Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--Camden | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Patrick

Class: Junior
Major: Neuroscience
Gender: M

High School: West Orange High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The best thing about Rutgers is sheer amount of opportunity it provides, for people of all majors and backgrounds. The school is small enough to have a close-knit group of friends, (especially if you get involved) but large enough "disappear" if you wish. People out of state tend to give Rutgers more credit, while in-state people usually have a baseless negative attitude towards it. I spend most of my time on campus within my clubs and organizations, along with the many libraries available for studying. The many Rutgers campuses offer many different "college campus feels," from the "college-city" feel of New Brunswick to the small college feel of Cook Campus. The Rutgers administration, unfortunately, is reflective of New Jersey itself in that I do feel there is a significant amount of corruption and disregard for the wellbeing of students. Controversies, however, are not too common. School pride is most evident at the football games, a great and exciting way to show Rutgers pride. I'll always remember the experiences I've had volunteering and participating in student organizations, which are all extremely diverse, which brings up another one of Rutgers' strong points. Diversity at Rutgers is unparalled, where people from around the globe come to study. The most frequent student complaint is probably the buses, which can be annoying at times but generally work very well for the amount of students they have to transport in and around the four New Brunswick campuses.

Academic Life

The thing about Rutgers is that professors don't have to know your name if you don't want them to, but at the same time they are for the most part very approachable and willing to help if you need it. My favorite class was probably Molecular Biology/Biochemistry, where I had a very passionate and dedicated professor who made daily connections to every day life from the world of biochemistry. My least favorite class was by far Calculus I, because I unfortunately got a very bad professor (which is a bit uncommon, I must say; I've generally liked all my other professors) Student studying time really depends on what major you take; science majors tend to do a lot more studying than liberal arts majors. Class participation is very important for many professors, despite the sometimes large class sizes. Rutgers students overall are very intelligent and down-to-earth people; they're smart but not intellectually "snooty" or "snobbish" Students within science programs are generally the most competitive. The most unique class I've taken is my psychology class, which is more of a therapy session than a class. My major, Cell Biology and Neuroscience, has many dedicated and well-trained scientists, all of whom currently conduct research within the field, enabling them to be extremely knowledgeable and make connections within the classroom. Rutgers academic requirements are manageable, but must not be taken lightly; many students do not graduate on time because they make poor decisions in what classes to take and/or have to re-take classes because they failed them. Learning is both for its own sake and job seeking; there is a nice balance at Rutgers.

Student Body

Because of its diversity, Rutgers has a very open and accepting community comprised of people from all walks of life. There's something for everyone at Rutgers, and I can't imagine someone would have a difficult time finding people to associate with. Most students dress very casually for class. Tables in the Busch Campus dining hall tend to be more segregated (the campus has many international students, who generally tend to keep to themselves) but the rest of Rutgers is extremely integrated and diverse. Rutgers students are from all over the globe, but mostly from within the state of New Jersey. Students are politically active, and tend to be left leaning (as with most colleges across the country) Students are generally down-to-earth and not concerned with things such as earning lots of money some day.