Convince an OOS to go to Rutgers.

mamabear232
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 13:08:07 +0000

My input is woefully out of date as I attended Rutgers back in the 80s. At the time, the honors program was new but I found it attractive and I got a scholarship so I went. It was not my first choice but it turned out to be the best choice. I got a great education and made lifelong friendships. Professors were accessible, even in large lecture classes, if you took the time to visit office hours. The town of New Brunswick was a bit seedy at the time and it’s been completely transformed. You can catch the train to Manhattan and arrive in a bit more than an hour. It’s also not that far to the beach. Great local music scene.

The administration was a bit cumbersome at the time (the “RU Screw”) and I imagine that hasn’t changed much. It is a large state university.

I was recently talking to one of my college friends and asked him what his other options were. He had been admitted to Columbia. I was accepted to Amherst. Neither of us regrets our choice. We are both successful professionals. I was admitted to top grad schools (JHU, Cornell, UC Berkeley)

That said, if I were you and had in-state options that were more affordable, I’d pass on Rutgers. OOS, I’d go if they offered me merit money or the equivalent of in-state tuition.