Rutgers Admission
Rutgers Undergraduate Program
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The Facts

Rutgers University is a large state school located in the town of Piscataway, New Jersey, and is home to over 25,000 undergraduate students and approximately 6,670 graduate and part-time students.  The university is comprised of twelve smaller undergraduate colleges including schools of liberal arts, a land grant environmental college, a women’s college, the performing arts, and many more.  Rutgers offers its students literally hundreds of majors to choose from, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of business, engineering, biological sciences, psychology, and pharmacy.

Admission to Rutgers has grown increasingly competitive over the years as Rutgers has raised the academic bar, and consequently, it’s admissions standards have grown more distinguishing.  Last year over 27,000 students applied for admission and 14,180 students were accepted.  Eventually however, only about 4,717 students actually enrolled for the coming Fall semester.  The admitted students had an average combined SAT ranging from 1110 to 1310, and over 79% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of 3.94. 

The school is quite large, but it has a manageable student to faculty ratio of 15:1, and although the introductory classes are held in large lecture format, the upper level classes are quite small.  Students say
that their professors are all over the map when it comes to accessibility; some professors are too wrapped up in their own research and work to give much time to students.  Conversely however, some students remark that their professors are quite accessible and caring, but they tend to be the younger, less established teachers on campus. Students also say that the academic world at Rutgers is quite competitive, and some students break under the pressure, but in general, students are responsible and eventually learn how to manage their time.

The Social Scene

The small town of Piscataway doesn’t really offer much in the way of entertainment, but no worries; New York City is only about a 45 minute car ride away, and even shorter if you take New Jersey transit.  In fact, many students have cars, and head into the city on the weekends for a bit of fun.  The campus is also quite nice, and the buildings are usually kept quite up to date. 

There are fraternities and sororities on campus, however, students say that it doesn’t really overwhelm on campus life.  They do throw the inevitable rowdy party, which are quite popular with students, but they
are also quite fond of heading off campus to clubs and bars on the weekends.  Students at Rutgers are also known for being quite politically active, and some students joke that a favorite activity is protesting.  Sports are also a big deal at Rutgers, and the Scarlet Knights have been quite successful recently.  Students tend to turn out in big numbers for the football and basketball games, and they are, of course, occasion to party.
The dating scene is quite vibrant at Rutgers; expect a protest date or two with an attractive political activist with a “unique” sense of style.

What's Good

“The academics here are amazing, and you get a fantastic Ivy League education for public school prices.”

“The town is great, nice and small, and if you crave the urban life, the city is near enough.”

“People really know how to balance their partying and their studying.  It’s a nice atmosphere.”

What's Bad

“The dorms are terrible, and sometimes, the heat will go off in the winter, and we have no air conditioning in the summer.”

“The intro classes are way too large, and you don’t get anything out of the classes.”

“The sports here are pretty lame.  People say they’re great, but they’re really nothing special.”

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