<p>I transferred here last fall and I have to say it's been miserable. My other options were Penn State, Boston U, and a bunch of other schools out of state and honestly could have gone somewhere else if it wasn't for the whole beautiful "financial" package with cheaper costs due to the fact that it's in-state. It's not like I come from a poor family, it's just that I feel bad when I have to see my parents pay higher tuition costs. The school is overcrowded and is extremely difficult to reach out to the administration and meet with counselors. Also, I don't see the big deal with this whole "Diversity" BS. I don't see any diversity considering the fact all my classes are pretty much racially homogeneous. (I am Asian BTW) There is some diversity but not the type of vibe and diversity I see when I go to cities like New York or Los Angeles. Everyone is cliquey and people hang out with their own ethnic group for the most part. Diversity is pretty much meaningless if there is no close interaction among different cultures and races. I just don't see that at Rutgers. Also, the buses are a pain in the ass and I feel like Rutgers should create more express buses and more buses that go from College Avenue to Cook/Douglass. I see a bunch of LX buses (Like literally three of them lined up waiting) every time I am at College Avenue, which makes it hella convenient for students going to Livingston yet I only see just one EE bus, which is the bus I often need to hop on, coming in 10 minute intervals. It's just ridiculous and the bus system is not so well balanced after all. I don't see what the hype is with Rutgers in all honesty. It's an in-state school filled with "classless" snobby mommy boys and girls where everyone pretty much goes home on the weekends except for the ones who are dedicated to partying on the weekends. Yeah, what's the big deal?</p>
<p>Jason, is it really a disappointment? I am actually looking forward to coming here in the spring 2014 but can you explain more specifically what you mean by the advisor comment? Why is it so hard to talk to them? also doesn’t your major department offer some advisors as well? for example I want to major in Computer Science. Doesn’t my major offer advisors specifically for CS majors?
What do you mean everyone has their own clique? So are you telling me it’s hard to make friends there because they just stay with their group? I heard in the past several times that it is actually very easy to socialize.
Also can you tell me more about the courses. Like is it really hard compare to other schools? Does Rutgers offer tutors that can help? And where do I go if I want to join clubs?</p>
<p>Sorry to hear your unpleasant experience here at Rutgers. Some of the things you wrote, I believe, are pretty much exaggerated.</p>
<p>I don’t know which school exactly your are in, but it is not hard to meet with counselors. If you are in the business school, all of the advisers are usually available for walk-in for a couple of hours a day. If you are in the SAS (like majority of people here) you have an email and a phone number to get in touch with your adviser, and schedule a meeting. I’ve never heard somebody would have a problem reaching their advisers. </p>
<p>Regarding diversity issue. I have been to a lot of schools and yes, this school is very diverse. Majority of my friend is not white (I am), and I don’t think it is hard to make friends here. We have over 400 clubs. Maybe you joined wrong clubs? Look for different organizations, there are a lot of them.</p>
<p>The buses can sometimes be messy but it is understandable with over 65000 people right now. The buses are balanced though. LX is much more needed than EE, because more people use it, as simple as that.</p>
<p>I don’t say that everything is exceptional here at Rutgers but hey, don’t make it seem that bad for others. </p>
<p>Mike,</p>
<p>If you need special adviser regarding your major, (be it CS), we have them here. Here is the website. Not only you get general advising regarding general education requirements from SAS advisers, you have your own in your department. Here is the website for you:
[Computer</a> Science, Rutgers University: Advising](<a href=“Error Page”>http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/undergraduate/advising.whtml)</p>
<p>It is not hard to make friends. There are so many people everywhere, it is not a problem to meet new people. As mentioned above, we have over 400 clubs and organizations on the campuses you can join. Everyone will find something for themselves. </p>
<p>We have tutors for a lot of courses, we have tutors for writing, maths, english - a lot of things. It is called Learning Resource Center and really there are lot of them to help. We have a list of all the clubs and organizations. And in the first days of each semester we have big involvement fairs where clubs make presentations about themselves.</p>
<p>wow yamaha that sounds really pleasing to hear. Which would you say is the most friendly, sociable campus out of the 4? And can you tell me about the work for courses. How are the assignments usually do? For example here at Montclair State, everyone uses Blackboard which makes the students easier to complete homework by just posting it online. Also Rutgers have their own e-mail system where students can ask questions to the professors?</p>
<p>I agree there is some truth in everything you say. Yes, everyone knows dealing with the buses is terrible. Yes, my d says getting counseling/course/administration help takes persistence. The expression “ruscrewed” comes from this exact issue. No, rutgers is not manhatten and is not as cool. Yes, a lot of students come from overprotective suburban homes. Yet my d thrives there nonetheless. She is brit. Her roommate is chinese. Her three party friends are indian. Her boyfriend is jewish. Her oldest friend is german. So i wonder how much of a difference it makes in where you happen to hang out, which campus, which dorm, which major. I dunno. But keep trying because rutgers has a little of everything but you have to find it.</p>
<p>MikeV all the campuses are sociable: you just have to get out and do things. </p>
<p>At the Business School, my son’s instructors usually use Blackboard. All instructors must post office hours, and in my son’s experience, his email questions have always been promptly answered.</p>
<p>Each campus is really sociable. I don’t know if I can rank them in terms of sociability. Each of them is somehow unique - each creates a different feeling when you are there. The things is, in your first two years, you have your classes on several campuses (it is very unusual they will be only on one campus). People mix and therefore you cannot tell where people are most sociable. </p>
<p>Regarding homework, it depends. We use three different platforms. The most popular is Sakai, where instructor creates his ‘page’ you are automatically put into. Professor posts announcements there, the grades, and you can find there everything regarding the course. More often than not, there are always either chat rooms or post boards, where you can ask questions and people/professor answer it. The second platform we use is eCollege. Two other platforms are eCollege and Blackboard. They are basically the same thing, it is up to the professor which he/she uses.
Sometimes we have homeworks online, on different sites. For econ classes we often use myeconlab. A lot of business classes use wileyplus, some use ConnectPlus. It really depends, but in the huge introductory classes for the most part you will be handing your homework in online. And yes, we use our Rutgers email to contact professors. Usually they respond in a day, but it depends. It is very unlikely that your questions will be unanswered.</p>
<p>Transfer students have a difficult time making friends at any college, not just at Rutgers. I transferred from Rutgers - NB from TCNJ this past semester and I have met several other transfers whose principal problem is meeting people. I have several close friends attending Rutgers (and picked a close-knit housing community) so personally I didn’t experience this problem too much, but have you tried joining any extracurriculars? Do you go out on weekends? What’s your living situation? </p>
<p>Rutgers is a huge university and it entails the problems that any large university will face: an unwieldy, difficult to navigate administration, transportation issues, and a large number of students, period. Your experience at Rutgers is exactly what you make of it. As a transfer student you’ll be inherently disadvantaged in any number of ways but it doesn’t have to mean that you have a bad experience. Rutgers is large enough where you can find any niche that you want but sometimes you have to find your own way. None of us here besides yourself can judge the effort you’ve put in to the school, but there is so much to offer here (I’m finding it offers <em>too</em> much) that you’ll have room to maneuver.</p>
<p>Thanks guys great advices, I guess it’s up to me to be outgoing and socialize. I just hope I get accepted this Spring so I can start my major there. By the way, I am planning on dorming, do you know if my roommate or roommates will be transfer students as well? Or if there is a high chance they will be? If I want to be in a suite in Busch campus is it more than a regular dorm and can I choose to be one?</p>
<p>curious why you transferred from your previous school ? Same problems ?
I think it is probably hard to transfer into a new school where it seems like everyone already knows each other and you may feel like an outsider looking in. Give it some time and you may see a difference when you get more settled in</p>