<p>My daughter has been accepted to Rutgers as a BFA student at Mason Gross. Since she really needs to live nearby the dance studios, particularly freshman year, she is considering Douglass College. We did a Douglass College tour and were impressed (we even had lunch in the dining hall there). The all-girls aspect is not an issue for her.</p>
<p>I was wondering if anyone here had any thoughts or information or suggestions about Douglass College. It would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>I’ve posted a lot of information regarding douglass college, so if you want more info, you can do a forum search to look up my posts. </p>
<p>with that said, I do enjoy living on douglass. It is now the douglass residential college which means that first-years live on douglass, are required to take a class on issues in women’s leadership, have to take on two externships, and pursue an educational pathway of their choice. Douglass is a beautiful campus and the college itself is filled with many traditions ie sacred path and yule log. </p>
<p>the associate alumnae of douglass (AADC) are also very generous in their donations to the school. They give scholarships of hefty sums to douglass girls (some are about $1000 and some people i know get two of these scholarships). </p>
<p>douglass residential college also provides living-learning communities known as global villages, such as the human rights house, middle east coexistence, women in business, spanish, french, and many others, including the women and creativity house which is housed in woodbury-bunting cobb. most of these communities are housed in jameson which are very nice dorms (I live in jameson h myself, and am returning the next year). </p>
<p>the all-girls community has definitely helped me build some solid friendships with the girls I live with, which is a plus especially when a lot of my friends had trouble in the beginning of the year making connections with people in their dorm and in general. There is a definite sense of community living on douglass too. </p>
<p>If you have any specific questions, you can pm me as well. Hope this was helpful.</p>
<p>Thank you. I did read your posts, and they were very helpful and informative. I think Douglass would be a good fit for my daughter, socially and logistically.</p>
<p>I have been noticing complaints here about busing from Cook/Douglass to other campuses. My daughter will take most of her classes in the dance studio and theater, but I’m sure she’ll be going to other campuses for a course or two. Are the busses really a problem?</p>
<p>The buses become a problem if you are running late to class. Personal experiences:</p>
<p>(1) stuck on Livingston for 20 minutes in the cold after a basketball game because the game ended after 10pm on a weekday when less buses are running.</p>
<p>(2) Buses “out of service” hence I have to get off the bus and wait for the next one to arrive in the next 10-15 minutes</p>
<p>(3) Crowded buses. It get’s a bit crazy. Kids become almost beast-like trying to fight their way on to the bus (common with the B bus from Livingston to Busch, EE bus from College Avenue to Cook/Douglass, the H and the A bus from College Avenue to Busch). Sometimes you have to skip out on one or two buses that pass by because it gets too crowded.</p>
<p>(4)On weekends, buses run on a 30-40 minute schedule and with the EE on weekends (cook/douglass route), it only goes to College Avenue. If you wanted to go to Busch campus for example for some reason, you’d have to take the EE to College Avenue from Cook/Douglass, and then transfer on an “A” bus from College Avenue to Busch. But this is only on weekends.</p>
<p>(5) Each of the student centers on campus are a “rest” stop for the bus drivers if they arrive real early. The bus drivers are expected to arrive at a certain stop at certain times, so if they end up at the student center 5-10 minutes earlier than expected, then you will have to wait there until the time is up.</p>
<p>Basically, my tip to you (or more so, your daughter) is that the buses don’t become a problem if you make sure that you leave real early before going to class just to allow some time in cases she comes across one of the scenarios above. The 1st one won’t be a problem for her if she doesn’t go to basketball games (plus, it’s not like she has to be back at her dorm at a certain time or is going to class), but the last 4 she might come across.</p>
<p>Now some positives:
(1) at least the EE bus (from College Avenue to Cook/Douglass) is plentiful during the school weekdays. An EE bus often passes every 5-7 minutes or so. So maybe, your daughter should try and see if her other classes are scheduled on College Avenue if possible.
(2) The buses that leave from the Cook/Douglass Campus to Livingston (REXL) and the other to Busch (REXB) are express. They make little stops so you get to these campuses in no time.</p>
<p>Sorry, I know it’s a lot to take in =( but it gives others an idea why some students complain about the bus system here at Rutgers. I will repeat though, none of the above will be such a problem if you leave early for class.</p>
<p>I haven’t come across the out-of-service buses problem or the too-crowded you have to get off the bus problem. It’s a bit different coming from douglass because the EEs are accordians and no one really wants the F buses so I’ve found that those are quite roomy. The Busch to College Ave buses though are kind of ridiculous in how crowded they get, but I haven’t had to skip a bus because it’s too crowded in a long time, not since the first week of the first semester.</p>
<p>and the EEs and Fs are not plentiful on the weekdays. for every EE or F I see, I see about two Busch buses and two Livingston ones. It’s a problem. the dgc (douglass governing council) has brought this up to the administration multiple times. it has to do with traffic on george whereas the busch and livginston buses all take the highway. the EE takes stops at Passion Puddle (red oak lane) and the train station and Rutgers student center, which gets annoying which is why sometimes I prefer the F. </p>
<p>it takes an hour to get from c/d to busch on the weekends. kind of a pain. that’s why I make friends with people who have cars :D</p>
<p>and I leave roughly 25 minutes before my 10:20 busch class and I get there 6 minutes early. either that or I leave 15 minutes before to get there 4 minutes late. it’s not too bad. and for college ave classes, I usually leave like 25 minutes early to get there 9 minutes early this semester. It’s really not too awful.</p>
<p>Must be different experiences then. Perhaps the “out-of-service” buses are only really a problem on Busch and Livingston since the meeting times for classes on each campus ends around 10, reducing the # of buses in service.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the EE bus get crowded, especially during the afternoon on College Avenue around 4pm =) Might not be as crowded during other times of the day, but it is definitely crowded around that time.</p>
<p>In response to the plentiful thing, it seems that way to me when I have to go to class on Douglass on Wednesday nights. When I miss out on a bus that just pulled off from the dining hall stop on College Avenue, I wait no more than 5 minutes for the next EE to pass. And during the day when waiting at the Scott Hall stop by the Grease Trucks, 3 EE buses can go by before an “A” or an “H” arrives. </p>
<p>But again, I guess that’s just me.</p>
<p>Have you heard anything about Demarast House for Mason Gross students? How would you compare it to Douglas Residential, especially for a visual arts person interested in French?</p>