NJ Stars II Program Extends Scholarships for New Jersey Families November 17, 2009

Paul Partridge on how the NJ Stars program can help families save 60% on the cost of college.

In the last blog I described the benefits of applying for the NJ Stars program which can help you pay for your associates’ degree at a New Jersey community college. In this blog I am going to discuss the benefits of continuing with the NJ Stars program to help pay for your bachelor’s degree at one of twelve New Jersey public universities. The way to extend your scholarship benefits is to apply for the second part of this program, NJ Stars II.

New Jersey families who take advantage of the NJ Stars program and NJ Stars II can save over 60% on the cost of college. Plus, you can still get your diploma from an excellent school such as Rutgers, The College of New Jersey, NJIT or others.

To be eligible to apply for NJ Stars II you must first be a NJ Stars recipient and have maintained an excellent grade point average while earning your associates degree. The better your grade point average the more scholarship money will be available to you. For example, if you maintain a 3.25 to 3.49 grade point average you will earn a $6,000 a year scholarship. If you maintain a 3.5 or better grade point average you will earn a $7,000 a year scholarship. The scholarship can be used only toward tuition, unless you are a New Jersey Tuition Aid Grant recipient where in that case you can use it toward fees as well. The NJ Stars II recipient is responsible for paying any additional tuition or fees that is not covered by the scholarship.

NJ Stars II students must maintain a 3.25 grade point average in their junior year to be eligible to receive the scholarship money for their senior year. The monies can then be adjusted for your senior year depending on your new earned grade point average. Each NJ Stars II student has four semesters to obtain their baccalaureate degree.

Any credits that a NJ Stars recipient has earned at a community college are completely transferable, allowing students to start their university as a junior. Each student of course must meet all the of the transfer requirements for each college that they apply for and NJ Stars II eligibility does not guarantee admission to the college of your choice. So make sure that your applications are filed on time with all appropriate paperwork.

Below are the colleges that participate in the NJ Stars II program:

• The College of New Jersey
• Kean University
• Montclair State University
• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• New Jersey City University
• Ramapo College of New Jersey
• The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
• Rowan University
• Rutgers University
• Thomas Edison State College
• University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
• William Paterson University of New Jersey