Agree with this ranking of school systems in Somerset county (See ranking below)? (Somerville: real estate, condos)

[vader747]

Towns ranked by School system:

1. Montgomery
2. Bridgewater
3. Hillsborough
4. Bedminster
5. Branchburg
6. Whiteshouse station (Not Somerset)

Which town would you buy in if your budget was ($450 - $600k)?

[hdavis44]

Impossible to know for sure without attending or working at several of these districts, but my general impression from reading other lists is that Bedminster should be at least as high as #2 on that list (purely based on school system). I'd also probably put that #1 on my list of where to buy with that budget, followed by Bridgewater at #2, as both have combination of reasonable real estate prices/taxes and good schools. Montgomery might have great schools but it has awfully high taxes, personally i don't think you need to pay taxes to that extent to get a great education in central NJ.

[RarValBoi]

Branchburg students attend Somerville HS. Whitehouse Station students go to Hunterdon Central I believe. Also Hunterdon County have higher taxes than Somerset

[vader747]

Any thoughts on Hillsborough schools? How does it compare to Bedminster & Bridgewater?

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by vader747

Any thoughts on Hillsborough schools? How does it compare to Bedminster & Bridgewater?

not quite as high but again, this is all relative. i agree with the poster who would put bedminster above bridgewater.

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by vader747

Towns ranked by School system:

1. Montgomery
2. Bridgewater
3. Hillsborough
4. Bedminster
5. Branchburg
6. Whiteshouse station (Not Somerset)

Which town would you buy in if your budget was ($450 - $600k)?

Ranking by school system is a very subjective endeavor. What makes a school great to one person might not be important at all to someone else. If you want to use a purely statistical approach (test scores, class sizes, that sort of thing,) I recommend the NJ Department of Educations School Report Cards From that link, choose the Somerset County school you want to examine, and you'll be able to view all the latest data.
If there are other aspects of the schools that are important to you, like extracurricular activities, sports, school atmosphere, special education, etc, then the best course of action would be to go to each schools website, learn what you can there, and then call the schools to set up visits.

Also, be aware that you've got some regional schools on that list. For instance, Bedminster is a K-8 school. Bedminster students attending public high school go to Bernards High, which is part of the Somerset Hills Regional School District, along with students from Bernardsville, Peapack & Gladstone, and Far Hills.

[vader747]

Originally Posted by Bill Keegan

Ranking by school system is a very subjective endeavor. What makes a school great to one person might not be important at all to someone else. If you want to use a purely statistical approach (test scores, class sizes, that sort of thing,) I recommend the NJ Department of Educations School Report Cards From that link, choose the Somerset County school you want to examine, and you'll be able to view all the latest data.
If there are other aspects of the schools that are important to you, like extracurricular activities, sports, school atmosphere, special education, etc, then the best course of action would be to go to each schools website, learn what you can there, and then call the schools to set up visits.

Also, be aware that you've got some regional schools on that list. For instance, Bedminster is a K-8 school. Bedminster students attending public high school go to Bernards High, which is part of the Somerset Hills Regional School District, along with students from Bernardsville, Peapack & Gladstone, and Far Hills.

Thanks a ton for the school report card link. Bernards High seems like a good school. So Bridgewater, Bedminster and Montgomery seems to have really good schools. My criteria for good schools is mainly test scores, class sizes etc (nothing special). Any thoughts on Hillsborough schools? Clearly not as good as some of the others on the list. Is it pretty decent? Would you recommend Hillsborough? Is it a white collar or blue collar town predominantly?

[Monet789]

I'd rank the Hillsborough schools very similar to Bridgewater. Especially looking at the factors you're most interested in (test scores, class sizes). Both are large townships so the schools and class sizes are a bit bigger. When I grew up in Hillsborough, Bridgewater was definitely thought of as a better district, but they seem to be on a bit of a downswing and Hillsborough is on an upswing. As to Hillsborough in general, it tends to be more white collar but still has some blue collar and farming type areas. Mostly developments, but some historic sections, some McMansiony areas, and some condos/townhouses mainly just around the high school. It's slightly more rural than Bridgewater because its further away from highways (definitely not a town for NYC commuting), but not as rural as Montgomery I'd say. So I'd certainly keep it on your list. I haven't lived there in awhile but my family are all still there, so I could let you know more info on specific areas if you need it.

[vader747]

Originally Posted by Monet789

I'd rank the Hillsborough schools very similar to Bridgewater. Especially looking at the factors you're most interested in (test scores, class sizes). Both are large townships so the schools and class sizes are a bit bigger. When I grew up in Hillsborough, Bridgewater was definitely thought of as a better district, but they seem to be on a bit of a downswing and Hillsborough is on an upswing. As to Hillsborough in general, it tends to be more white collar but still has some blue collar and farming type areas. Mostly developments, but some historic sections, some McMansiony areas, and some condos/townhouses mainly just around the high school. It's slightly more rural than Bridgewater because its further away from highways (definitely not a town for NYC commuting), but not as rural as Montgomery I'd say. So I'd certainly keep it on your list. I haven't lived there in awhile but my family are all still there, so I could let you know more info on specific areas if you need it.

Monet 789 - Thanks a lot for your response. This was very helpful.

Any suggestions around towns I should consider? I would prefer a commute time of 30-40 mins to Branchburg, NJ.

[PDD]

Somerset county is one of the wealthiest counties in the country. All the schools are good.

Graduates from all of those schools get into the best universities in the country.

What could be better?


You might get some jerk to say our schools are better in my town but who cares?