Rutgers? I don't think so

Parents Forum
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<p>tsdad said:
As we said to each other more years ago than I'll admit to: "The further away you get from NJ, the better school Rutgers becomes."</p>

<p>My DH and I found this to be true. We graduated from RU and Douglass about 25 years ago and then moved to Maryland. People there were VERY impressed when they heard that we were RU grads. We, being NJ kids, had no idea why they were so impressed. </p>

<p>We had thought that we'd send our oldest to RU. I had him apply to other NJ schools just because I thought that he should not have all his eggs in one basket. Well, he ended up at FDU because for him it seemed better for him to be a big fish in a small pond (he was accepted into the honors program) rather than a minnow in the RU ocean. I also found RU to be VERY difficult to work with. When I would call the college with questions, I was always directed to another office for my answer - and usually I had to make about 6 phone calls before I found the person who could answer my question. If I left a message for someone, I never got a return phone call. I had an entirely different experience with FDU. It was easy to get answers to my questions and phone messages were always returned. Point/counter point. </p>

<p>My DH and I went to RU to a special dinner. The invited guests were all alumni who had children who'd applied (and been accepted) to RU for admission that fall. The president of RU was supposed to be there, but he no showed. This was in the midst of the reorganization where all the RU schools would be joining into one school and that topic was never brought up that night. It was definitely the 'elephant in the room' as it would have effected every kid there. That night we left so unimpressed with RU that DS decided against RU.</p>

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<p>Glad (or actually sorry) to see the old "Rutgers screw" is still in place.</p>

<p>BTW, see this. Positive changes going on:</p>

<p>NJ.com:</a> Everything Jersey</p>

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<p>Interesting article, but changes in the downtown area don't improve dealing with the RU bureaucracy. My experience is that the RU Screw lives on.<br>
Sad, but true.</p>

<p>I have more kids, so I may yet end up with a child at RU. Another big concern I have is the awful parking situation. If one of my kids attends RU, it will only be as a commuter so this would be a real headache. I wish that all the money they are putting into the football program would go into improving things that would benefit the students. Better parking would go a long way to making RU more accessable.</p>

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<p>It is interesting to hear the other side of the coin regarding RU.
We anticipated that our son would have a fiasco with parking. He didn't 'remember' to submit a parking permit request until way late. No problem, he got a permit and easy available parking in lot near his apt on campus. He is at Mason Gross on Cook campus. I believe life is easier there than at other campuses.</p>

<p>After 2 years at RU (after two years at TCNJ), he's avoided many of the expected pitfalls at RU. He has found that he interacts with offices/faculty/peers only on the Mason Gross level and has had to navigate only very few issues throught the university as a whole.</p>

<p>I wonder if others in specific majors, like pharmacy, see something similar.</p>

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<p>musicmom, I've heard of similar good experiences from someone who attended Douglass - smaller, less bureaucratic (less like a large u).</p>

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<p>jerzgrlmom-
Yes, I understand that it's the 'Cook/Douglas' campus that seems easier to navigate than the College Ave campus.</p>

<p>I work with 2 wonderful ladies that both graduated from Douglass (OK it was 25 and 30 years ago) and they enjoyed it then also.</p>

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<p>Douglas 25 years ago was fabulous!! I'd always hoped to send my girls there, but alas, it exists no more. Now it is merely a dorm location. </p>

<p>Douglas managed to have way, way less red tape than Rutgers. My DH who was at Rutgers envied the hassle free experience I had at Douglas which was in sharp comparison to his experience at Rutgers.</p>

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<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I was directed to this board by a posting on an unrelated site. I must say that I am very disheartened by the apparent Rutgers bashing that has been so prevalent throughout these posts. I would just like to add my perspective as a recent graduate (October 2007), especially for students/parents who are considering it as an option.</p>

<p>I grew up in California and I had many options when it came to college choices. I knew I wanted to go to the east coast to complete my undergraduate education very early on. Although I held acceptances to Cal, UCLA, UC Davis, and several east coast private colleges, I chose Rutgers, and looking back, if I had to do it all again, I would have made the same exact decision. Not one person (teachers, relatives, and mentors) questioned my decision. In California, Rutgers is considered to be a top notch public institution, and I knew that I could get a great education at an affordable price (OOS). The only criticism that I received was the following "Rutgers is a great school, but GOD their football team is dreadful!" (2003 people...haha).</p>

<p>As a science major at Cook College, I had some fabulous learning opportunities in the honors program, and I did very well there. I had published research as a PRIMARY author (anyone in the sciences knows that being a primary author as an undergrad is pretty hard to come by) and excellent mentors that really cared about my well being. It was very easy for me to participate in summer research/internships because New Jersey is the pharmacy capital of the U.S. Being able to interact with students from all parts of the world, of various religions, and ethnicities was one of the highlights of my experience. I learned so much just from those around me, and I will continue to cherish them for a lifetime. I also truly enjoyed the fact that by attending a large university, I could explore my other interests outside of the science arena. I was never bored at Rutgers: I am a sports junkie so when football got good, it was great (not to mention I was already a fan of both men's and women's bball). The social scene in New Brunswick was entertaining and if I got sick of it, Philly and NYC were just train rides away. In the four years that I attended RU, there were vast improvements made in New Brunswick and they will continue to come. </p>

<p>In the end, I made some great friends and found wonderful mentors, all while receiving a world class education. Rutgers has gotten me where I wanted to be (medical school) and I am a proud alumn. A large university is NOT for everyone, but I do not think it is necessarily appropriate to belittle any of the top students in NJ for showing interest in RU. I've met some amazingly brilliant students at Rutgers (my best friend, for example, turned down Dartmouth and Princeton), and they love being a Scarlet Knight.</p>

<p>No one is denying that Rutgers has a plethora of issues, mostly administrative, but it comes along with the territory of attending a large, public university. You have to be willing to do a little bit of work on your own when you need things to get done. There is no hand holding at Rutgers! My advice is to do your OWN research about Rutgers. If you did not attend the school (as a parent) and you are basing your opinions off of hearsay, then you are making an uninformed decision. That is a ludicrous way to help your child choose where he or she will spend the next four years of their life (for ANY school). The best decision is an informed one: truly look at the pros and cons of every institution that your child is considering. Good luck and take care!</p>

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<p>cali2jerzdoc -</p>

<p>Well said!</p>

<p>I wish you much luck on your continued studies in medical school.</p>

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<p>Rutgers is actually a very good, well respected University. And check your tuition information. Penn State’s out of state tuition is MUCH higher than Rutgers’ in state.</p>

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<p>People have very different viewpoints today than they did in 2006 when this thread was started.</p>

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<p>Having resided in NJ for many years,i think Rutgers may be the worst flagship school of any state in the US…I will state i think their education is getting better,but from a relatively lousy level…For a supposed “big time” school,with all the $$$ wasted on athletic programs, their sports programs stink…</p>

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<p>Rutgers can’t get itself together. Nothing in the state of New Jersey can seem to get its act together (I’m not some outsider who’s making this assumption, I’ve been an NJ resident for life whose ENTIRE family lives in NJ, mom’s side from South Jersey and dad’s side from North Jersey).</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, I think that Rutgers is a good school in some respects. It has a phenomenal Pharmacy program and a great engineering school. It had a good football team for about a day. But it’s a mess up there in New Brunswick. There’s not enough housing, students don’t get the classes they need, there aren’t real buildings (army barracks for classrooms, anyone?), it can’t secure funding, and there are so many other problems going on up at Rutgers.</p>

<p>Both of my parents are RU alums. They LOVE the school and are completely obsessed with it. We have a CLOSET dedicated to all of our Rutgers stuff. But this year, they encouraged me not to apply, in fact they TOLD me that I wasn’t allowed to apply there because it’s so bad compared to the other state schools they saw.</p>

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<p>Well I must say this is rather surprising since Rutgers is well regarded outside of New Jersey.
My S applied there as a matter of fact-is there anyone out there who has anything good to say about it?</p>

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<p>Problems with programs cut is not just a NJ thing. A friend of my son left LSU after it cut his major this year.</p>

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<p>I think RU is far from the worst state flagship but it does have more than a few issues from the terrible campus layout and many of the cheaply built buildings that don’t show very well to the wide range in student ability. The faculty are very good.</p>

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<p>Lived in Northern NJ for 45+ years,family has resided in Nj forever,and i wouldn’t send the kids there if it were free…I find it amazing that NJ residents feel this way about their “flagship state school”,but it is the truth…Now living in Philly area, and have not met one person criticize Penn State the way we “Jerseyans” do of Rutgers,but i think PSU is a very good school,worthy of the “flagship” status</p>

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<p>Reporting back…More than a hundred kids from the local high school go to Rutgers each year. So far, kids seem pretty happy, but there have been some unfavorable reports too.</p>

<p>Two kids we know had to install their own locks on their dorm room doors, since there weren’t ones that worked and the housing office was unwilling to commit to repairing them in a timely manner.</p>

<p>Both families told me that the billing has been crazy, though in fairness other people claim not to have had issues with that. My friends said that just when they think they’ve paid the last possible bill for the term, they get a new small bill for something else. My friend paid exactly what she was billed in mid summer, but when the D showed up on campus to move in, she was told she needed to fork over another $2,000 because the school didn’t get some money from the state or something. It was a mess.</p>

<p>Another woman, after her D and then she herself had spent hours trying to solve a major problem with the D’s schedule which was completely the school’s mistake, finally had to have her husband threaten to influence his employer to cut off donations to the school if they didn’t fix their D’s schedule once and for all. The school employees were completely apathetic about the issue, and basically said it wasn’t their problem.</p>

<p>Also, I know a woman who is a rape crisis counselor and she is kept quite busy on weekends with young ladies from Rutgers. This problem could be just as bad or worse at other large state universities, but knowing that made it hard to think of the school as a viable option for my D. My son was interested at first, but the honors program for his major was run out of the Newark campus and there was no way he wanted to live on the Newark campus.</p>

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<p>My son is a sophomore at Rutgers. It was not my first choice for him. Too sprawling for my taste; however, he LOVED the campus when we toured. He is very happy there, and I have to say it is growing on me. All colleges have their issues. Dealing with the glitches in college helps them grow up. I am happy. He will have a degree from a good school that won’t bankrupt me. He made a good choice that was HIS choice. Both my kids picked their colleges based on how the fit felt to them and they are both successful. Go RU!!</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I just want to say that I applied to Rutgers among other schools. I’m pretty sure that I will end up going to my other choices, but I wanted to chime in.</p>

<p>First, I’m not a New Jersey resident. Second, do you know how incredibly bad some of these posters make Rutgers out to be? I mean, on the other forums of my match schools that I’ve applied to (Boston College, UConn, Boston University), there is nothing like what goes on here. I don’t get it. If you dislike personally the school, why trash it? We’re arguing over the top colleges in the country, not top 25, but Rutgers is ranked as the sixty something best school in the country for crying out loud. There are hundreds of schools “worse” than Rutgers and not that many in front of it. And I have to be honest, when I research a school like UConn and BC, I find a ton of people positive about where it is now and where it is going to be in 10 years. And then when I research Rutgers I get this thread??!! And I’m not even sure if some of the people that write critically of Rutgers have any connection to the school. If that’s the case, why in the world would you come to a forum like this to bash it? </p>

<p>Reading some of this stuff written here you get the impression that Rutgers has a bunch of hydra like campuses, all dissimilar except for their common trait of ugliness; that its students are only diverse because of students who, while not foreigners, are kind of like foreigners???!!!; that its athletic teams are a bunch of gangsters; that if you had a choice other than Rutgers you’re a fool to pick it; that the ugliness of its NJ’s politics infects the administration and faculty, etc.</p>

<p>And then you look at the SAT results, the GPA of its students, their class rank, and the overall quality of its pool of applicants and its like night and day from the commentary. So tone down some of your rhetoric, and try to rationally point out its faults and strengths. No need to tear it down.</p>