Rutgers University-New Brunswick/Piscataway Review

Request Information

Overall 3.78 of 5 view all 9 reviews

add to my favorites email to a friend subscribe to feed

GreyAria
Pompton Lakes, NJ

add GreyAria to my friends list

Rutgers-Newark offers top education, if you ever manage to park!

a good test taker

Pros

Excellent teachers, nice computer labs

Cons

Parking (there is none)!

AUG

2008

Rugers - Newark offers an excellent education for the money, and can honestly boast the fine educators associated with the Rutgers name on the larger New Brunswick campus. The variety of class selections and majors is adequate, though you do need to be very careful about making sure you take the classes you need in the semester they are offered, as required classes are frequently cancelled, changed, or not offered in consecutive semesters. A bonus is the special attention paid to offering class selections that highlight the urban interests relevant to the campus's location in the city of Newark. Though safety is an obvious concern associated with that location, the school does a pretty good job of partnering with the local law enforcement, stationing readily accessible campus police, and spreading the word to educate students in crime prevention. Dana Library, located at the center of one-square-city-block-large campus is a renowned and respected public resource and well-respected for its research capacity. The biggest stressor and most consistently problematic issue, in my experiene, is that the parking situation is so bad that students literally risk missing classes from lack of a place to leave your car. Newark is, after all, the car theft capital of the world, so leaving your car on the street ior one of the often car-jacking prone public pay lots is not really a viable option. Largely a commuter school, the centrally-located prime lot fills up much too quickly for night students to get a space when they arrive after work, and the secondary lot is several blocks away, increasing the risk of being late, and closes before most night classes let out, meaning that if you don't happen to have your current student ID handy, you'll be waiting outside until someone else who does have one happens by. On the topic of studen ID's and night students, a second negative of the Rutgers-Newark educational experience must be noted, in the campus's lack of consideration for night students when it comes to essential services like photo ID's, declaring a major, and seeking guidance on class selections. In my six years of attendance as a night student, I got an ID just once, and fed up with having to leave work early to do it, I got through all my subsequent semesters without one. I had to take a half day off work to declare a major, and also had to leave early on the rare occasions (towards the end) when I needed advisement in order to fulfill all my general education and degree requirements. Despite these inconveniences, though, I would rate my overall experience as a Rutgers student as a very fulfilling one, and I maintain that while I could have transferred to a more commuter-friendly school or one with an easier curiculuum, I always valued the pride I take in the Rutgers name on my diploma and the excellent education I feel I received over taking an easier way out.