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Montclair State University Profile

Montclair, New Jersey

The Basics

Montclair State University was established in 1908 and is currently the second largest public college in New Jersey’s state education system, which has approximately 10 schools. Montclair State is unique because it’s located within three northern suburban towns of Montclair, Little Falls, and Clifton New Jersey. The footprint of the site is large for a State school with approximately 275 acres of park like property that starts in Montclair and winds through Clifton until it reaches Little Falls on its western border.

The campus has approximately 55 buildings including lecture, communications, sports, performing arts, and student housing facilities. The issue of student housing is a challenge for MSU due to it’s very limited housing resources on campus according to school officials. The internal campus setting provides students and employees with several types of student services including physical fitness, library services, and cultural meeting places and dining halls.

Montclair State University Demographics

Montclair State is home to approximately 3927 male, and 5982 female full time students. The university has 812 male, and 1453 female part time students enrolled. The average age of a freshman is 18 years old; all undergraduates is 23 years old. 95% of students are state residents with the rest coming from 37 other states, and 92 foreign countries. 56% of students are white, 17% are Hispanic, and 10% are African American. The total number of students with on campus housing is 3,300 according to published handouts.

Published Academic Standards for Admission Programs

Montclair State University offers a Liberal Arts and Sciences programs for undergraduate students. Below is a list of specific admission requirements for admission.

Freshman Class: 10,112 applied, 5733 accepted, and 2098 enrolled to the school.
SAT Verbal 537, SAT Math 548. Application Deadline March 1
Faculty/ Classroom: 56% of faculty is male, 44% female. All teach Undergraduates. The average class size in an introductory lecture is 24; and 24 in a regular course.
Student / Faculty Ratio: 18 to 1
Retention Rate: 18% do not continue beyond 1st year, 58% remain to graduate.

Student Housing

The purpose of student housing is to provide safe and reasonable accommodations for students living away from home. The issue of housing and dormitory life is a critical element of overall campus life because students spend a large amount of time in their rooms. Student housing units historically come in 3 different styles including traditional corridor, suite, and apartment style units.

Montclair does not guarantee housing for all undergraduate students who have filed their intent to reside on campus by the stated deadline and who have continuously registered as full time students. Housing administrators urge students to apply for housing in a timely manner because its first come, first served. All of the buildings except Blanton Hall were built in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s Blanton was built in 1980. All of these units are currently being upgraded when I visited the university. The school’s nicest student housing facilities can be found within the village apartments. These units are new, and beautiful, but only upper classmen can rent them.

Off Campus Housing

Montclair State University has been described as a small residential community within driving, and commuter distance to New York City. The reason I have mentioned the overall community of Montclair is to re-assert the point that MSU is situated in a suburban setting with a high number of homes that are privately owned. The town does have a good number of multi-family residences and apartment buildings within the three towns that MSU encompasses. But, the issue of renting to students is a challenge because working families who want the Montclair school system for their children are competing for the available housing.

Campus Life

Montclair State University is an active in state campus environment that provides students with an outstanding social, and educational atmosphere. The admissions demographics paint a picture of a local educational community with a high number of in state residents on campus as full time, and part time students. The local community of Montclair is a short distance away from the school by car and is very supportive of the schools mission to provide educational opportunities to local residents and on-campus students. Local residents of Montclair also enjoy the university’s performing arts, and communication venues throughout the year, which allows the university to enjoy a real community feel to it.

The emotional climate of the entire community is very relaxed in my opinion. Montclair University is an attractive institution because it offers students a communal education experience within driving distance to a major metropolitan city. MSU students really enjoy watching sports activities within the campus stadium, which improves student culture. These campus life resources add to the social fabric of the campus on a daily basis. The university culture is very social in my opinion because I observed several fraternal organizations, and clubs interacting with fellow students in several areas of the campus including the recreation, and student centers.

This issue of school culture is also a very important part of campus life because everyone wants to have a connection and emotional fit to their new school and community. Montclair has done a great job developing positive social systems with it’s students by providing a series of coordinated programs including workshops and seminars for freshman students to advance these studies. This type of process provides a foundation for learning and personal growth providing over 120 academic clubs, student organizations, and over 24 intramural sports activities. MU is also home to a substantial Greek population with 8% of students belonging to 17 national fraternities and 18 national sororities.

These types of programs help build a foundation for learning and personal growth by providing students with educational resources as well as informational resources to help bridge the gap from new student to an independent learner. The university has academic clubs, student organizations, and intramural sports activities to participate in. The campus also has a student recreation center that provides exercise, and indoor intramural sports within a state of the art facility. MU also participates in 16 NCAA Division III Varsity Sports for Women and Men.

Campus life at MU is more than academic excellence; it’s about building personal relationships with students and facility that continues throughout each student’s career. The school also offers students the ability to enjoy school sports, performing arts, history, cultural events, restaurants, and local museums. For example, New York City has hundreds of venues to enjoy the previously stated activities including Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, the Metropolitian Museum of Art, and Broadway.

Public Transportation

The public transportation for the university is served by The New Jersey Transit Montclair-Boonton line, which serves the residents of Montclair. This specific line connects with several other transit lines within the overall system including the Northeast Corridor, and it makes two stops near the university at Montclair Heights and Montclair State stations respectfully. The school has set up campus shuttles to bring transit riders to the main campus for classes. The De Camp Bus Company also provides bus service for students who require transportation to, and from New York City on the # 66 bus that travels to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Public transportation resources for MSU are limited during off peak transit periods because Montclair is considered a commuter town. Students who attend the university usually drive to campus because parking is readily available and public transportation is limited. Another issue for public transportation is the students themselves. The university has a very large number of in-state students who know the streets and highways very well. Knowing the area is key because students who come from other states may not know the area as well and might opt to take a bus or train to their destination because they don’t want to risk getting lost on local roads.

Community Profile

Montclair New Jersey is a suburban town of approximately 38,977 residents in the northeastern county of Essex. The town has been described as a gracious family centered residential community within striking distance to New York City. Montclair also has an intellectual side to it due to its historical neighborhood architecture. The local pedestrian walkway on Main Street links local residents to a large number of restaurants and local shops within the center of town. The community has a real small town feel to it when you are walking to neighborhood eateries. Montclair also has several community parks and ball fields in and a round town for people to enjoy. These parks, along with public tennis courts, swimming pools, outdoor skating rinks, and theatres make out activities very enjoyable to everyone.

The town itself is located within the northeastern area of the state, which makes it convenient to several suburban communities and highway networks. New Jersey Transit provides local rail service in the area with the Montclair-Boonton Line. This rail corridor links to Newark Airport, and N.J. Penn Station for Amtrack northeast rail service. The main airport to MSU is Newark International airport. The Town of Montclair also has several shopping, restaurant and hotel chains within a short drive to Route 46, and Route 3. Appendix #1 on the back page of this profile lists several of observed resources in close proximity to the school.

Montclair also has the added attraction of being a short drive to the Meadowlands Sports Facility on Route 3. This area of the state has several direct links to major roadways including the Garden State Parkway, and the New Jersey Turnpike. Which are the main north/south corridors on the state.

Community demographics

The following demographics for Montclair New Jersey describe a multi-cultural community within a total population of 38,977 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey highlights several characteristics to describe the population including: 46.3% of residents are male, 53.7 are female. 59.8 % of residents are white, 32.1% are African American, 5.1% are Hispanic or Latino, 3.2 % are Asian, 1.8 % are some other Race, and finally 3.0 are two or more Races. The median age of population is 37.5 years old. 74.4% of residents are 18 years old or over and 12. % of city residents are over the age of 65. The issue of housing in Montclair is also interesting. 96.7 % of all housing units within the town are occupied. 43.6 % of housing units are renter-occupied, while 56.4 % of units are owner-occupied. Only 3.1 % of total available housing was vacant.

Local weather

Weather is also an issue to consider for students preparing for a college experience. New Jersey enjoys all four seasons of weather including rain and snow. Northeast weather patterns sometimes allow for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees for a considerable amount of time during the winter. New Jersey also gets it’s share of rain during the spring and summer months as well. A strong indicator of pedestrian traffic around the university can be identified by the northeast weather patterns.

Montclair State University Local Hotel Quick Links

LaQuinta Inn Clifton
265 Route 3 East
Clifton N.J. 07014

Below is a list of hotel accommodations within a 15-minute drive to the campus.

Crown Plaza Fairfield
690 Route 46 East
Fairfield N.J. 07004

Comfort Inn Fairfield
286 Route 46 East
Fairfield N.J. 07004

Hampton Inn Fairfield
118-124 Route 46 East
Fairfield N.J. 07004

Holiday Inn Totowa/ Wayne
1 Route 46 West
Totowa N.J. 07512

Ramada Inn Parsippany
949 Route 46
Parsippany N.J. 07054

Days Inn Parsippany
3159 Route 46
Parsippany N.J. 07054

Best Western Fairfield Inn
216 Route 46
Fairfield N.J. 07004

Holiday Inn Parsippany
707 Route 46
Parsippany N.J. 07054

Below is a sample list of local restaurants in Montclair N.J. National restaurant chains & shopping resources can be found on Route 46 & 3 in, and around these major highway networks along with the Willowbrook Mall in nearby Fairfield N.J.

Amazon Café (Vegetarian) 7 North Willow St. Montclair N.J. 07042 (973) 655-1911
Udupi Village Restaurant (Indian) 511 Bloomfield Ave Montclair N.J. (973) 233-1905
Bistro 18 (American) 18 South Fullerton Ave Montclair N.J. (973) 233-0800
Blue Sky Café (Chinese) 398 Bloomfield Ave Montclair N.J. (973) 746-2553
All American Grill & Deli ( Deli Food) 7 Park St. Montclair N.J. (973) 744-6764
Trattoria Rustica (Italian) 517 Bloomfield Ave Montclair N.J. (973) 783-3436
Dino’s Pizza: 128 Watchung Ave, Montclair N.J. (973) 783-7115

The Your College Profile web site also contains an “Everything in New York City” document for families who wish to explore the NYC while visiting Montclair State University. This site contains a full list of hotels, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, and tourism resources for families enjoying the region.