Rutgers University - New Brunswick

For many years, most kids from New Jersey have considered Rutgers to be a safety school. However, over the past 5 years or so, I have noticed kids have started seeing the school as one of their main choices. Rutgers was my safety school when I applied (I wanted to go to school in Boston), but money was tight and my father (an alumnus) convinced me to go.

I started at Rutgers back in 2000, but left after 2 years to pursue an opportunity I couldn't pass up. After a 7 year break, I decided to finish up my degree. Between when I was first at the university and now, there have definitely been a lot of positive changes to the school. One huge change is that there is now one undergraduate school, the School of Arts and Sciences, which was something the university needed to do. Before the change, it was a nightmare for some students dealing with different requirements for different colleges (part of the RU screw you may have heard about). Another positive change is the fact that, despite state budget cuts, Rutgers has been trying to invest in and modernize the campuses, most notably Livingston campus (it was in serious need of a makeover).

Some other positives:

- I was a Sociology major (originally IT) and minored in Psychology and Music. For the most part, all of my professors were as helpful as they could be even in large classes; most psychology classes are between 100-400 people. However, you have to make yourself known to your professors in large classes. Every professor I had in the Sociology and Music departments were really helpful, sociable, interesting, and challenged the class. The bottom line is that in a big school, your learning experience will be based on how much you care to put into a class.

- The dining hall food is pretty solid. Livingston just finished an amazing new dining hall and Busch also has a great facility.

- New Brunswick has plenty of great, unique little spots to grab food and it seems to only be growing. There have been some projects to revitalize the city.

- You're a train ride away from NYC, Princeton, or Philly if you want to get away.
- Our sports teams have had their ups and downs, but tailgating is always fun at games.
- There are TONS of clubs for so many different things you can become a part of.
- It's a research university, so you shouldn't have any problems finding good libraries to go to.
Negatives:
- While there has been some revitalization of the campuses, the school is still far off from the beauty of many other public colleges (let alone private) that I've visited (ie. UNC, UCal-Berkeley, Colorado-Boulder). I think a big part of this could be that the alumni giving rate is probably pretty low and state funding isn't what it used to be. Don't get me wrong, it's not HORRIBLE by any means, but it's definitely no Princeton or Duke.

- Being that it's a large school it may be difficult for some people to get accustomed to. All of the resources are at your disposal, but you have to go out of your way to find/use them.

- It's still a somewhat dangerous city at night (although it has been imporving). Never go around downtown by yourself late at night.

Overall, my experience at Rutgers has been pretty great and I've made some amazing lifelong friendships. While the school may not be everything you dreamed about, it is continuously improving, has a great academic reputation, and plenty of opportunities to excel. In my honest opinion, if you're from New Jersey it really makes sense to go here. You will pay 1/3rd to 1/4th the cost of any other school you apply to (unless you get a big enough scholarship). It's a good time and you won't be in loads of debt. Save your money for the "big name" grad school.

4th Year Male -- Class 2011

Friendliness: A+, Individual Value: B-

I went to Rutgers for the summer program, which was over a month long. We had to dorm and eat in the dining halls and (because of the heat) used the bus system. I came to RU thinking I was going to be just a number but I was proven wrong almost immediately. A lot of the paperwork does require you to know your number, but that's because it's easier to file the papers. The professors I had actually teach classes and I will be having some again in the fall. Some of the classes were large in the program and had to be held in lecture halls but even then, the teachers still came around and individually helped us. They gave us a lot of helpful tips, such as taking notes and writing your questions down in a lecture so that in the recitation you could ask them. Their teaching styles were awesome as well. My math teacher made understanding difficult concepts ridiculously easy by having fun with the class and finding real life examples. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone because the homework and tests he gives are always much harder than the exams so your grade will definitely get a boost. Even the teachers from different countries were amazing and easy to understand. The academics can be hard, especially if you're in s STEM major.

The bus system can be confusing during the school year because there are so many lines, so I would recommend studying the different lines before classes begin. Also, start studying that the day you get your schedules so you know what buses you'll have to take the first semester.

The food at the dining halls was pretty darn good. I expected it to be bad?okay?horrible. It wasn?t. The servers and other workers are really nice especially if you greet them and remember your manners. Also, don't be afraid for seconds. This one lady kept telling me to come back. Many of them are very nice and will help you find something should it be lost. My two friends lost a textbook and notebook and the staff- not even that, but everyone on the campus- kept an eye out for them. The workers called them to tell them they found it AT NIGHT and held it somewhere safe until the next morning.

The campuses are really nice as well. As a STEM major, most of my classes are on Busch and it's a very stereotypical college landscape with the walking trails and wildlife- like the gophers. The only problem is the wasp population. They are freakishly huge. BE CAREFUL.

The dorms are bigger than I expected. When I moved in, I thought they were going to be small but even with five people in the room, it was still big. They come with desks and dressers and a bed I can ACTUALLY fit in- I?m really tall so finding a long bed is hard. The bathrooms are cleaned daily and the showers are awesome too. The only thing: WEAR FLIP FLOPS just to be safe when you're in the showers. The RA?s were awesome too and I still communicate with many of them. They are extremely knowledgeable and truthful. They told us as soon as we got there that at RU, we were a number- if we wanted to stay that way. But we had plenty of chances to make a name for ourselves.

Going off campus, there's really only college ave. There are tons of good places to chow down at and there's a train station right there if you really want to get the hell out of there and go to the City or something.

A lot of people are from NJ, so ask for their exit because you can actually go home together. My roommate, as I found out, not only had my exit, but actually lived less than ten minutes from my house and I never met her. Speaking of mates, your dorm mates are very important. They might know something you don't or maybe you know something they don?t. Either way, don't be afraid to say hi. I?m not a very social person so to meet new people I just hung out in the student lounge and people started talking with me. I have so many good friends now who are open minded and come from all over the places with many different opinions.

The resources are another thing. There are many computer labs and the uni allows you to print 20 pages everyday. I know I?m going to print more than that so I brought my own printer-which is allowed. The bookstores in the campus center are the only negative thing. The prices are jacked up to the sky up. You're better off getting a ride to the Wal-Mart ten minutes away. There are many offices available to students and many programs offered to ensure academic success such as ODASIS (which I?m in). The teachers will also help you. My English prof recommended that I get boosted up a level for the next semester to a more challenging class because of my writing style and level of thought. SO remember: Teachers are probably your BFFs in RU because they can get you placed into a class that will actually challenge you instead of letting you get an easy A not learn a thing.

Overall, Rutgers is a pretty good place if you want to become independent and learn how to challenge yourself while still having an amazing support team.

1st Year Female -- Class 2015

Education Quality: A+, Surrounding City: B

As someone who chose Rutgers over schools such as BU, Villanova, UDel, and others mainly for it'a affordability, I can say that I love it here. I worked my ass off in highschool in hopes of going to a great school and got into most of my dream schools, but chose Rutgers because money was tight. So after seeing a lot of highschool graduates before me go to Rutgers I just thought of it as that state school that is cheap for NJ residents. Coming in I was kinda just like "well it's not the best school and but at least I won't have a hard workload and have a lot of free time to party after working so hard in hs. Let's just say I underestimated the intensity of the workload by a long shot. Rutgers has one of the highest freshman dropout rates in the country because it's pretty easy to get in, but the academics and workload here is probably harder than most public schools (for what reason I'm not sure), obviously depending on your major. The philosophy department is #1 in the country I believe and there are a few other very distinguished schools such as the business school. The school is also constantly trying to improve their academics to solidify the 'Public Ivy' status.So to wrap it basically I would recommend coming to visit if your on the fence because our sports scene and party scene is one of the best in the country plus the academics here are very underrated because of the easier acceptance requirements, plus the school is very affordable especially for in-staters.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2013

Campus Maintenance: A+, Individual Value: B-