Rutgers University - New Brunswick

Rutgers was, in all honesty, my safety school. I applied to an ivy league and a similarly well-known private school. When I first visited Rutgers New Brunswick, my junior year of high school, I was disgusted by the way it looked. There were potholes everywhere, the buildings looked old-fashioned and dirty. Also, it was so diverse. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I am Asian and came from a predominantly Caucasion high school, and seeing so many other Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans was somewhat startling. In the end, I deceided to come to Rutgers simply because they gave me so much money in scholarships and financial aid, and, in Pennsylvania, my home state, Rutgers was considered an ivy league to many.

When I got here, my first impressions of this school faded. I fell in love with Rutgers instantly. The diversity of the school actually enhances it. At first, it was starting when I saw so many different people. But, now, I can see these people as just people with more interesting things to say. So, let me go into detail about most major aspects of Rutgers. First, there is a bus system. There are 4 campuses within Rutgers New Brunswick, and, by car, they are less than 15 minutes away from each other. But, you will soon find it takes almost 45 minutes to get from one campus to another...which can be a real pain. Keep this in mind...if you need the bus system to work for you...it won't. But, when you don't really need to get anywhere on time, the buses will always find you...and you'll be early by 25 minutes. However, I've got to hand it to the bus system. You'd think they'd get in a lot of accidents on all those narrow roads and with all those jay-walking students crossing streets, but they are safe. On the weekends, it's especially fun to ride the buses with the drunk kids. You'll hear them sing traditional Rutgers drunk songs.

The food. Let me tell you...it's better than you'd think. I live on Busch, and the food at Busch dining hall is amazing. After a while, the food gets kind of repetitive, but, in general, the food tastes good. I visted Neilson on the Cook/Douglass campus...and their food is similar to Busch's...just not that amazing.

Rutgers has everything for every type of person. If you like parties...they have one every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night on the College Avenue campus. That's where the Greek life is. If you want to get involved...you have so many ways to. Every year is the Involvement Fair where you can see most of the clubs here and get information on them. It's so easy to get involved. If you are really interested in going to a quality school for a quality education...Rutgers has it all here. The school may look like it accepts anyone, but, in the Rutgers School of Engineering, they accept many very dedicated students who did exceptionally well in high school. When it comes down to it, the first year engineering students will work extremely hard to do well.

My best advice for students applying for the School of Engineering is to dorm in the first year, all-engineeering dorm, Barr. The people here are not nerds. They are crazy, party animals mixed in with hardcore serious students. As first year students, we have mostly the same classes, so we usually all cram together before exams or work on homework together. Oh, yes. We all party together, too. Dorming here was the best decision I made. Within the first few days, you get so close to people on your floor, then the other people in the building. It's a predominantly male dorm, so there isn't as much female drama that you'd expect in other dorms. Also, the dorms are well-equipped with new furniture and air conditioning.

People here are kind and friendly. Every day, you could start a conversation with a stranger on the bus ride to your next class. You'll probably never see that person again, but you found yet another person agreed with you about the inefficiency of the bus system. The teachers highly encourage students to come to them for help. TAs are there to help out, too. If you need help, there are so many people who can help you. Here in Barr, they have free tutoring Monday through Thursday. My recommendation is that more out-of-state students should apply to Rutgers and come here. Everyone here is from New Jersey. I am one of, maybe, 5 people from Pennsylvania in first year School of Engineering. Trust me, it's worth the money. It's much less than a private school, and they'll give you so much money in scholarships and financial aid if you worked really hard in high school. Being here will give you so much more experience in being independent because you can't go home every weekend like the NJ kids. Also, I'll stress this point again, Rutgers is like an Ivy League school outside of NJ.

So, even if this will be your safety school, give it everything you have. Work hard and stress out in high school. The more prepared you become before getting to Rutgers, the more successful you'll be here. Take AP tests so you'll be at more advanced levels than other first year engineering students here. But, always remember, don't treat Rutgers like a consolation prize. Being accepted here and coming here is an honor. Come with an open mind. Get to know one of the deans of engineering here before you come. They'll do anything for you. Write the essay in the application. Go to the open houses. Go on a tour of Barr. Treat Rutgers as you would your first choice school. Because, in the event that you have to come here because it is the financial best choice or you got denied at other schools, you want to know you gave your best efforts towards coming here. Rutgers is an excellent school. You will be proud to be here starting the first day you get here. You'll find the sports teams suck, but you'll still cheer them on. In high school, I would read the comments on studentsreview.com and start forming judgements about Rutgers. Don't do that! Come here. See it for yourself. Compare what you see to what other actual students think. When you finally live here, you will see it was a great decision to come here.

1st Year Female -- Class 2008

Extracurricular Activities: A+, Perceived Campus Safety: C