There are dozens of colleges and universities in New Jersey, but only a handful of them would can be considered “good schools.” Out of those good schools, one coastal university rises above the rest in terms of education and experience: Monmouth University. Here’s why Monmouth is the best school in the Garden State.

Monmouth has the best program for almost every major.

Do you want to be an English major? Monmouth has a solid Master’s program for that. Do you want to study Business? Monmouth is known for their highly acclaimed program for that too. No matter what major you want to study, Monmouth has one of the best programs for it, be it biology, communication, nursing, or anything else. Monmouth is very well-rounded, in having a wide variety of majors to choose from, as well as a high quality curriculum for each of them. Only the best schools have that kind of balance. For double majors, that means double the benefits.

Monmouth is right by the beach.

Monmouth is the only Jersey school that has a beach practically in its backyard. Stockton may be somewhat close to a beach (down near Atlantic City), but it’s still more than several miles away, whereas Monmouth is right there. Despite what most people would think, the beach is a great place throughout all four seasons – even if for different reasons (that's a completely different article that has yet to be written). Even if you’re not catching a wave or getting a tan, you can still go to relax and enjoy the nice view. Monmouth is the best school (partially) because it’s a beach school.

Monmouth offers more individualized learning.

Monmouth may be one of the smaller schools in New Jersey with only 6,000 students (4,000 undergrads), but a smaller student body means smaller classes, and smaller classes mean that you actually get to meet your professors and vice versa. Monmouth makes it all about you as an individual student. So skip the giant lecture halls and go talk to your professor if you’re having trouble understanding something. Just be nice to them about it – while in a lecture hall you’re simply a number; here they’ll definitely remember you, and you’ll probably see them outside of class on some occasion.

Monmouth sits in between two big cities.

Monmouth may be somewhat of a hidden gem, tucked away in West Long Branch (which is also small), but it’s still close to two metropolitan areas. Monmouth is an hour away from both New York City and Philadelphia by train, the train station being only five minutes away from campus and even offering student discounts for passes. This is great for if you want to get an internship with a big company. You could intern for CBS in either Philly or New York, or you could work on Wall Street. Between these two cities, the possibilities are endless for Monmouth students.

And, of course…

It’s pretty!

It really is. Monmouth was featured by The Princeton Review as one of the greenest colleges in 2012 and 2013.

What’s your favorite thing about Monmouth University? Do you think your college is better? (Spoiler alert – it’s not.)

Tell us in the comments!