fields:

• Accounting
• Business Analytics and Information Technology
• Finance
• Management and Global Business
• Marketing
• Supply Chain and Marketing Science

The master’s degree program offers a general MBA in the same disciplines as the undergraduate program as well as other fields including:

• Executive MBA
• International Executive MBA
• Professional Accounting MBA
• Master of Accountancy in Financial Accounting
• Master of Accountancy in Taxation
• Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting
• Master of Information Technology
• Master of Quantitative Finance

At the doctoral level, Rutgers Business School offers Ph.D.’s in the following fields:

• Accounting
• Accounting Information Systems
• Finance
• Information Technology
• International Business
• Management Science
• Marketing Science
• Organization Management
• Science, Technology, and Management
• Supply Chain Management

Recently the state of New Jersey has been slightly maligned for providing the world with mindless entertainment like Jersey Shore. This masks the incredible amount of talent that the state has produced within various areas from acting to economics. Here are some of the most prominent people raised in New Jersey:

Sports

Shaquille O’ Neal – Probably the most famous and accomplished athlete to come from New Jersey, Shaquille O’ Neal is a former professional basketball player who retired after the 2010-2011 season to continue as a broadcaster for TNT. He had a nineteen year career filled with fifteen all star appearances, eight NBA first team appearances, and four championship rings as well as an almost certain hall of fame induction. He is not simply a basketball player, however, and earned his degree from Louisiana State University as well as an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He is also undertaking a PhD from Barry University with his thesis topic being “The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles.”

Bill Parcells – Bill Parcells was born in Englewood and raised nearby in Hasbrouck Heights. He currently works as an NFL analyst for ESPN after retiring from a coaching and management career in football that spanned four decades. Parcells won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants in 1986 and 1990. He was also a gifted athlete as a child and was offered a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies his freshman year of college. His father wanted him to pursue a career in law and discouraged Parcells from accepting the offer. Parcells would graduate from Wichita State University with a degree in physical education and pursue a coaching career.

Music

Frank Sinatra – Known as Ol’ Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra was born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was expelled from high school for rowdy conduct and only attended for 47 days prior to his expulsion. This did not stop Sinatra from pursuing a career as one of the most accomplished singers in history. Despite the fact that the Grammy Awards started in 1958, after two peaks of Sinatra’s career happened, he still managed to win 11 Grammys.

Bruce Springsteen – Springsteen is now known simply as “The Boss” due to his continued success in the music industry. He was raised in the Jersey Shore and much of his music revolved around his everyday life in the area. Springsteen has won 20 Grammy Awards to date and continues to tour the world in concert.

Politics/Economics

William Brennan Jr. – William Brennan Jr. served as an Associate Justice for the United States Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990. He was born and raised in Newark and attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania graduating with a degree in economics. Brennan then attended Harvard Law School and started private practice in 1931. He served in the Army and rose to the rank of colonel during World War II. Brennan rose through the ranks of the legal system and was appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1951. As a United States Supreme Court Justice he was known for being an outspoken liberal and supporter of the Bill of Rights.

Paul Volcker – Paul Volcker is an economist who served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987 and the chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011. Volcker received his undergraduate education at Princeton University and his MA in political economy from Harvard University. After this he attended the prestigious London School of Economics as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Fellow.

Honorary Mentions: Meryl Streep, Jerry Lewis, Michael Douglas, Steve Forbes, Lauryn Hill, Redman, Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., John Travolta, Antonin Scalia