Look Elsewhere
Written: Jun 18 '02 (Updated Jun 18 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: diverse, rather affordable for in-state.
Cons: bus system, location, horrible downtown area, fines for everything, NO SCHOOL PRIDE
The Bottom Line: It's a decent, affordable state school, but it's not unified, lacks school pride, and there is nothing there that makes you want to stay or enjoy it, except maybe friends.
|
|
|
| mattyd5's Full Review: Rutgers University-Rutgers College |
It's been a while since last I wrote an Epinion. I'm no longer doing this for the money now, because let's all be frank here - we ain't earning any! But that doesn't concern me anymore. Ironically, I'm here writing an Epinion about Rutgers because I happened to be reading Epinions on schools I'M CONSIDERING TRANSFERRING TO. Yeah, you heard me...so I guess you can see where this review is going...
Why Did I Choose Rutgers?
The answer is simple: none of the schools I really wanted to go to accepted me (*sniffle* UVa :( ). And I was forbidden to go to the out-of-state schools I would have rather wanted to go to because it was "too far," "too cold," and was "not worth the money." Hrmf. Asian parents, I swear. My father was obsessed with Rutgers and he exerted an annoyingly amount of effort to make it seem like the great school it never was, is, and will be. But that's what it came down to. Rutgers, the safety school I vowed never to go to.
My 1st Year
So it's pretty obvious that I went into Rutgers very apprehensively and without a sliver of excitement. I still vividly recall how my friends' faces lit up whenever they declared where they were going. Several of my closer friends are currently going to top-ranked schools. What was the most painful for me was seeing the blank look of teachers, relatives, etc. when I told them where I would be going. Tried as they may have, they couldn't fake being impressed, so that didn't exactly help out my situation.
Anyway, 1st semester was pretty fun. I rather enjoyed the first half of my year. I got a bit caught up in the party scene, as that was something I never did in high school. I thought that I had finally let loose and found "who I was" finally, but oh, how I was wrong. But whatever, partying is a different story. Basically, everything was very new to me, so the fact that I was living in the rat hole we call New Brunswick, eating disgusting, laxative-laced food, and all else inconvenient and mediocre was shrugged off. However, by the time 2nd semester rolled by, my perception of Rutgers began to change...
I stopped partying, for one. It got old quickly, which I believe should not mark the end of all the fun one should find at college. I was all about the studying 2nd semester, so I was back to my normal self, and was more at home with that. I suppose when I stepped back into who I really was, I was able to more lucidly evaluate Rutgers for what it really was.
Transportation
I'm not going to lie, nor will I embellish the truth. The bus system isn't very good. Mon-Fri in the afternoons the busses run very frequently and so are rather convenient (esp. on College Ave). However, come dusk and the weekend, you might as well walk because you'll never get a bus unless you wait a good 20-30 minutes. The Bus drivers, might I add, are rather rough in their driving, and many are heartless, looking the other way when a student is frantically running to make the bus.
I lived on College Ave, so I know that busses aside, everything on College Ave was relatively close. My walk to class would take max 10 minutes. A decent amount ride bikes as well, and I know there are enough bike racks near classes and dorms to accomodate cyclists.
Location
If I'm not mistaken, there are 4 different campuses that comprise Rutgers University: Livingston, College Ave, Douglass, and Busch - all situated in the not-so-lovely city of New Brunswick.
Livingston
I don't know much about Livingston, except that it's DEAD. Rarely will you see more than 3 people walking around the campus. In addition, everything is very, very spread out. What's worse is that from what I have heard, not all Livingston dorms have internet connection! Plus, the rooms are smaller than the rest of the other campus dorms. It is not a fun place to live at, to say the least. Many of the upper-level business classes are located here. The demographics of this campus consist largely of African-Americans.
College Ave
I lived here my first year. I personally found this campus the best one out of all 4. There are always people out and about, but that also explains the lack of parking spaces. All of the frat houses are located here too, so if you're looking for parties, Coll Ave is the place to go. The river dorms are the best out of what they have to offer, though I can't say much about the view of the river. All you will see is murky brown pollution and during the spring, the crew team practicing. However, the advantage of having a riverside room is that it is much cooler and quieter - a huge deal if you ask anyone. There are also many apartments that some students opt to reside in many of the side streets, including the highly-coveted Easton Ave apts, which I hear are very nice. Anyway, many class buildings are located in Voorhees Mall, a rather nice-looking patch of grass. There are trees and whatnot there, and eventually grass. The dining hall food is atrocious, and yes, Brower Commons does include laxatives in their ingredients (some of my friends did community service there for a bit). Mmm, I'll wait as you go to satisfy your suddenly increased hunger pang. ;p Lines are very long there too. Ah, there's nothing more sardonic than waiting in long lines for disgusting food. Coll Ave consists mainly of Caucasians.
Downtown is but a mere 10-15 minute walk from the river dorms, but I wouldn't bother going there much. There are only about 2 or 3 nice restaurants and one SHORT strip of miscellaneous shops. Travel slighter further down George Street and you'll encounter a destitute way of life. It is rather impoverished, but you don't ever need to go down there except when the bus drives through it to go to Douglass...
Douglass-Cook
I had several classes on this campus. It's not too bad. It is very green and has many trees. There's also a little pond near the parking garage which little duck families frequent, so that's a very cute spot. However, Douglass College is an all-female campus, which means all the dorms are females-only. Naturally then, many stereotypes are made about those who live on Douglass. I'll let you figure that out on your own...
My biggest gripe about Douglass is that it is rather scary at night since there are bushes and trees aplenty for rapists and robbers to hide behind. Most of the crime alerts I've received have been for Douglass campus...so don't go there when it gets dark unless you have at least one other person with you.
I know very little about Cook, except that it has some decent townhouses. Cook, might I add, is co-ed. However, it is far from civilization, though not as far away as Livingston. It's a really small extension of Douglass too. The demographic is mainly female and a mixture of races (but mainly Caucasian).
Busch
...Or what most like to call Asia. Busch is home to all the science and math-related courses, so I guess that makes sense. lol. ;) But seriously, it's all about the Asians on Busch, which isn't to say they aren't mean/cool by any means. At any rate, this campus has the nicest and most technologically advanced buildings and facilities of all of Rutgers. Plus, they have BY FAR the best food...as in, you will enjoy the food most of the time. Things are pretty spread out on Busch as well, but there is a lot of parking. The dorm rooms are significantly larger than any rooms on any of the other campuses. And they're carpeted and air-conditioned. Plus, they have really nice suites and apts. The football stadium is located there as well (but that's not really a draw since the team is SHAMEFULLY HORRIBLE), which explains why you'll see some athletes amidst the sea of yellow-skinned and black-haired students...There's a large amount of grass and trees, but not as much as Douglass.
The Education
Classes are standard. The students aren't too competitive. Typical auditorium-sized classes for intro courses. Many professors, however, couldn't care less about you. Many are immigrants who can barely speak English, which is extremely frustrating! I don't know why Rutgers hires them! I mean, I'm not trying to discredit their knowledge of the subject material, but when students can't learn because of the professor's or TA's language barrier, it becomes a MAJOR ISSUE.
There are some pretty smart people at Rutgers. The Pharmacy program is very solid, and I believe the Business Program is OK.
Social Life
There are frat parties every weekend at Rutgers when the weather's still OK, and esp during Rush Week. BUT DON'T GO TO SQUAM. I've been warned by all my female AND male friends several times that that is an unsafe place for girls to party. Skull boys are decent though. Many of my guy friends rushed there, and they're good people. :)
There are a lot of clubs too, none of which I joined. lol. I did go to some isolated meetings, though, and they seem pretty cool. I just didn't have the time or interest in them. However, I hear their Christian Fellowship (CCF) is pretty good. I went to one meeting and all the members I met were extremely nice.
I don't think intramurals or sports are that big of a deal to Rutgers, considering the fact that they all stink. Except for the crew team, which is supposed to be pretty good...so if you're looking for a strong sports program, whether for recreation or as a full-time deal, look elsewhere.
Other Things
~ If you are an out-of-stater, make sure to buy your year's worth of groceries before you come, because there is no nearby grocery store you can go to...unless you want to go downtown to "C-Town," which I DO NOT RECOMMEND. It is a bad area. BAD!
~ The one thing I learned while I was at Rutgers is that no gives a damn about you, which will force you to go out and get things done on your own. So just be wary of that RU indifference.
~ There's a student center at each campus with only fast food available, so watch out for that Freshman 15!!!
~ The RU Screw. Again, poor administrative organization - people get screwed over bigtime, be it grades, schedules, financial aid, or housing (housing being the biggest RU Screw - nothing gets fixed, no one comes to fix things no matter how often you call them).
That's it for Rutgers. I made some great friends, but I can't wait to transfer out of there! Simply put, the negatives outweigh the positives, which is why I don't recommend going to Rutgers, although the academics are decent. You'll be much happier elsewhere.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mattyd5
|
|
Location: Earth
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
"Someone sure as hell is Fruit if you are the Loops." - Tom Paine
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.