Profile: Rutgers University- New Brunswick

2012-13 Edition
Profile:
Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick
Educated Quest.com
Background
1
Introduction to RutgersNew Brunswick
Section 1
Background
Fast Facts
1. The original Rutgers campus, first called Queens College,
is the eighth oldest college in the U.S.
2. Among the first colleges in the American colonies, only
Rutgers and William and Mary remain public institutions.
3. With nearly 30,000 students, Rutgers-New Brunswick has
the largest undergraduate enrollment of any institution
located between Boston and Philadelphia.
4. The Class of 2011 was the first to graduate as members of a
single university.
5. Among the flagship state universities in the Northeast and
MidAtlantic states, only the University of Maryland-College
Park has a more diverse student community.
6. Rutgers has consistently ranked among the top 25 public
research universities in U.S. News’ annual rankings; this
past year it also ranked fifth among institutions that did not
have a medical school.
7. In July 2013 Rutgers will take over management of the
medical schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry
of New Jersey.
Old School, New University
With nearly 30,000 students, Rutgers-New Brunswick has the
largest undergraduate enrollment of any institution located between Boston and Philadelphia.
While Rutgers has been a state university for less than sixty
years, it has resembled a traditional university with separate undergraduate divisions for only four. This has caused some growing pains, but this school is well on its way to resolving them.
The Class of 2011 was the first to graduate as members of a
single university. This class was a milestone that will begin to
change the institutional memory of the university among alumni
and parents. Past graduates have identified themselves not as
Rutgers graduates but as sons or daughters of single colleges
that have their own unique histories.
Rutgers-New Brunswick was a system of five federated colleges, each with its own unique history and academic programs. Admissions and academic requirements differed from
campus to campus, even for the same major.
Rutgers has tried to preserve its colonial heritage, especially on
its College Avenue campus, so the university is promoted as a
greater community with multiple residential and academic options.
2
Originally founded as Queens College in 1766, the current College Avenue Campus became Rutgers College in 1825 when
Henry Rutgers, a Revolutionary War hero and college trustee,
donated $5,000 and a bronze bell to help keep the college functioning. Winants Hall, which houses the Alumni Relations offices, was the first Rutgers dormitory.
From 1825 to 1972, Rutgers College was an all-male school.
By the mid-1980s, both campuses formed a co-educational liberal arts school with over 10,000 students spread on three campuses—College Avenue, the Busch science campus and Livingston-- including the majority of undergraduates enrolled in the
schools of business, engineering and pharmacy.
Livingston College, which opened in 1969 in the wake of the
civil rights movement, was the first truly co-educational liberal
arts school within Rutgers. Named after William Livingston, the
first post-colonial governor of New Jersey, the school linked academic programs with cultural awareness and social activism.
Ethnic studies were introduced on this campus as were programs in journalism, urban studies and labor studies. Livingston
has essentially closed though its academic programs remain.
The campus has also become a more popular living and learning option for more students.
Across downtown New Brunswick from the College Avenue
campus is the Cook-Douglass campus. Cook College, originally
known as the Rutgers Scientific School, was founded in 1864
after Rutgers was granted federal status as New Jersey’s land
grant college. The Morill Land Grant Act, signed in 1862 by
President Abraham Lincoln, enabled Rutgers, as the state’s
land grant college, to sell over 200,000 acres of land in what is
now Utah. The funds were used to purchase farmland to establish the campus in New Jersey. One hundred nine years later,
the school was named Cook College after George H. Cook, its
first president, and offered a liberal arts and engineering curriculum that also incorporated education in agriculture and environmental issues. Today, Cook is known as the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences.
Douglass College, originally known as the New Jersey College
for Women, was founded in 1918 by Mabel Smith Douglass and
the state Federation of Women’s Clubs. A graduate of Barnard
College (NY), Douglass worked with the federation to establish
a women’s college that maintained a relationship with an allmale school, much like Barnard had with Columbia College of
Columbia University. Later renamed Douglass College, the
school was the largest and one of the last publicly supported
women’s colleges in the U.S. Today it is known as the Douglass
Residential College, offering a combination of academic, leadership and residential opportunities for women who indicate their
interest in Douglass after they are accepted by the university.
Rutgers has also been heralded as one of the nation’s most diverse flagship universities. Today, according to College Results
3
Online, 18 percent of the student body includes underrepresented minorities. Among Northeast and MidAtlantic flagship state universities, only the University of Maryland-College
Park has a more diverse student body. In 2009, graduation
rates for minority students at Rutgers, including African Americans and Hispanics, were about the same as they were at Maryland and higher than they were at the University of Delaware,
the University of Connecticut and the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst, all popular destinations for New Jersey college-bound freshmen.
sity may advance in new directions, which might also have positive impacts on its fundraising and rankings.
While rankings say little about the quality of a research univeristy, Rutgers has consistently appeared among the top 25 public institutions in U.S. News annual college guide. More interesting, this part year Rutger tied for fifth, behind William and Mary,
Georgia Tech, UC-Santa Barbara and Purdue (IN) and tied with
Clemson (SC) among public research universities that did not
have a medical school.
However, in the summer of 2012, the New Jersey legislature,
with the support of Governor Chris Christie, agreed to transfer
management of the medical school campuses and the Cancer
Research Center of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey to Rutgers, effective in July, 2013. The addition of
the medical schools on the flagship campus and the Newark
campus, combined with the hiring a new president, Dr. Robert
Barchi, a neuroscientist and physician, suggests that the univer4
Competition
2
What does it take to get in?
Who decides to go?
What other schools do
applicants consider?
Section 1
Competition
Getting Into Rutgers
Prospective freshmen apply to the School of Arts and Sciences,
the largest undergraduate division, the School of Business, the
School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, the College
of Engineering, the Mason Gross School of the Arts, the Ernest
Mario School of Pharmacy, and the College of Nursing.
Fast Facts
1. Rutgers places the most importance on the rigor of the
high school program, grade-point average, class rank
and standardized test scores.
2. It is not unusual, for example, for a science-oriented
student to apply to Arts and Sciences, Engineering and
Pharmacy at the same time.
3. Mean SAT scores (Critical Reading and Mathematics)
have been around 1200 for the past decade.
4. A student’s ability to get in depends, in part on the
school s/he chooses.
5. About eight percent of the student body comes from
U.S. states other than New Jersey.
Students interested in the schools of communications and information, management and labor relations and public policy must
first enroll in the School of Arts and Sciences. Students may apply to multiple schools; it is not unusual, for example, for a
science-oriented student to apply to Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Pharmacy at the same time.
Rutgers places the most importance on the rigor of the high
school program, grade-point average, class rank and standardized test scores. Auditions for the music and theatre arts programs are also given high priority. Most other factors, including
recommendations, the essay, extracurricular activities and work
experience, are given consideration.
Students apply online and self-report their high school transcript. Rutgers has decided not to participate in the Common
Application; their process is less paper-intensive than most, and
the more serious students are still likely to apply.
6
Students who apply to Rutgers consider Penn State, NYU and
Maryland more often than other public and private schools
when they are looking out of state.
State, Washington and Wisconsin. However, several schools
within Rutgers, especially performing arts, business, engineering, nursing and pharmacy, are much harder to get into.
About eight percent of the 2011 incoming freshman class came
from states other than New Jersey while just under three percent were international students. By comparison, other state universities that compete most directly with Rutgers for in-state
and out-of-state students admit between 24 percent (University
of Maryland) and 65 percent (University of Delaware) from outside their home states.
This past year, for example, the Mason Gross School of the
Arts admitted 20 percent of all applicants, says Courtney McAnuff, the university’s Vice President for Enrollment Management, while the College of Arts and Sciences admitted 55 percent. “We publish the mid-range requirements for students to
be admitted,” McAnuff says, “so that students do not apply to
programs where they do not have a realistic chance of getting
in.”
The continued dependence on a “Jersey-centric” population is
surprising, considering that some of the most desirable assets
of Rutgers--proximity to New York and Philadelphia, choice of
college settings, specific academic programs--would appeal to
students who are not from New Jersey.
While there is no such thing as a typical Rutgers student, it is
probably safe to say that a combined reading, writing and
mathematics SAT score of 1750 or better plus a grade point average of 3.5 or better in a strong college-prep program with
demonstrated leadership or extracurricular talents should be sufficient for an in-state student to gain admission to the School of
Arts and Sciences. The mean SAT scores, Critical Reading and
Math, have been around 1,200 for the past decade, while the
range for the 25th to 75th percentile is between 1080 and 1310,
similar to other leading state schools such as Penn State, Ohio
Given the productivity of New Jersey’s high schools as well as
a national advertising campaign, Jersey Roots, Global Reach,
Rutgers has decided to go in a different direction for its flagship
campus to become more fiscally sound and continually diverse
while attempting to improve its U.S. and international profile.
The university administration increased enrollment.
Since the university announced its reorganization in the fall of
2006, full-time undergraduate enrollment has grown from
24,900 to nearly 29,000 students. During some of the worst
economic times (from 2008 to 2011) Rutgers added more than
1,000 full-time undergraduates per year. However, the university added more students at a time it has not been able to significantly increase the size of the faculty or the amount of available
classroom space.
7
The class entering in the Fall of 2012 will have 200 fewer freshmen. This is due to improvements in the retention rate. However, the business school, slated to open a new building in the
fall of 2013, will have an additional 150 freshmen, Courtney
McAnuff says.
Bright students, whether they are from New Jersey or elsewhere, try to seek their best deal. It is quite realistic to expect
Rutgers, given its location, plethora of housing options and vast
academic offerings, to take a shot at enrolling as many wellqualified students as it can.
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Completion
3
Freshman Retention Rate
Graduation Rates
Section 1
Completion
The Path to a Degree
Until 2007 entering freshmen had a choice of affiliating with Rutgers, Cook, Douglass or Livingston, even if they were pursuing
degrees in engineering, education, performing arts or pharmacy.
Fast Facts
1. The class that entered in 2011 had a 93 percent
retention rate, among the best among U.S. public
research universities.
2. Rutgers has graduated more than half of its
freshmen within four years.
3. Only 20 state universities have done better at
graduating their students on time.
4. More than three quarters of the freshman class
that entered in 2004 graduated within six years
For liberal arts students, this was a curriculum choice as well as
a campus choice. Transferring between schools meant meeting
a different set of degree requirements and in some cases
lengthened a student’s education beyond four years. Options
for multiple majors were difficult when a subject was offered in
one federated college, but not the others. The introduction of a
uniform arts and sciences curriculum ended such frustrations
and confusion.
The class that entered in 2011 had a 93 percent retention rate,
among the best among U.S. public research universities. While
the university has graduated only two classes as “one Rutgers,”
it is reasonable to expect that graduation and retentions rates
will improve over the next four years.
The School of Arts and Sciences curriculum is set up to accommodate students interested in multiple majors or transfer to the
other pre-professional schools. The reorganization of liberal
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arts education at Rutgers, however, makes any look at past
graduation rates almost irrelevant, though the classes that entered in 2003 and 2004 had a six-year graduation rate of 77 percent. And, while most state universities do not graduate half of
their students within four years, 53 percent of the Rutgers entering class in 2004, two years prior to reorganization, graduated
on time.
Only 20 state universities have done better at graduating their
students in four years. In the fall of 2011, U.S. News calculated
a Predicted Six-Year Graduation Rate of 74 percent for Rutgers; the university beat that by three. The “plus three” is a positive reflection of the impact of the faculty, residence life and student services on Rutgers’ students.
By virtue of its graduation and acceptance rates, Rutgers has a
place on the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) 50-50 College List produced
by DIY College Rankings, an independent analyst based in
New Haven, Connecticut. The university admits slightly more
than half of its applicants, while it also graduates more than half
of its freshmen within five years. This means that Rutgers graduates not only its excellent students, but a fair share of the very
good as well.
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Costs
4
Tuition and Fees
Scholarships
Net Prices
Debt
Costs
Fast Facts
1. Rutgers in-state tuition and fees for 2012-13 will
average just over $13,000.
2. Out-of-state tuition and fees, which run
approximately $27,000, are quite competitive with
those charged by Delaware, Maryland and Penn
State, among other leading state universities as
well as the Big Ten institutions, the University of
Virginia and the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill.
3. Rutgers’ commitments to diversity and education
for students from low-income families date back
over 40 years.
Paying your way
Rutgers in-state tuition and fees for 2013-13 will average
$13,073; they will be slightly higher for business, engineering
and pharmacy students. Out-of-state tuition and fees, which run
approximately $27,000, are quite competitive with those
charged by Delaware, Maryland and Penn State, among other
leading state universities as well as the Big Ten institutions, the
University of Virginia and the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill.
For 2012-13, Rutgers limited tuition and fee increases to 2.5
percent and increased room and board by less than two percent. Fee decisions within the university have recently become
controversial because a portion has been used to help subsidize intercollegiate athletics, including the non-revenue sports.
Rutgers participates in 22 scholarship sports. By comparison,
Big East rival South Florida, which has about the same number
of students as Rutgers, plays 17. The alternative, dropping nonrevenue sports, was never seriously discussed at Rutgers. In
addition, the university allows students to attend the revenue
sports events for no charge on a first-come, first-served basis.
Other schools charge separate fees for tickets, though they
may still charge an athletics fee.
Students who earn Presidential Scholarships, which are essentially a free ride, as well as Scarlet Scholars, who receive a combination of merit-based and need-based assistance, will find
Rutgers quite worthwhile. So is the James Dickson Carr Scholarship, worth $10,000 a year. The university has also launched
a Trustee Scholarship program; applicants for the 2013-14 academic year will be the first considered.
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Presidential Scholarships, which are merit-based, are targeted
to students who have a combined score of at least 2250 on all
three sections of the SAT: Critical Reading, Mathematics and
Writing--this is an average score of 750 per section--include full
tuition and fees plus a stipend that is intended to cover the total
costs of commuting or room and board.
While students who typically have the academic records and
test scores to earn a Presidential Scholarship also have the credentials to gain admission to other exceptionally selective
schools, a scholarship that is more like a fellowship, nearly a
free education, is a tempting opportunity.
These scholarships are awarded through the individual colleges
within Rutgers, so the required grades and test scores among
recipients may vary. The number awarded, however, has increased from 20 in 2006 to 115 for the upcoming academic
year. This, says Courtney McAnuff, the university’s Vice President for Enrollment Management, is because the university has
attracted more, in terms of numbers, students who qualify academically.
Scarlet Scholarships are awarded to students with a combined
score of 1950--this is an average of 650 per section--and range
between $3,500 and $7,500. Sadly, Rutgers does not offer
merit-based scholarship aid to students who score lower on the
standardized exams.
Within New Jersey other state-supported schools, including
Montclair State University, Ramapo College of New Jersey,
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Rowan University and
privately-supported Seton Hall University have taken aggressive steps to award generous scholarships to students who
come close, but do not need to reach such high marks on the
tests. They are, no doubt, pursuing the “bread and butter” Rutgers student.
However, adds Courtney McAnuff, the university sets fair expectations for its scholarship recipients. The Presidential Scholarships require students to maintain a grade-point-average of 3.2
or better to be renewed; for Scarlet Scholars the requirement is
a 3.0. Other schools, McAnuff says, ask the student to maintain
a 3.5 or better; such schools do not expect their students to retain those scholarships.
Below is a comparison between Rutgers and three New Jersey
public schools that offer merit-based aid. These reflect tuition
and fees charged to a New Jersey resident student with a
strong transcript in a rigorous high school program as well as a
score of 1230 on the Critical Reading and Math sections of the
SAT or a 27 on the ACT. This student would be in the upper 40
percent of the Rutgers applicant pool.
School
Sticker Price: 2011-12 Tuition
and Fees
2011-12 Tuition and Fees less
Merit Scholarship
Rutgers University-New
Brunswick
$12,755 to $13,873
$12,755 to $13,873
Montclair State University
$10,502
$5,502
Ramapo College of New Jersey
$12,758
$9,758
Richard Stockton College of New
Jersey
$11.963
$4,963
Rowan University
$12,018
$10,018
It is, however, fair to note that New Jersey residents who apply
to Rutgers while also considering flagship schools in other
states would find their state university to be more of a “least
cost” option. Penn State-University Park and the University of
Delaware, the two most popular public out-of-state schools with
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New Jersey residents, according to a higher education task
force appointed by Governor Chris Christie in 2010, do not offer
the same merit-based aid programs that are offered by the New
Jersey schools listed above. Both charged out-of-state students
in excess of $27,000 in tuition and fees. Other flagship schools
such as the University of Virginia, the College of William and
Mary and the University of Michigan would have charged in excess of $40,000, provided our model student could get in.
But West Virginia University (WVU), the fourth most popular
state school, according to a Chris Christie’s task force, is aggressive with merit awards. WVU would have awarded our
“model” student a $6,000 merit scholarship, reducing her out-ofstate tuition and fees to under $12,000, or less than she would
pay to go to Rutgers as an in-state student. Binghamton University (NY), an excellent state school that draws 15 percent of its
student body from other states, including New Jersey, will
charge out-of-state students less than $17,000 in 2012-13.
Stony Brook, a sister New York state school, will be quite competitive, too.
students only. It can be seen from this table that the private institutions are trying to be more competitive for the students who
come from households with more modest incomes, though
those from New Jersey families that are more well to do will find
their state-supported schools, including Rutgers, to be less expensive.
School
Average Net Price 2010-11
Household Income $75,000 to
$110,000
Average Net Price 2010-11
Household Income $110,000 or
more
Rutgers University-New
Brunswick
$24,246
$25,326
Montclair State University
$20,946
$20,932
The College of New Jersey
$23,722
$25,061
Ramapo College of New Jersey
$23,480
$25,471
Rowan University
$20,378
$20,388
Richard Stockton College of New
Jersey
$25,501
$25,294
Princeton University
$18,465
$28,098
New York University
$40,148
$46,306
Syracuse University
$28,235
$39,590
Another cost consideration for New Jersey residents as well as
out-of-state students is sticker price versus Average Net Price,
the estimated total costs for tuition, room and board, books,
transportation and other incidentals less scholarships and
grants that do not need to be repaid.
Cornell University
$22,439
$39,459
Columbia University
$15,887
$36,846
University of Pennsylvania
$20,582
$37,344
Villanova University
$30,672
$41,862
Drexel University
$34,763
$37,822
Prospective students who apply to Rutgers from New Jersey
and other states also consider several private schools, some of
which have generous scholarship assistance, as well as the
public institutions as shown below. The data comes from College Navigator, the site operated by the U.S. Department of
Education. The net prices for the public schools are for in-state
Lehigh University
$23,583
$40,134
Bucknell University
$30,168
$42,793
Boston University
$31,771
$41.890
Northeastern University
$30,668
$37,493
George Washington University
$26,141
$35,236
Georgetown University
$25,045
$41,277
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Another way to consider costs is to look at the debt-tocredentials ratio. Developed by Education Sector, a nonpartisan, non-profit educational policy organization based in
Washington D.C., this ratio reflects the average level of debt
that students need to take on to complete their degrees. The
higher the graduation rate, the lower the school’s costs or the
more generous the scholarship aid, the lower the ratio will be.
On the next page are the debt-to-credentials ratios for the
2008-09 school year for Rutgers and the schools mentioned before.
School
Debt-to-Credentials Ratio
2009
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
$17,675
The College of New Jersey
$14,600
Ramapo College of New Jersey
$19,757
Rowan University
$21,756
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
$18,531
Montclair State University
$22,517
Princeton University
$1,969
New York University
$27,682
Syracuse University
$25,705
Cornell University
$9,766
Columbia University
$15,177
University of Pennsylvania
$11,458
Villanova University
$18,030
Drexel University
$28,000
Lehigh University
$15,231
Bucknell University
$18,639
Boston University
$18,483
Northeastern University
$27,483
George Washington University
$13,910
Georgetown University
$13,948
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The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) student is less likely to carry
as much debt as Rutgers student because of the school’s
higher four-year and six-year graduation rates. However, it is
also fair to mention that students who fall in the upper quarter of
the class at TCNJ are also likely to qualify as Scarlet Scholars
to Rutgers, which would lower their costs, and hopefully their
debt, much further.
It is also necessary to point out, however, that students who accept a Presidential Scholarship, which is more like a fellowship
because of the room and board or commuting allowance, are
less likely to incur debts that they might have taken on even if
they had been offered full tuition and fees from any of the private schools listed above. The private schools do not make as
generous an award.
However, while merit scholarships are limited, ten percent of
Rutgers students receive assistance through the statesupported Educational Opportunity Fund, which is targeted to
promising students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Rutgers has made serious commitments to support
these students that date back more than four decades. But Rutgers students are also more vulnerable to cuts in federal and
state aid than students who attend many other leading state universities. More than twenty five percent of the undergraduate
students are eligible for the federal Pell Grant, quite high for a
leading state school.
The university also launched a Future Scholars Program to provide college preparatory instruction, mentoring and internships,
starting with seventh graders. The oldest class in the New
Brunswick area are currently high school seniors. Those who
successfully qualify for admission will receive full scholarships
to Rutgers. Courtney McAnuff estimates that 60 percent of the
190 students are likely to enroll. This program, funded with an
initial $2 million grant, then supplemented by corporate contributions, has admitted nearly 800 New Brunswick area students
since its inception six years ago.
However, limited institutional resources, along with New Jersey’s debt crisis, have been a large part of Rutgers fiscal problems. Rutgers’ endowment at the close of 2010-11 was, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers, approximately $698 million, seventh lowest
among U.S. News’ top 25 public universities, ahead of only the
College of William and Mary, the University of California-San Diego, the University of California-Irvine, Clemson and the University of Connecticut. In addition, the endowment covers all three
of the university campuses in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick, while the other schools may build up the endowment of a
single campus. This is significant, as leading colleges and universities tap into their endowments to make up for losses in fi17
nancial assistance from other public and private sources. If the
market value of the endowment declines, budget cuts and tuition and fee increases are also likely to follow; the availability of
funds from the unsecured portion of the endowment goes
down.
at several other state colleges. The bond issue is on the ballot
for the November 2012 elections.
The Sustainable University, a Web site operated by Bain and
Co., an internationally known management consulting firm reports that Rutgers is “fiscally sound based on available data.”
Entering his last year as president of the university, Richard
McCormick, son of a former Rutgers dean, and a former president of the University of Washington, began a seven-year $1 billion capital campaign to improve facilities, increase the number
of scholarships and hire new faculty. Ten percent of this amount
is dedicated to athletics.
President McCormick’s administrative team and active alumni
have raised more than $600 million of the goal within just two
years. This is impressive considering that so much of the institutional memory is tied to the old federated colleges, including
two formerly single-sex schools that no longer exist. The success of this campaign should be reflected in a larger endowment for 2012 as the new pledges go on the books. An increase
in scholarship aid may either increase the number of students
that the university can assist through their own funds, lower the
average net price per student, or possibly both.
McCormick was also one of New Jersey’s leading advocates for
a $750 million higher education bond issue; bond proceeds
would be used to finance capital improvements not only at Rutgers, but also
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Comforts
5
On-Campus Housing
Local Housing Market
Comforts
Fast Facts
1. Rutgers is one of the few flagship state universities that
can house more than half of its undergraduate student
body.
2. The university will open a $215 million, 1,500 bed student
apartment complex on the campus this fall.
3. 86 percent of freshmen entering in 2010, a class of over
5,000 students, requested on-campus housing.
4. Rutgers offers not only living-learning options but more
campus community living options than any state university.
5. The university recently announced plans to build a new
honors residence hall on the College Avenue Campus, as
part of a $295 million mixed use development
6. This, and a planned 800 bed residence complex will add
another 1,300 beds to the on-campus housing mix.
Settling In
Rutgers is one of the few large public research universities that is capable of housing more than half of its students in on-campus dormitories and apartments after
new construction totaling 1,500 beds is completed this
summer. According to Greg Blimling, vice president for
student affairs, 86 percent of freshmen entering in 2010,
a class of over 5,000 students, requested on-campus
housing.
Housing lotteries and hotel room assignments, both a
bane of student life at Rutgers, become history after new
on-campus apartments on the Livingston campus, become ready for occupancy this fall Unlike many large universities, students have enough options to enable to live
on campus for all four years. Peer schools such as Ohio
State, Penn State and Wisconsin, among others, do not
accommodate most students beyond their freshman
year.
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Instead of being limited to the residence hall options at a
single liberal arts college, which had been the case until
the fall of 2006, freshman now have the choice of living
on the campus of their choice. They can live within walking distance of a cow pasture on the Cook campus or
hop a train ride to New York City if they’re living on College Avenue. Accepted students may choose up to five
housing options. Advance preparation to learn the likely
locations of classes and ride the campus bus routes is
strongly advised. Rutgers also hosts orientation events
where students may meet and choose roommates before they apply for housing. Students may choose new
roommates after two weeks, though the change request
may not be prejudicial.
All freshmen, regardless of campus of residence, live in
traditional corridor-style buildings, usually co-ed by wing
or floor, though single-sex living options for women are
offered on Douglass and Busch. The Douglass campus
offers housing strictly for women that accommodates
1,800 students, 1,200 of whom live in a residential college setting. This is a special advantage for Rutgers
over other universities, because it appeals to female stu-
dents who come from more conservative family backgrounds. Co-ed room arrangements have been introduced as well. Corridor-style living allows students to
meet more people, though it means there are more students to share a bathroom. Suite-style options are available to upperclassmen as are student apartments. All
dorms are wired for cable television and more than half
have set up for wireless Internet. All students, including
freshmen, may have cars, but they must pay a parking
fee that allows them to park in a single lot on their campus of residence, none immediately adjacent to dormitories.
Honors housing options are available on all campuses,
as are eight living-learning communities which have a
residential component as well as academic credits.
Among the stand-outs you are not likely to find on other
college campuses is a Weather-Watcher community on
the Cook campus which offers students interested in meteorology or science journalism the opportunity to produce the daily weather forecast and longer science programming for the university’s television station. Also
unique, two other learning communities are focused on
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science, technology, engineering and mathematics education for women. The Bunting-Cobb community at
Douglass is connected to a one-credit career exploration
course, while the Rosalind Franklin House on the Busch
campus, where students admitted by invitation, is connected to a calculus course as well as a one-credit FirstYear Interest course. Rutgers also hosts the only Middle
East Coexistence house on a college campus in the
country as a living-learning community. Founded on the
Douglass Residential campus in 2006, the house fosters
dialogue between Jews, Muslims and members of other
faiths about Middle East culture and politics.
The oldest housing is located on the College Avenue
and Douglass Campuses. Some of these buildings,
most notably the Old Gibbons houses on the Douglass
Campus and Demarest Hall on the College Avenue Campus, have the charm that is often associated with small
prestigious liberal arts schools. New Gibbons at Douglass and the Bishop Quad on College Avenue are also
popular choices along with modern suites adjacent to
the student center on the Busch Campus. However,
there are also taller brick and chrome buildings, the Lip-
pincott and Katzenbach dorms on the Douglass campus
and the River Dorms on College Avenue, that are less attractive aluminum and chrome Sixties designs.
College Avenue, the oldest campus and the former Rutgers College, was long considered the most desired location given its proximity to the fraternities and downtown
New Brunswick. These advantages remain, though three
of the older residence halls will be taken off-line to be
brought up to code. The River Dorms, the three high-rise
structures along the Raritan River waterfront, were renovated last year, including large first-floor study lounges
with river views. An additional 1,300 beds are planned
for this campus by 2015, with one building planned for
Honors housing.
But while College Avenue offers the most direct access
to downtown New Brunswick, it’s dining hall, Brower
Commons, is of a long-outdated design. It’s two food stations are tied to inclines meant to handle long lines.
Most university dining hall operations, including those on
the other Rutgers-New Brunswick campuses, have long
22
scrapped this arrangement in favor of multiple food stations. Students who live on College Avenue are likely to
be tempted to use the “flex” balance of their meal card to
eat at the food court or the Au Bon Pain in the student
center and skip dining hall meals.
With the exception of football weekends, the Busch campus is quieter than either College Avenue or Douglass,
though it hosts more than 3,500 students. The BEST (Biology, Engineering, Science, Technology) complex
opened last year including work room spaces with computers loaded with the necessary software for all science
courses. The campus is expansive; any walk to anything, including classes, the student center, dining hall
and the main library is longer from the dorms than it is
on any other campus. The campus could be more bicycle friendly. There are no bike paths along the major
roads between buildings, though bike racks are available outside classroom buildings, labs, the library and
the student center.
The Livingston Campus has a 19th century residential
college layout that uses 1960s building designs featuring
brick concrete buildings and walkways, and little of the
greenery that one might see on a colonial campus. The
original dorms were organized into three low-rise quads,
a similar layout to the more popular dorms on the College Avenue Campus. The Livingston campus was also
designed so that dorms, including a pair of residential
towers constructed in the late seventies, and academic
buildings were all within walking distance. Livingston students can walk to all but the athletic center, the health
center and the gym without crossing a road. The apartment complex, now under construction, will also feature
retail stores and a movie theatre. As a result, this campus will become a much larger social center than it is
now, and one that Rutgers police can more easily secure.
Off-campus rents in New Brunswick and neighboring
Highland Park are high, ranging from $1,200 to $1,800
per month for a two-bedroom apartment; the higher
priced units can accommodate as many as four students, the lower priced ones cannot. The City of New
Brunswick aggressively enforces an ordinance that mandates that no more than three unrelated people can live
23
in an apartment, whether it is in an apartment building or
a single floor of a house. Another off-campus popular
housing option is older—pre- World War II homes closer
to the College Avenue and Douglass Campuses that
vary tremendously in quality. Homes that are located
more than a ten-minute walk from the College Avenue
Campus as well as those bordering the Douglass and
Cook Campuses should be avoided.
24
Community
6
Campus
Environs
School Spirit
Community
Fast Facts
1. Rutgers is more heavily reliant on a campus bus
network than most other large state universities.
2. The campus is divided by a river, two state highways
and an urban downtown business center; few university
campuses are so spread out.
3. The College Avenue campus has been the traditional
social center, though that may be supplanted by the
Livingston campus once new apartments come on-line
this fall.
4. While Rutgers is not a “sports school” like Michigan,
Ohio State or Penn State, students do turn out to
support winning teams.
What’s On and Around Campus
While not everyone who lives on a particular campus majors in a subject that is offered on their campus, living
close to classes is a very practical thing for freshmen
and sophomores. Otherwise they become dependent on
the largest campus bus system on any university campus in the country. Day-time commuting students who do
not live on campus are also asked to park in satellite lots
and ride the buses on campus.
Rutgers is heavily reliant on buses because the campuses are divided by a river (the Raritan), two state highways (Routes 18 and 27) and an urban downtown business center (George Street in New Brunswick). Only
one of these crossings is wide: the John Lynch Bridge
that crosses the Raritan between the College Avenue
campus and the Busch and Livingston Campuses. The
rest are one or two lane roads that become extremely
congested at morning rush hour (between 7:30 and 9:00
AM) and the evening rush hour (between 4:30 and 6:30
26
PM). For this reason, students learn to avoid first and
last period courses away from the campus where they
live. So, for many students, Rutgers is not a “roll out of
bed and head off to class” experience. The divisions between campuses and the dependency on buses force
Rutgers students into one of two mindsets: try to live
close to classes and work and return home in between,
or think like commuters to a big city where you spend
your entire day at classes and work and return home
only at the end of the day to sleep and socialize. It is
very difficult to split a day between two or more campuses.
First-semester freshmen get to know the buses because
they get the last choice of available classes. After choosing courses at a spring orientation, they are assigned
classes based on available space and the time required
to travel between campuses. It is not unusual for them
to have classes on more than one campus on the same
day. Travel between campuses on crowded buses while
juggling a laptop and a latte becomes tiring quickly. After
the first semester, more courses become open to fresh-
men, including night classes that meet once a week and
online classes via the internet.
Because Rutgers has been formed out of multiple
schools and the campus is so expansive, the collective
university lacks big-campus traditions, including “never
say die” support for athletics.
Yet while Rutgers is not a “sports” school along the lines
of those that have played regularly for national titles in
basketball or football, students and alumni will turn out in
large numbers for winning teams. Under former coach
Greg Schiano, the Scarlet Knights played in six bowl
games over the past seven seasons, winning five. Now
head coach of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Schiano was not only the head coach, but also the chief fundraiser for his football program. As the team’s fortunes improved, stadium capacity increased from 41,000 to more
than 55,000 seats, in addition to luxury boxes and improved recruitment and fitness facilities. During the last
six years of his tenure, his teams never ranked below
the top five in the NCAA Academic Performance Ratings. Schiano has been succeeded by Kyle Flood, an as27
sistant for the past seven seasons. Coach Flood inherited a squad that has the talent to win a conference title
in his first season.
Rutgers has also enjoyed success in women’s basketball. Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer has taken her
team to eleven NCAA tournament berths in 14 seasons,
including two appearances in the national championship
game. Stringer, who had previously taken Cheney University (PA) and the University of Iowa to the finals, was
nationally lauded for standing by her team in the wake of
racist comments by radio “shock-jock” Don Imus on the
night before a national championship game in 2008.
Men’s basketball will hopefully ended its downswing with
the hiring of Mike Rice as head coach in 2010. While
head coach Rice has had losing seasons in his first year
at the helm, he has recruited one of the top freshman
classes in the country. However, the men have not appeared in the NCAA tournament in two decades while
they play in one of the most competitive conferences in
the country.
But the Rutgers community will also shy away from
watching losers. While Coach Schiano, for example,
was given credit for his team’s good fortunes, his compensation was also a focal point of criticism in bad
times. Coming off a 4-8 season, alumni and the public
have been offered mini-season packages and single
game discounts for home football games. But, while
other state universities that are traditional football powers ask alumni to make $1,000+ donations when renewing their season tickets, Rutgers does not ask for such
contributions.
In 2010, students contributed $8 million to intercollegiate
sports through their campus fee; the university added
$13 million. While these subsidies have served as an interim step to finance a 22- sport varsity athletic program,
they have also generated resentment from the faculty union leadership and angry remarks through the New Jersey press. A counter-argument is that the revenue
sports help to cover the costs of the facilities, equipment
and medical resources that are also used by athletes
28
who play non-revenue sports. Without football and
men’s basketball providing revenues, more of the costs
of the non-revenue sports might be covered out of donations and student fees.
There is also more sensitivity to promote academic
achievements to counterbalance athletic excellence at
Rutgers than at most other state schools that have long
sports traditions. During the 2007 season, the university
hosted “Huddle with the Faculty” programs before home
games, emulating a seasonal practice at Penn State.
However, Rutgers does not have an on-campus hotel to
host such programs, as Penn State does. This problem
will be remedied when a new hotel-conference complex
is constructed on the Livingston Campus over the next
two years.
Outside of Homecoming and Octoberfest, both associated with football weekends, Rutgers has no fall multicampus events. And, after 39 years, Rutgers has cancelled its spring festival, Rutgersfest. In 2011, effective
social media brought over 40,000 people to the event.
There was an overflow of non-students, including under-
age high school students, onto Easton Avenue, the major college-oriented retail strip near the College Avenue
Campus. The overflow, as well as two off-campus shootings, neither on the campus itself nor involving Rutgers
students, led President McCormick to cancel future Rutgersfests. However, an annual Rutgers Day for students
and alumni, which includes a well-attended Ag Field Day
on the Cook Campus, takes place in late April.
The university community comes together at times when
compassion or activism is required. In October 2010,
nearly 1,000 students gathered in a candlelight vigil for
Tyler Clementi, a gay student who committed suicide after his sexual encounter with another man was secretly
viewed by others. The vigil led to widespread calls for
more civility on campus by President McCormick,
among others. At the end of the same month, the campus held a rally for Eric LeGrand, a football player who
became paralyzed from the neck down after making a
tackle on a kick-off against Army. Led in part by Coach
Schiano, the university community organized many fund-
29
raisers to help LeGrand, who is making a faster-thanexpected recovery from his injuries.
Unlike most flagship state universities which have a central student memorial union, each Rutgers campus has
its own student center with university shops inside, auditoriums and meeting spaces inside—the College Avenue
Campus has two—as well as its own student health center.
Since the university’s campus layout has remained the
same since reorganization, a Rutgers identity is still, at
least for the short term, likely to be tied to the question,
“Which college?” As a result of having multiple campuses, Rutgers has a vast selection of student events as
well as programs open to the public. While The RAC,
with 8,000 seats, is too small to be a concert facility,
larger venues in Newark and New York City are less
than an hour away by train.
But although the individual campuses have a vast selection of events, the College Avenue Campus still fills the
role of social center. It is close to Easton Avenue, the
most student-oriented street in downtown New Brunswick, and the fraternities which are scattered mainly between College Avenue and Union Street, a block away
from the major campus buildings. College Avenue is the
smallest of the five campuses, so it is also the most congested. Downtown parking is very scarce when Thursday night and weekend parties hit full steam.
Eating and drinking places along nearby George Street,
the business center of downtown New Brunswick, cater
more toward the daytime office workers—downtown
New Brunswick is the headquarters for Johnson and
Johnson as well as a county seat—until it meets up with
Livingston Avenue where there is a Rutgers student
apartment complex (Rockoff Hall) close by as well as
three off-Broadway theaters, two affiliated with the university, which host student and professional productions.
The theaters have successfully brought evening crowds
into the downtown as well as providing performance, employment and internship opportunities for Rutgers students. In 1999, one theatre, the Crossroads, received a
Tony Award for lifetime achievement in the AfricanAmerican stage.
30
Guided by Johnson and Johnson’s decision to keep its
corporate headquarters in the downtown in the 1970s,
New Brunswick has witnessed a major commercial revitalization over the past 35 years. While its impacts on
the downtown’s physical appearance have been effective and the theatre district has brought in a new night
life, there are still pockets of discount-oriented shopping
on George Street mixed between high-end restaurants
and luxury apartments, as well as retail vacancies.
While there are student-oriented restaurants on George
Street, there is little to no student-oriented retail shopping.
Rutgers built its public safety building in downtown New
Brunswick, close to the Douglass Campus. The building’s visibility, combined with a 24/7 Security Escort Program and a 100-student equestrian and bicycle Community Officer Program have helped to improve the perception of safety. The department also runs late-night shuttle bus programs. The Public Safety Department posts
three crime reports on its website: two mandated by the
federal Clery Act of 1998; the other, an internal affairs report, is posted by the department. The reported num-
bers of property, alcohol and drug-related crimes have
unfortunately been on an upswing, according to the
school’s Clery Report for 2006 through 2009. The report
also mentioned 13 reported forcible and non-forcible sex
offenses during 2009, though there had been eight total
over the previous two years.
The City of New Brunswick also witnessed an upturn in
violent crimes, including rapes, strong-arm robberies
and aggravated assaults during 2008 and 2009. They
have enforcement powers over students who share
large homes immediately off-campus by College Avenue, Cook and Douglass. The university police and the
local police forces for the six communities that surround
the campus investigate crimes together and post daily
crime alert reports on the Rutgers Public Safety website.
31
Curriculum
7
Academics
Honors Programs
Experiential Learning
Curriculum
Fast Facts
1. Rutgers is one of only 61 U.S. and Canadian
institutions that is a member of the researchoriented Association of American Universities.
2. The Aresty Center for Undergraduate Research
exposes students to research opportunities, even
in the freshman year--and students do not need
to be enrolled in an honors program to
participate.
3. Currently, about half of all freshmen take Byrne
Seminars, one-credit pass-fail courses that
enable students to take a course with a senior
faculty member over a period of ten weeks.
Academic Opportunities and Options
Despite having more limited financial resources than
peer universities, Rutgers has earned its fair share of
high academic rankings. Rutgers is also one of only 61
U.S. and Canadian institutions that is a member of the
research-oriented Association of American Universities;
the university was elected to this prestigious association
in 1989.
Rutgers-New Brunswick offers its freshmen the option to
take Byrne Seminars, one-credit pass-fail courses that
enable students to take a course with a senior faculty
member over a period of ten weeks. Currently half of all
freshmen take Byrne Seminars, says Barry Qualls, the
university’s Vice President for Undergraduate Education.
Credit-bearing Signature Courses, also small clases
planned around special topics, go an extra step further.
Not only do they run a full-semester and carry traditional
grades; they may also be used to fulfill major or Core
Curriculum requirements. These courses cover such top-
33
ics as “Energy and Climate Change”, “The Ethics of
Food Choices and Food Policy,” and “Global East Asia.”
Students in the School of Arts and Sciences, which enrolls approximately two-thirds of the undergraduate student body, must complete a Core Curriculum comprised
around three areas: 21st Century Challenges, Areas of
Inquiry and Cognitive Skills and Processes. The Signature Courses, which are multi-disciplinary, combining, for
example, perspectives of a problem from the standpoint
of science and social science, can be used toward fulfilling two courses under 21st Century Challenges. More
than three dozen Signature courses are available. They
can be used to fulfill requirements in the other areas as
well.
The Areas of Inquiry covers the breath more commonly
found in a liberal arts education including natural sciences (two courses for six credits), Social and Historical
Analysis (two courses for six credits) and Arts and Humanities (two courses for six credits). Cognitive Skills
and Processes cover Writing and Communication (three
courses for nine credits), Quantitative and Formal Rea-
soning (two courses for six credits) and Information Technology and Research (one course for three credits).
While the 39 credits required under the Core Curriculum
are not especially cumbersome, it is a good idea to use
one or two of the Signature Courses to fulfill as many as
three requirements. While these courses are likely to be
more demanding than a more traditional introductory
course, they also provide better preparation for advanced courses in a major or minor. While there may be
academic debate about the value of a “customized”
course for non-majors, especially in mathematics or the
sciences, versus a traditional lecture and laboratory approach supported by out-of-class tutorials, an effort to relate these subjects to other fields of interest or current
events also helps non-majors to become better educated citizens. It also contributes to higher graduation
and retention rates.
Rutgers does more than most schools to encourage students to seek honors-level instruction, even if they are
not first admitted to the University Honors program.
34
Funded with a $4 million gift eight years ago, the Aresty
Center for Undergraduate Research exposes students
to research opportunities, even in the freshman year.
Students who have completed their first year may apply
to a Summer Science Research Program where they
are matched with a faculty member who serves as their
academic and professional mentor. Each student also receives a $3,000 stipend as well as on-campus housing.
Sophomores and juniors may participate in the Aresty
Research Assistant Program, where they may also develop mentor relationships. Juniors and seniors may
seek funding for their own research projects and participate in an Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Sixty percent of Rutgers undergraduates elect to conduct research with faculty members working in collaborative groups or as independent scholars, and these opportunities are not limited to students by major or gradepoint-average.
United Nations Department of Public Information that focuses on diplomacy and foreign affairs.
The reorganization of the university by schools also
made internship and cooperative education opportunities once available only to students at individual schools
accessible to all students. As a complement to these offerings, the university is developing a one-credit passfail seminar taught by Career Services professionals as
well as faculty members.
65 percent of the more than 3,700 faculty members at
Rutgers are full time. Nearly all (99 percent) faculty members, full time and part time, hold a doctorate. The university calculates its student-faculty ratio of 13.6 to 1 based
on the total number of undergraduate and graduate students (38,700) and the number of full-time faculty plus
one-third the number of part-time faculty. This is lower
than most state schools on the East Coast, with the except of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
which is about the same.
There are also more than 60 programs for those who
wish to study abroad as well as a partnership with the
35
Rutgers students gave their faculty a rating of 3.22 out
of 4 on RateMyProfessors. By comparison, among New
Jersey schools, Princeton students gave their faculty a
2.85, TCNJ students a 3.04, Montclair State students a
3.34, Ramapo students a 3.15, Rowan students a 3.18
and Richard Stockton students a 3.25. Rutgers students
had less regard for their faculty than students at the University of Delaware (3.40) though they had higher regard
for them than students at Penn State-University Park
(2.98). They had higher regard for their faculty than
Drexel (2.95), NYU (3.15) and Northeastern (3.05) students did but also in lower regard than students at Boston University (3.35) and George Washington University
(3.34).
Unigo, College Prowler and Students Review. Those students who desire to have little less than a professor to
motivate and instruct them for the full four years should
choose another school. And, while Rutgers has tremendous resources for those who seek them, it is not a
school that will force them upon you.
While Rutgers does offer numerous and exciting academic opportunities, it should also be noted that many
first-year classes are of the traditional lecture-recitation
format where graduate students conduct small group
sessions following a professor’s presentation. Complaints about the English language skills of graduate assistants, especially in the sciences, are commonplace
on student review sites such as Campus Discovery,
36
Connections
8
Alumni Relations
Career Services
Connections
Fast Facts
1. Rutgers has more than 405,000 living alumni, the seventhlargest alumni base in the country.
2. In 2011-12, the Career Services staff met with nearly 12,000
unique student visitors in over 62,000 appointments.
3. Fifty-five percent of recent graduates work in New Jersey
while an additional 10 percent work in New York City.
4. A September, 2010 survey of college recruiters conducted
by the Wall Street Journal ranked Rutgers 21st among all
large universities, public or private, and fifth among
Eastern universities.
5. Alumni association members have access to an extensive
benefits program, including more than 50,000 discounts
that may be obtained just by presenting a member card.
A Network for Life
The career-related programs and services at Rutgers are typical what students would find at universities that charge more
than twice the tuition. It also helps that the campus is within a
45-minute train ride from New York City, one of the largest job
markets in the country, and is approximately an hour and a half
from Philadelphia. New Jersey is also known as the “medicine
chest” of the nation; pharmaceuticals and health care are two of
the leading industries in the Garden State.
Rutgers’ Career Services center maintains offices on the College Avenue and Busch Campuses. Counseling services are
available at both offices, while on-campus interviewing is conducted at Busch. In 2011-12, the Career Services staff met with
nearly 12,000 unique student visitors in over 62,000 appointments.
Fifty-five percent of recent graduates work in New Jersey while
an additional 10 percent work in New York City. In the 2011 senior survey, 31 percent reported offers before graduation, including students who participated in on-campus recruiting. Twentyfive percent continue their education after completing their
bachelor’s degree.
38
Rutgers hosts 11 on-campus job fairs and participates in an online event with the other Big East schools. Two on-campus
events are the January and May New Jersey Collegiate Career
Days, which are open to all New Jersey residents, including students and alumni who attend or graduated from out-of-state
schools.
As many as 180 employers participate in these
events.
The Career Services team also hosts a graduate and professional school fair. The Rutgers Athletic Department also offers a
career development event for student-athletes, who, due to
their training and practice commitments, do not always have
time to attend the other events. 180 companies recruited on
campus during the 2011-12 school year, up from 130 the year
before.
A September 2010 survey of college recruiters conducted by
the Wall Street Journal ranked Rutgers 21st among all large universities, public or private, and fifth among Eastern universities
behind Penn State, Maryland, Carnegie Mellon and Cornell.
The survey also ranked Rutgers third as a source for business
and economics majors, higher than New York University or the
University of Pennsylvania, both of which have been perceived
to have more prestigious business programs. The results of
this survey have value as they are based on comments from
people who actually interview the students. Rutgers has also
launched a Wall Street Initiative whereby 50 students interested
in finance are assigned mentors and counselors while they also
participate in site visits and networking events.
According to Richard White, associate director of career services, the university has also added majors with the needs of the
state’s business community in mind. For example, Rutgers’ biomedical engineering program was designed in part to serve the
needs of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. By
2010, the program graduated 85 seniors and become one of
the 20 most popular courses of study at the university. The major, which started as an offshoot from electrical engineering now
has the 2nd largest enrollment for a program of its kind within an
U.S. engineering school. Rutgers also launched an undergraduate degree in supply chain management that has caught attention from employers as well as an information technology and
informatics program
Following the graduation of the class of 2012, Rutgers has
more than 405,000 living alumni from the Camden, Newark and
New Brunswick campuses, the seventh largest alumni base in
the country. Two-thirds reside between New York and Philadelphia while Chicago and Atlanta also have large young alumni
communities. Collectively, alumni organizations run over 500
events each year, with an increased interest in “send-off”
39
events to welcome incoming freshmen at home before they
start classes.
All Rutgers graduates are life members of the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA). They may join any of 118 charter groups by school, region or special interests. Interest groups
range from former band and glee club members who gather
regularly for their own concerts and reunions to dance and
sports-oriented groups where students and alumni can row
crew or play roller hockey. Similar to the alumni groups structured at prestigious schools such as Stanford, the charters provide a way for alumni to keep in touch with their alma mater
through the activities they enjoyed as students. Association
members have access to an extensive benefits program, including more than 50,000 discounts that may be obtained just by
presenting a member card.
The Rutgers LinkedIn Community has more than 25,000 members, larger than similar communities for Illinois, Maryland, Ohio
State or Wisconsin, though smaller than those of others, including Penn State and NYU. The university’s Facebook page has
more than 16,000 “likes.”
40
Conclusions
9
Summing up Rutgers-New
Brunswick
Conclusions
Rutgers-New Brunswick has the academic breadth one would
find at the most selective public universities while also offering
a larger selection of undergraduate housing options than these
and other peer institutions.
Rutgers is also one of the most ethnically diverse flagship universities in the country, owing in large part to the diversity of
New Jersey. And, being near New York City and Philadelphia, it
is one of the best-located state universities for students and
alumni seeking internship and career opportunities.
No state university is perfect. While Rutgers may be a leastcost option for bright New Jersey students, in-state tuition is
high compared to similar schools, and so is the average net
price, though the out-of-state charges are quite competitive.
Merit scholarship opportunities are limited.
And while the appearance of the nearby downtown has improved dramatically over the last three decades, and Easton
Avenue has the some of the same eating and drinking places
one might find in Berkeley or Madison, New Brunswick does not
have most of the student-oriented shopping options found in
these and other college towns that host a large state university,
and the city may be unsafe after hours.
But overall, the quality of education, as well as the quality of
life, at Rutgers has improved year-by-year under President
42
McCormick’s leadership and should continue to do so under his
successor,Robert Barchi.
A freshman retention rate of 95 percent and a six-year graduation rate of 85 percent, typical of a school such as the University of Michigan, is not beyond possibility, given improvements
in student life, less confusing academic requirements and the
various honors and research opportunities. It makes little sense
for financially strapped students to consider, for example, NYU,
when Rutgers is less expensive and more generous with scholarship aid, while it shares many of the academic, social and cultural advantages of the New York City-based school.
The leading state universities, including Rutgers, also try to protect the history of their campus to ensure that it will wear well
over decades, generations, and for Rutgers, centuries. Alumni
identify with the history; the happiest expect to pass on that
identity to their offspring. Rutgers is not the only large public university that has tried to protect its roots while managing expansion at the same time. However, it may be the only one that has
had to preserve so many of the remnants of a heritage drawn
from much smaller schools.
The leading state universities never remain static as they fulfill
their missions in education, research and public service, making it difficult for any one school to move up any type of national
ranking. Even in the wake of reduced public subsidies, they
must maintain academic excellence more than any publicly sup-
ported institution. The commitments to excellence are noticeable when you travel between the campuses at Rutgers--even
when you are looking through the window of a crowded campus
bus.
To sum up:
Ed Quest’s Report Card: Rutgers-New Brunswick
Freshman
Retention
A
4 YR/6YR
Grad Rates
B+
Costs
B+
ComfortsHousing
A
Strengths
Community
-Campus/
Environs
CurriculumAcademics/
Experiential
Learning
Connection
s-Alumni
Network/
Career
Services
B+
A
A
Weaknesses
Location
High sticker price for a state university
Housing Options
Limited merit-based aid
Diversity
Less of a “college town” atmosphere
than comparable schools
Alumni Base
Not as much of a “sports school” as
Research opportunities-even for comparable universities in the major
freshmen
athletic conferences.
Career services
Sprawling campus forces dependency
Commitment to students from low- on buses
income and middle-income families
through EOF and need-based aid
Successful capital campaign to date
Addition of medical schools will help
academics and reputation as well as
fundraising over the long term
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44
The End
10
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