Rutgers University New Brunswick
A Guide to Central New Jersey's State University
If you're looking for a high-energy, diverse East Coast state university that has something for everyone, check out Rutgers!
Where is Rutgers University New Brunswick? RU is located in central New Jersey and has campuses in two neighboring cities-- New Brunswick and Piscataway. It's about 40 miles south of Manhattan, which is easily accessible from New Brunswick by train. Rutgers is located on the Raritan River, which, sadly, isn't much to speak of.
The main campus (College Avenue Campus) is located near downtown New Brunswick, which used to be a pretty dangerous place, but today you'll find lots of neat shops, restaurants, and student friendly bars. On the opposite side of downtown are Douglass Campus (which used to be a woman's college and still houses only women), and Cook College (the agricultural campus). Douglass and Cook are in a more wooded and rural setting that may make you forget you're in New Jersey. The other two campuses, Busch (the science campus) and Livingston are located in nearby Piscataway, and these campuses are more modern and have nicer housing.
What basic information should I know about Rutgers?
- Enrollment: About 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students
- Type of school: State university
- Faculty/student ratio: 16:1
- In-state tuition: $8541 annually. With room, board, and fees, about $20,000.
- Out-of-state tuition: $17,709 annually. With room, board, and fees, about $30,000.
What's life at Rutgers like?
- Rutgers is a very diverse place in terms of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and just about everything else. You'll meet lots of different kinds of people from all over the U.S. and the world. Rutgers was named as one of the 100 most gay friendly colleges in the United States.
- Rutgers is big! Sadly, you'll find yourself in more than your fair share of lecture hall classes. You'll need to make an effort to get to know your professors. You really need to keep up with your classes, because there's no handholding here.
- RU is a high energy place with lots going on! There's something for everyone here: political activism, Greek life, sports, and campus organizations for every interest and group.
- Academically, you'll find quite a mix of students. Some students really hit the books, and others really don't!
- Fraternities and sororities are very active, although they don't dominate campus.
- Parts of campus are beautiful, and other parts are falling apart! Some of the dorms on College Avenue are notoriously bad.
- Yes, this really is a state university! Because of the fancy name, people from out of state think it's an Ivy League school. Technically, it's known as Rutgers the State University of New Jersey.
- There's a great bus system that transports students from campus to campus--which is important, because the campuses are so far apart! if you can get by without a car, do it-- parking and traffic are a nightmare.
What areas of study is Rutgers best known for? RU is well known for engineering and for its medical school. The best known of the liberal arts departments is probably history.
What's special about Rutgers?
- The history. Rutgers was founded in 1766 as Queens College (it wasn't a state university yet because it predated the states!) The original campus--Old Queen's Campus-- now houses administration buildings, and it's a lovely place to tour. You'll also want to stop by the stunning Kirkpatrick Chapel.
- The grease trucks. These fabulous food vendors are located on College Avenue and mostly sell a mix of inexpensive American and Middle Eastern food. You haven't truly experienced Rutgers until you've eaten a gyro at the grease trucks.
- The train to Manhattan located blocks from campus. Take advantage to the easy access to NYC!
- Reading on campus. On nice days, you'll see students splattered all over campus on blankets, doing homework or just chatting. It's a quintessential college scene.
- The school newspaper, the Daily Targum, is outstanding. Once a year, the paper comes out with a spoof issue called the Mugrat (Targum spelled backwards).
See also: Narrowing your college choices
