With private school tuition’s continually on the rise, more and more families are exploring public-school options. As we visit these schools, I will share my thoughts.
Visit to Rutgers Main Campus – New Brunswick, NJ
April 2018
Size: approx. 32K undergrad
Tuition: Mid $20K in-state – low $40K out-of-state
Selectivity: SAT Range M 600-720 R/W 590-680
First Impressions. We were greeted by a friendly group of students, admissions staff, professors and homemade sugar cookies shaped like R’s in the visit center upon arrival. We listened to a short overview of the university and then heard from a panel of students and professors. We were then brought around to the five sub campus locations that make up the main campus on a bus lead by a student ambassador. Here are the highlights and my impressions.
Five campuses all in one. Rutgers New Brunswick is made up of five distinct campuses. There is a busing system that runs regularly throughout all of the campuses. It is an easy walk on walk off system that students seem to quickly acclimate to. Each campus has its own dorms, dining hall, students center, and library. Incoming students can choose which campus they wish to reside on and usually get one of their top two choices. While they are separate and have their unique identities, all students have access to all five campuses during their time at Rutgers. Here is a brief description of the five campuses copied from Rutgers Literature and Rutgers website.
Busch: The campus is home to the High Point Solutions Stadium and provides a high-tech and suburban atmosphere focusing on academic areas primarily related to the natural sciences; Physics, Engineering, Mathematics & Statistics, Pharmacy, Chemistry, Geology, Biology and Psychology.
College Avenue: This campus includes the historic block known as Old Queens campus. It is within walking distance of shops, restaurants, and theaters in downtown New Brunswick, as well as the NJ Transit train station which provides easy access to New York and Philadelphia.
Cook: Farms, gardens, and research centers are found on the George H. Cook Campus, including the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (formerly Cook College), the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers Gardens, and the Center for Advanced Food Technology.
Douglass: This campus shares its campus with Cook. The campus has many stately buildings with traditional architecture. Douglass Campus is home to the Douglass Residential College for women and has four women’s-only housing options.
Livingston: Livingston Campus is home to many of the social science departments and the Rutgers Business School. The Louis Brown Athletic Center (commonly known as “the RAC”), the student-founded Livingston Theater, and the Rutgers Ecological Preserve are also found here.
Well spoken and focused student panel and ambassadors. The students who we met during our visit were impressive in their articulate communication of their ideas, their participation in many programs/clubs/internships and their overall demeanor and school spirit.
Committed and compassionate faculty panel. The faculty were very informative and down to earth. They all seemed to get the large size of the student body and the large campus and spoke of several resources for incoming freshman and beyond to help students to integrate with the community at Rutgers and thrive academically.
Internships. Rutgers has a wide range of academic programs and with its proximity to NYC by train on campus it offers students some great internship possibilities. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson, which is located right next to campus provides a variety of internship opportunities.
Tradition. With its roots linking back to 1766, Rutgers is deep in history and tradition. It has many traditions like Rutgers Day, Midnight Breakfast hosted by professors, and Division 1 sports that give the big school a sense of community. Certainly, worth a visit!
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