<p>I'm surprised you didn't apply to places like Emory, Rice, or URochester, where you might have gotten some merit money.</p>
<p>I have seen people at the very top echelons of academia and industry who went to Rutgers for their undergrad.</p>
<p>To the OP: I am in a very similar position - ranked in the top 5% of my class and a 2350+ SAT score. I was deferred by a top school early and have decided that Rutgers is a viable safety. Especially if as you say, we are guaranteed full tuition, room and board (is this definitely true?), I think that going to Rutgers for free and being a top student there will open the right doors for us. So don't fret - unless there's something about Rutgers that you can't stand beside its reputation, you are doing OK.</p>
<p>To liz7: Your posts are very reassuring and have further convinced me that I am in a no-lose situation if I end up at Rutgers. I'm confident that my education there would be of very high quality, and that motivation plus a Rutgers degree could only lead me to success.</p>
<p>I think you might qualify for a free ride at some other schools.
How about Pitt? Not too far. Kids that I know who go there love it. Some (with high stats) got free rides.</p>
<p>the guy from streetlight manifesto there so you should</p>
<p>kungfumaster--there are still a lot of schools to which you can apply (I think). U of Pitt is one, I believe, as noted above. They have a v. nice honors program.</p>
<p>My daughter is an OOS student at Pitt and really likes it. The OP would qualify for a possible full-tuition scholarship, eligibility for the Honors College, and most likely be invited to compete for the full-ride Chancellor's scholarship (of which about 10 to 15 per year are given out). </p>
<p>However, I didn't mention Pitt before this because Pitt is ranked at about the same level as Rutgers, at least according to U.S. News. I gleaned from the OP's posts that he is looking for something more prestigious. Pitt is a very solid school with some amazing programs and strengths.</p>
<p>Also, it's getting late in the cycle for scholarships, so anyone who wants money from Pitt should apply right away.</p>
<p>I've been told (here & elsewhere) that students in NJ have a more negative attitude re: Rutgers than kids from other states do. I also see this 'proximity-leads-to-contempt' attitude (I think) in other states as well--my son would absolutely love to go to U of MD (OOS tuition is super high!) but many kids from MD discount it (maybe for their own good reasons, but I see a bit of a parallel to the NJ-dismissal of Rutgers). </p>
<p>This is not the whole picture, but maybe that could be a factor?</p>
<p>New Brunswick lacks charm, and the Piscataway sections of campus are even less physically appealing. That said, Rutgers is a flagship state university with some very strong programs. </p>
<p>New Jersey generally suffers from poor self-image and poor public image, not always justified. People who don't know NJ would be amazed at how pretty some of the suburbs are and how lovely some of the countryside is.</p>
<p>I'm somewhat reassured. It's too bad people are so defined by what school they go to these days.</p>
<p>One year after you grad no employer will give the worth of two peanuts regarding where you went to college. Because then, you will have a work record. Your work record/product, is what they are hiring.</p>
<p>^^ That really isn't true. Yes, your work record is important, but with the tons of resumes that are now received in response to a job posting due to internet job boards etc., a top college or professional school can help you get your foot in the door. I was surprised that after many years in the workforce, the name of my professional school got me a number of interviews. After I get in the door, then it's up to me. So- it does help. I'm not saying it is crucial, but it IS a factor.</p>
<p>My mother went to Rutgers (Douglas, to be precise) and she accomplished great things (conceived me, for example). It's a great school, despite how some NJ students see it.</p>
<p>It has some great programs. The main issue is that 93% of NJ students who score 1300/1600 or higher leave NJ. Rutgers has the programs to be great, but the student body is mainly what hurts it.</p>
<p>I work at a Wall Street law firm as a paralegal. In my department, there's a guy who worked his way thru Rutgers waiting tables at Applebys, then aced the LSATs and went to Columbia Law. Another guy (a recently made partner) transferred out of SUNY Buffalo after a year so he could live at home and save $$, worked his way thru Queens college, aced the LSATs and went to NYU Law (on a par w/ Harvard and Columbia in the legal world). Lawyers here went from Brandeis, U Penn or Dartmouth to Columbia Law; Williams to Duke Law; Montclair State College to Rutgers Law; USC to USC Law or Notre Dame Law; Georgetown to NYU Law; Oregon State, Northwestern, Duke or Columbia to Georgetown Law; Northwestern or Duke to U Penn Law; Duke to UVA Law; American U or Univ of S Fla to Hofstra Law; University of Minn to UCLA Law; UC Berkeley to Boston College Law; Colgate to Harvard Law; U Michigan or Boston U to GWU Law; and U Delaware or SUN Oneonta to Fordham Law. I know one who went to Yale undergrad, then got an MBA at Columbia, and because she was drowning in student debt went to Fordham Law on scholarship; now she makes $250K a year here as a lawyer. The LSATs are what will make or break you; get A's in all your classes, prep for the LSAT, and you'll get into Harvard whether your undergrad is at a community college and you transfer into Rutgers OR you graduated from Princeton. Other fields, it's not so clear cut; for anyone headed to a Wall Street law firm, this is how it is.</p>
<p>choochoo is right. </p>
<p>In fact, graduate and professional schools look with particular favor at graduates of schools like Rutgers. Let's face it: a LAC provides lots of attention, hand-holding, and in loco parentis helicoptering. Not exactly swimming in the deep end. But a student who has thrived at Rutgers knows how to negotiate life, how to seek out opportunities, how to handle something closer to the real world.</p>
<p>Rutgers isn't the least bit shabby, it was one of my safety schools (along with Drew U). My sister earned her bachelor's and masters there, and she does really well for herself. </p>
<p>It's just that the state of N.J. can be quite a headache if you aren't upper-middle class or higher. The state has almost nothing to offer for the cost of living in the wealthier counties and public transportation does not help all that much. Proximity to NYC, while a big selling point for homeowners in the state, probably wouldn't matter all that much to a college student.</p>
<p>Kungfumaster, you are one lucky kid. If my DD got a free ride at Rutgers, I wouldn't make her go there but I'd tell her that if she went that route, she would get 50K from us as graduation gift to use for grad school, house down payment etc. Graduation from college debt-free is a fantastic thing. Rutgers is a perfectly good school with fantastic opportunities for the motivated student.</p>
<p>My husband recently began teaching at Rutgers Business School (after 20+ years in corporate life) and has been very impressed with the students, both in his undergraduate and graduate classes. I've visited his classrooms/offices in New Brunswick and Newark and thought they were fine. I've heard that the honors students do a lot of stuff together at the start of freshman year and I imagine, as relatively serious, like-minded students, they form great bonds. I have a much more positive view of Rutgers than I did before getting to know the school better. (That said, our own son is currently at Dartmouth because rowing is his passion- he knew Rutgers was eliminating their crew team so he didn't even consider them as a possibility.)</p>
<p>I've recently been thinking just how much 200k is (I won't receive need aid). I have trouble believing a name is worth 200k compared to a free ride to Rutgers. I can do a lot with 200k.</p>