Saturday, August 17, 2013

Sports & Activities

Rutgers University fields 27 Division 1 sports teams. Many of the teams have games or meets on campus and students are always welcome to attend for free. I'm a football fanatic, so that pretty much seals the deal for me.
RU-Rah-Rah!
In addition to D-1 athletics, Rutgers also offers several club sports and intramural sports. Club sports require a bit more commitment than intramurals- many of the teams travel for meets and players often pay dues. These sports can range in anything from Ice Hockey (Men's and Women's) to Performing Dance.

I participated in the Rutgers Performing Dance Company (RPDC), which is a club sport. We did have to pay dues and fund-raise, but at the end of each semester we had two company shows on campus. It was a lot of fun and I met so many great people. Most club sports are open to beginners interested in the activity as well as more experienced athletes. RPDC ranks dances in terms of skill levels, so there are dances for people who have little to no experience, dances for those who have danced most of their lives, and dances for everyone in between. Most club sports practice a few times a week depending on the club. Each dance in RPDC had one practice a week.

In the dressing room before a show at the NJ State Theater in New Brunswick!
Rutgers Recreation runs the intramural teams. Intramural sports are less intense than their D-1 or club counterparts. Teams do not have to travel; they play against their classmates in matches at campus rec centers. RU Recreation supplies all the equipment needed for matches (unless you want to bring your own). These are usually fun ways to hang out with your friends and you have the potential for bragging rights if you win the intramural championship at the end of the season.

If you're not athletically-inclined, Rutgers has 400+ student-run organizations. A great way to find organizations is at the Involvement Fair in August (or the smaller fair in January). Most organizations, including club sports, academic clubs, and Greek Life have a table at the fair and you can sign up for emails, pick up flyers, or get some free stuff (I personally love the free pens). It's a big deal and I would recommend getting there early because it can get busy. If there's an activity you're interested in that isn't represented at Rutgers, you can always start your own organization.

There really is an activity for everyone at Rutgers, whatever your interests may be.

Good Eats

When I worked as a School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program Ambassador, I think one of the questions I heard most frequently was: How is the food? One of my fellow ambassadors literally smacked his lips when he answered this question. I think it was his favorite question to answer. It was kind of hilarious. But the food is good!

As a first-year student living on campus, you will be required to have a meal plan. Every time you eat at a Rutgers Dining location, you will swipe your Rutgers ID to use the pre-paid meals on your plan.

Rutgers- New Brunswick has 4 campuses: Cook/Douglass, College Ave, Busch, and Livingston. Each of these campuses has a dining hall and one of the favored past-times of students is to debate which campus has the best. Personally, I say Busch is the best, but there are soooo many people who would argue that Livingston or Cook/Douglass are better. The food is pretty much the same on each campus, but I guess there are different things about the ambiance at each that everyone likes better.

Cook/Douglass
The dining hall on Cook/Douglass is the Neilson Dining Hall. This dining hall is a bit smaller than the other three, mostly because of the smaller number of residence halls on that campus.


Pros: Smoothie station is open more frequently than its Busch counterpart (only these two dining halls have one), more likely to find shorter lines, close to several first-year dorms, simple and easy take-out station near separate entrance
Cons: Poor serving station set-up which can sometimes cause congestion, far from some dorms and apartments on campus (namely Jameson Hall)

Cook/Douglass is also home to two student center grills which both accept meal swipes. The Douglass Grill in the DCC (Douglass Campus Center) is alright- I used to eat there often when I lived in Jameson because it was across the street. There is also a Pizzeria Uno that you can swipe at, but I wouldn't recommend it for pizza-lovers. I much preferred the Cook Cafe in the CCC (Cook Campus Center), which makes some really delicious patty melts, wraps, and sweet potato fries (yum!). The DCC also has a Dunkin' Donuts, which accepts RU Express (Rutgers debit account linked to your student ID), but not meal swipes.

College Ave
The dining hall on College Ave is called Brower Commons. This dining hall is pretty large, but it can fill up pretty quickly at peak dining hours.


Pros: Good location, great for take-out in-between classes (which I took advantage of often when I had back-to-back classes on College Ave during lunch time), awesome ice cream/fro-yo station with more options than other campuses, separated service areas decrease congestion, lots of drink stations
Cons: It can get really noisy, the pre-cooked food is alright, the pizza

The Rutgers Student Center (RSC) has a large food court with restaurants like Subway, Wendy's, King Pita Palace (yum! the owner, Mike, is the best), Currito, Au Bon Pain, and Gerlanda's. Unfortunately, you can't use meal swipes at these vendors, but you can use RU Express. There are also a ton of restaurants on Easton Ave and in downtown New Brunswick, some of which take RU Express.

The Rutgers Club
The Rutgers Club is also another great option for more-upscale dining. On Mondays and Thursdays you can use a meal swipe and pay an additional $2 to get a fantastic buffet dinner! Reservations are required; the first is at 5pm and the last is at 7:30pm. It is really, really yummy food. You should try it at least once!

Busch
The dining hall on Busch is... Busch Dining Hall. Yeah, they got a lot less creative on the newer campuses, lol. This dining hall is HUGE. They just put an addition on a few years ago. It's my personal favorite dining hall.


Pros: Well-designed, lots of serving stations and options, the salad bar, lots of tables, lots of drink stations
Cons: Not a great location if you're coming from class (it's convenient to some residence halls and close to a major bus stop), the take-out line is right off the main entrance and it can get congested at times

Busch Campus Center (BCC) has a food court as well, but you can't use meal swipes there. The food court includes Szechwan Ichiban, Moe's Southwest Grill, Burger King, and Gerlanda's. On the nearby medical campus, Woody's accepts meal swipes as well; it is located in the Kessler Teaching Building.

Livingston
The Livingston dining hall is called Livingston Dining Commons. This is the newest dining hall and it is a whole lot better than its predecessor, Tillett. It's a really good dining hall and a lot of people consider it their favorite. It is very good, I just like Busch a little bit more.


Pros: Burger bar!! (honestly, this is the best thing ever- you order your burger on a touch screen and they serve it in a basket with fries), fireside lounge, new, completely separate entrance for take-out
Cons: The serving area can get a little busy, all the seating areas are separated and you have to walk around if you can't find a seat

The Livingston Student Center (LSC) has a few dining vendors in their food court. Dunkin' Donuts does not accept meal swipes, but take RU Express. The Rock Cafe and Sbarro's accept meal swipes. There are also a lot of vendors coming soon to the Livingston Retail Plaza, including Starbucks, Kilmer Market, etc. all of which will probably accept RU Express, but not meal swipes.

Mobile Eats
Rutgers recently opened a new place for food, the Knight Wagon. The Knight Wagon is a food truck that sells self-described "gastro-pub" food. It's an upgrade from the super fried, super unhealthy (and yet somehow still tasty) grease trucks which recently vacated the Scott Hall parking lot this week. The food truck travels between campuses each day. They do accept meal swipes and the menu is really, really yummy. I highly recommend stopping by for a "Twisted Gyro" Burger... or pretty much anything on the menu.

Where will Rutgers take you?

There are many opportunities for travel available at Rutgers University. From classes with travel components to volunteer trips to study abroad, you are sure to find something that fits your needs.

Many classes offer field trips to different places in the area. Depending on the subject matter and professor, you might be able to take trips to NYC, Philadelphia, nature preserves, or other museums and icons in the region. Some classes might even offer international trips during breaks.

Rutgers has several volunteer organizations that make many trips to different places. Where you travel will probably depend on your group. There are organizations like Habitat for Humanity on campus that take trips to different work sites in NJ. An organization started by students in connection with the Embrace Kids Foundation are biking from NJ to Florida right now.

One of the most exciting organizations, in my opinion, is Alternative Breaks. Alternative Breaks runs programs during select fall weekends and winter, spring, and summer breaks. Most are trips within the US to locations both near and far from NJ. Last year there were trips to Brooklyn, California, and even a trip to South America--the first international Alternative Break!

You do have to apply to participate and if you're accepted you must attend a semester-long "class" to learn more about your fellow volunteers and the area where you and your group will travel and work. I participated in the program during my senior year and went to Biloxi, MS in January 2013. It was a really great experience and was wonderful to meet so many great Rutgers students and help so many people. I would highly recommend getting involved in Alternative Breaks early. If you really love your experience, you can apply again to be a site leader for the next year.

We  cleaned up tons of garbage that had been dumped in a creek bed.
We volunteered for a day at the Boys & Girls Club of Biloxi, MS.
At the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch on our day off.
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At the beach on our last day.

Study Abroad
The Rutgers University Center for Global Education also offers numerous international options. There are more traditional semester- or year-long programs throughout the globe, but they also offer summer or winter trips and even international service learning programs. ISL programs are community-service based programs offered for class credit. Some programs are run directly by Rutgers University, while others are run through third-party organizations like CIEE. All the programs are unique and have their own pros and cons.

The Este castle in Ferrara, Italy.
I studied abroad in the Spring 2012 semester in Ferrara, Italy. Tuition costs depend on the program- there are some that are less than, equal to, or more than the cost at Rutgers. Because my program was run by CIEE, the cost of tuition was a little more than Rutgers' tuition. The additional cost in my tuition went towards several built-in components, such as a 5-day trip to Sicily, a day-trip to Verona, monthly group dinners, and living arrangements (either home-stay with a local family or an apartment with other students in the program). If you want to read more about my experiences, I kept a blog.

All 5 RU students in Sicily.
Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet.
Yummy cappellacci, a traditional Ferrarese dish served at one of our group dinners.
My apartment entryway at 93 via Montebello.
My bedroom in our 2-bedroom apartment.
Studying abroad is a fantastic opportunity to live outside your comfort zone and learn about different cultures firsthand. If you study with one of the programs offered by Rutgers (including CIEE and third-party programs listed in the catalog), your credits will all transfer as general academic credits. You can also translate these credits towards a major or minor through your department.

The Center for Global Education also offers many scholarships to Rutgers students, so finances should not be a deciding factor against study abroad. Their website additionally lists third-party scholarship websites not connected with the school.

If you're thinking about studying abroad, go to the office and talk to some of the advisors. Anyone with any major can study abroad! Don't say you need to study in an English-speaking country to take classes in English.  Don't say you can't study abroad if you're a sciences major or an engineer! It may take a bit more planning, but everyone can and everyone should go. If you have any doubts, talk to an advisor- they are happy to answer questions and help you plan.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Location, location, transportation

The Rutgers-New Brunswick campus is located in New Brunswick and Piscataway. Although the campus is relatively large and spread-out, Rutgers University provides a huge bus system to its students which really makes transportation very easy. The Rutgers-NB bus system is actually the second-largest in the state, (NJ Transit is first and you can catch one of their buses at some locations on campus). The bus system can seem intimidating, but after your first week you should get the hang of it.



Two of the state's leadings hospitals, St. Peter's and Robert Wood Johnson, are located in New Brunswick. Neither are on the main bus routes, but the New Brunswick Shuttle does drop you off near RWJ. You don't really need a bus to get there, thought- it's an easy walk.

The College Avenue campus is only a few minutes' walk (or a short bus ride) away from downtown New Brunswick or Easton Avenue, where most of the best restaurants are located. Douglass and Cook residents can walk to both, but it will take a bit longer. Plus there's a bus that runs between the two and stops in downtown.

New Brunswick and Piscataway are a great location to connect to several highways. The NJ Turnpike is only a few minutes' drive away, as well as Route 287, Route 1, and Route 18, which serves as the main road between campuses.

Walk up to the train platform from College Ave.
Most importantly, located at the very end of College Avenue is the New Brunswick Train Station. New York City is only about a 45 minute train ride away and Philadelphia about an hour and a half. The short train ride to two of the East Coast's biggest cities is a great opportunity for internships or part-time jobs for students. It's also great for any out-of-state students looking to do a bit of sight-seeing.

Of course there are any number of places you can go via train, including Newark Airport and Princeton, for example. I interned in Princeton during my senior year. The ability to take a 25 minute train ride or drive for about the same amount of time on Route 18 was really great. I have also taken the train to Newark Airport for trips with university groups, and I know many international and out-of-state students take advantage of the train as well.

Research

According to Rutgers University statistics, 60% of undergraduate students engage in original research. There are tons of opportunities to participate in research, no doubt due to the high concentration of research institutions and centers at the school (up to 300!).

The Aresty Research Center is dedicated to undergraduate research. They have several different programs you can apply to at any time during your college career. I know several students who did summer research programs following their first year at RU. The Aresty-Byrne Program is actually dedicated to giving first-year students hands-on research experience while taking a Byrne Seminar.

Aresty also helps students find faculty mentors and funding for their research. Most of the students in these programs display their research findings at the Aresty Undergraduate Research Symposium in the spring. The Symposium is a combination of poster presentations and panel discussions, usually when a large number of student-researchers were involved. I did not participate in any Aresty Programs during my four years at Rutgers, but I did present my senior thesis at the Symposium. It was a great culmination to my two-year research project!

This was the design of my poster:
It might seem small, but Aresty printed it on a 3' by 4' poster, which was very impressive looking.

There are other opportunities to participate in research outside Aresty. Many professors look for research assistants in the summer and during the school year. You don't need to apply to Aresty to work with them. If you're interested in the research one of your professor is conducting, you can always ask about opportunities to work with them. You can also look for summer jobs working in labs and research facilities on campus. There are so many to choose from, depending on what your interests are. One of the centers I toured at my summer job (Douglass Science Institute Resident Assistant) was the Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, where they research spinal cord injuries.

There is also the option to write a senior thesis. Most of the time students write theses for departmental honors, so the project type depends on your major or minor. Usually students can choose their own topic, but sometimes it depends on the research of your faculty advisor.

I took the opportunity to write an Interdisciplinary Honors Thesis with the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Honors Program. This was a really neat project because I picked the topic myself and tied it to quite a few disciplines. The downside of all independent research is you have to find your own advisors, which can be really tough, but don't be afraid to asks your professors! I talked to a bunch of people about advising my project. Unfortunately the one professor I had in geography was on sabbatical when I started my research, but he recommended another professor who was absolutely amazing and helped me identify a secondary advisor in Art History. (Only interdisciplinary theses require two advisors because they are not completed in multiple disciplines.)

The topic I finally settled on was "The Urban Morphology of the Italian Piazza: A Case Study of Ferrara, Italy." I wanted to relate my research to my two majors (Italian and European Studies) and to incorporate my study abroad experience. My thesis was inspired by one of the classes I took for European Studies about the geography of Europe. I researched four piazzas in Ferrara, Italy, where I studied abroad. I was able to incorporate most of my ethnographic observations and many of my personal photographs into my final draft, which is now in the Honors Program collection as well as the Alexander Library Archives. (Departmental theses are stored in their departments.)

Thursday, August 15, 2013

For First Years Only

Whatever university you attend, you probably won't be able to take certain classes because you don't have the prerequisites or the class is full, etc. There aren't many universities that design and offer classes specifically (and exclusively!) for first-year students. Rutgers does.

First-year students can choose from a selection of Byrne Seminars and First-year Interest Group Seminars (FIGS) during their first two semesters at Rutgers. Both classes are one-credit, pass/fail options. Byrne Seminars are taught on a specific topic by university professors and usually relate to original research being conducted by that faculty member. They are offered in both the spring and fall, although some seminars are only offered during one session. FIGS are subject-based seminars taught by upperclassmen who are involved in that area of study and are only available to first-years in the fall. 

Byrne Seminars can range in topic in anything from Bruce Springstein's Theology to Harry Potter and Behavioral Genetics (no really, you can actually take classes like this!). FIGS are less-specialized topics such as Nutrition or Foreign Languages & Linguistics. If you're not sure about a major or you want to learn more about a discipline, these are great ways to explore your options! 

Some of these seminars even have field trips, participate hands-on in research, or share meals with their professors and classmates. Each class is limited to 20-25 students, which means they are all small enough for you to get to know your professor personally and participate in class discussions. 

My first semester I wasn't able to fit a Byrne Seminar, but I took one in the spring about the death penalty. It was definitely interesting and the professor was really great. I had the same professor a few years later, so it was great to get to know a faculty member early in my academic career. I wasn't able to participate in a FIGS due to scheduling conflicts, but I really wish I had!

The Stats

There are a lot of statistics that are important to a college decision. While I think they are less important to a decisions than other considerations, they can be helpful information. Here are a few significant statistics about Rutgers to think about:
  • 4 main campuses throughout New Jersey (Rutgers-New Brunswick has 4 additional sub-campuses)
  • 33 schools & colleges
  • 100+ majors, 120+ minors, 200+ graduate programs to choose from
  • Financial aid received by over 80% of students
  • More than 14,000 students received degrees in May 2013 (including me!)
  • More than 60% of undergraduate students participate in original research
  • Rutgers is the only public NJ school to be part of the AAU, an association of 62 of the leading research universities in the nation
  • Over 400 student-run organizations
There are no doubt a thousand more statistics I could throw at you, but numbers don't really speak to me. After all, every one of those statistics had a unique experience at this university and could share their own stories. 

Instead of trying to overload you with statistics, I'd like to share some unique experiences and programs at the university.