Rutgers University - New Brunswick

3rd Year Male -- Class 2006

Social Life: B+, Campus Aesthetics: D

Besides meeting my wife, my four years here were a frustrating waste. I have not used my degree once in the 25 years since I have graduated. I had these opinions validated during recent visits with my high-school senior, who elected to steer clear of Rutgers without any input from me.

Good luck to new Dean McCormick. Had classes with his father, who is a great guy.
o School-Bureacratic nightmare. Basic classes with 500-700 people in lecture halls. Treated like a number. There are now 25,000+ full-time undergraduates in New Brunswick.

o Athletics-Football and basketball rule, who major in Phys Ed. University goes out of its way to protect its scholarship atheletes who get into trouble.

o Social-Fraternity (like me), or else the campus commuters clear out on weekends. Lots of suitcase students, who live on-campus, but go home weekends.

o Instructors-Tenured professors concentrated on research with limited office hours, if any. Most science, math and computer TA's had great difficulty with English.

o Town-Go in groups, not too far from campus, and never at night.
o Counseling and Career Guidance-None unless you are in the top 10% of your class. In my major, one graduate got a job ripping up ceramic tiles in the Rice University Physics lab.

o Transportation-Campus bus system unable to meet successive classes on different campuses, and does not run around the clock. Car travellers fare no better with traffic and parking.

o Food-Basic institutional, just like high school.o Campus diversity-Varies by campus. Good mixture on most campuses. Many Asian students. Given the state's background, not enough African-American students, especially on the Busch (science and technology) campus.

4th Year Male -- Class 1977

Extracurricular Activities: B-, Individual Value: F