<p>so i got into UR with the JDC scholarship, and am hoping on honors. i wasn’t entirely planning on attending rutgers as it was my safety, however a surprise rejection from my second choice which i was assured i would get into puts me in a very different position and im now expecting to have to choose between a couple schools that weren’t my first choices at all (not knocking rutgers, i don’t know much about it which is why im posting this)</p>
<p>i know its the NJ state school and that NJ is like my home state, MA, in that the overall level of the high schools is higher than the majority of the rest of the country. but, im a bit concerned about the general mindset of the student body… would the student body (generally) be mostly kids looking to party and such, or does rutgers have an intellectual feel to it? whats the student body generally like? </p>
<p>also, i really have no idea regarding anything about the school. i knew it was much better than my own state school (UMass) and decided why not? if there’s any info anyone can give me that might help me make my decision regarding rutgers a bit easier, please feel free to let me know. also if it helps, im going in as either a Physics or Aero/Mech Eng major, but i am aware that i may end up switching to CS + Math or Biochem or at least remaining in the hard sciences</p>
<p>Well to answer your question, Rutgers, like any large state University is going to be a mixed bag. There are going to be students there who are more interested in partying than academics and vise-versa, but that is part of the appeal of large Universities, there is a bit of something for everyone. I know it’s cliche, but college is what you make of it, so make the best of it.</p>
<p>I’d advise you to consider your in-state university pretty solidly since you’re OOS. I do know several NJ people who go to OOS state schools (UMass, Penn State, etc.) and love it, but the tuition can be a sizeable amount.</p>
<p>Frankly, how do you know Rutgers is better than UMass? Is it in the subjects you may want to pursue? Or is it based on hearsay? (Because hearsay about a state school you live in is very often negative. For example, everything I heard about Rutgers was so negative that when I went on the bus tour, I was shocked by how nice it seemed!)</p>
<p>As iAstonish said, with such a large, diverse population of students; it’s definitely going to be mixed. There isn’t a good way to generalize about over 20,000 undergraduate students other than saying: they’re all different.</p>
<p>To make your decision easier/harder, I’ll say that it’s tough to pinpoint exactly what you will and won’t like about a college until you get there. I never thought I’d like a big school, but I’m thriving and I love how Rutgers is huge! So try and focus on things that won’t change, such as tuition/room/board vs. the ability to pay without taking on too much debt.</p>
<p>You can expect people of all backgrounds. I’m a freshman here at Rutgers and I commute, but I’m moving into a house this week, (can’t wait).
If you want to party, game, study, play sports, etc. Rutgers definitely will allow you to do whatever you want. The ratio is 50/50 and the parties are pretty good in general.</p>
<p>You can find other students who are serious about their studies. My son is a mech/aero engineering major in his senior year. He is always studying, doing research, etc. and is very busy and he said all his friends are, too. Wherever you go, you can choose friends who have the same work/fun ratio as you do.</p>
<p>i’m in engineering as well, and even as a freshman i find myself bogged down with homework and studying all the time.
a lot of engineers do go out though, so it’s just a matter of what you define as fun …and whether you can cram at a later time. i personally don’t enjoy the thought of that.</p>
<p>well i cant consider UMass cuz i didnt apply haha. i know rutgers is better than UMass for what i want to do and also amhearst doesnt exactly have anything near it and i couldnt deal with that. but thats good, im big on diversity in my future school, not trying to repeat my high school experience of no diversity whatsoever haha. </p>
<p>are there a lot of jersey shore type people? haha dont take offense to that comment if there arent, i have two good friends from NJ and they are quite far from that mindset so just checking</p>
<p>oh i absolutely plan on going out, i just also enjoy being able to have friends that aren’t into smoking all day and partying all night and neglecting schoolwork too. im more of a work-hard party-hard guy. def plan on doing well, but also having a great time.</p>
<p>can anyone explain to me the campus system? i really am a bit confused… how far exactly are all these places? i asked one of my friends who is from nj bc the name of the campus was his town, and he said it wasnt in his town and is a common misconception</p>
<p>LOL, People from Jersey shore tv show is not from “New Jersey”. They all from Staten Island. You’ll find all kind of people in Rutgers, trust me.</p>
<p>@forzworn - I assume you are asking about the parts of the New Brunswick campus. Douglass Cook and College Ave are all in New Brunswick. Busch and Livingston are across the Raritan River in Piscataway. You can live on any campus and take classes on any campus. There are busses to get you where you need to be.</p>
<p>To expand on what jerseygirl wrote–there are 3 main campuses–New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark. All have different admissions, financial aid, etc. If you are accepted at Camden you cannot go to New Brunswick or Newark unless you are accepted at those campuses, and merit aid is not transferable either. New Brunswick is the main campus and considered the most prestigious; Camden and Newark are smaller urban campuses and primarily commuter but do have some residence halls.</p>
<p>The New Brunswick campus is spread out over 4 areas (subcampuses, for lack of a better term)–College Ave, Busch, Livingston, and Cook/Douglass. Livingston has NOTHING to do with the town of Livingston, NJ (that is probably where your friend lives). Each subcampus has its own dorms, dining halls, etc. Classes are held on all 4 subcampuses. Certain colleges/programs are based on certain campuses–for example, Busch houses the Pharmacy school, Cook/Douglass has the School of Environmental Sciences, etc. However, you can live on one subcampus and take classes on any of the other 3. There is an extensive bus system, free to students of course, that connects the subcampuses. In general, students tend to live where most of their classes are for convenience, but you don’t have to. You will just have to take the buses more frequently and allow time for that. The subcampuses have different reputations–for example, College Ave is where most of the frat houses are so is known for the best parties–but you really need to decide for yourself where you want to live. College Ave offers the most urban environment, Cook/Douglass is more rural feeling, etc. College Ave has the oldest facilities, while Busch and Livingston dorms and other facilities are generally newer and more modern.</p>
<p>Im a Freshman at RU and it is a mixed bag among the student body, you can tell there are kids who are solely here to party, but for the most part, the majority of my peers seem to have found a good balance between going out, studying and other activities. </p>
<p>And if you want diversity among a student body, this is certainly your place, you will meet all kinds of different people here.</p>
<p>The only thing I have to complain about is the bus system, it is very efficient, but it is still a pain to have to ride bus to classes on different campuses, but hey, it is what it is</p>
<p>And for the Jersey Shore, those are just people from Staten Island who live in seaside for the summer lol, but you will find a handful of “guidos” here, not a big deal though</p>
<p>For all the majors you mentioned (Physics, Mech/Aero Engineering, CS, Math, Biochem), the classes will primarily be on Busch campus.</p>
<p>If you want to go to parties, they will primarily be on College Ave, but you can always take the bus on weekends.</p>
<p>I’d recommend living on the campus closest to classes for the convenience’s sake, because going out to parties doesn’t really have a strict schedule (as opposed to classes). If you choose engineering, I highly recommend living in the engineering freshman dorms. They were fun times.</p>
<p>In terms of busing, you’ll quickly figure out how early you have to leave for different parts of campus. Personally, since I live on Busch, I’ll budget 10 minutes for Livingston, 20 for College Ave, and 30 for Cook/Douglass. Depending on bus schedules/speeds, those are on the low side, but they work. Depending on your need for punctuality, you can adjust.</p>
<p>Sidenote: I was pretty confused about Livingston campus, too, haha! (since I live near Livingston at home)</p>
<p>Koto,
I am rapidly approaching the time to make a choice among schools. The choices seem to be between Rutgers NB, TCNJ, Lehigh and NJIT Honors. The latter offered a full ride which keeps it in contention. I want to be a dentist. What are your thoughts? BTW I DO live in Livingston.</p>
<p>ooh wow that clears up QUITE a few questions haha. yep, the livingston campus thing threw me off hard koto haha. about the jersey shore question, thats good to know lol. i figured that but wanted to make sure.</p>
<p>hmm thats definitely good to know also that most of my classes would be on busch. how much of a factor is the dorm you choose? do the types of people in the different dorms, say college ave vs. busch vs. cook, vary that much usually? and also, do the different dorms not really interact much considering the distances between them?</p>
<p>kendallandkaylan: I feel like I answered you as best as I could in my previous PM (which I don’t really remember what I said because CC doesn’t seem to want to save my sent PMs). My thoughts are that you need to make the decision on your own. I’m sorry I cannot be of more assistance.</p>
<p>forzworn: The freshman dorms themselves on each campus may vary only slightly within the campus. I’d say each campus is distinct in the type of people who decide to live there, but only to a degree. Busch is slightly more studious and definitely science-y. Livingston is primarily freshman dorms, but I don’t know much about that campus. College Ave is louder and more party-oriented. Cook/Douglass… I don’t know much about that either.</p>
<p>These generalizations will only apply to a degree in each case though. For example, Busch has a lot of studious people, but many of them also enjoy partying and doing the crazy freshman stunts. There are always exceptions.</p>
<p>Meeting people outside of your dorm/campus is relatively easy because of classes and extracurriculars, but I don’t really understand your questions. The groups of people who live in those dorms may have friends in dorms on a different campus, but the entire dorm will rarely interact with an entirely different dorm. (Unless it’s a special event…?)</p>
<p>@koto: thanks a bunch, that helps quite a bit. i guess at this point it’ll come down to how i feel during the open house</p>
<p>yeah i think i may have phrased that oddly, i mostly meant are the dorms so distanced from one another that, say you become friends with someone from say livingston when you are in busch, the dorms themselves are so physically seperated (buses and such) that people dont really bother to go and hang out with friends from other dorms?</p>
<p>Ohhh, well, typically you will become friends with people from all over the place, especially in extracurriculars. If you become good friends, yeah, you can decide to set up a meetup. Otherwise, club meetings are regular enough that you can probably see the friends you make there at least weekly.</p>
<p>The way you decide to form friendships is completely up to what you want to do. Visiting someone on Cook/Douglass if you live on Busch may be harder, but if you want to, you’ll make the effort. (Also, there is the possibility that you’ll have a class on C/D and can visit at that time, too!)</p>
<p>Does it make a difference if I attend the financial online entrance seminars that are required to get the Finaid I was offered now or can I wait until I start my enrollment process?</p>
<p>ah ok that makes sense. also… i read that tomorrow is the last notification date for honors… is that rolling for the most part? or since i have not been notified yet is that pretty much a no? i got 10k a year on the JDC scholarship so i figured honors would kind of be a given considering the amount…</p>
…and whether you can cram at a later time. i personally don’t enjoy the thought of that.</p>