Anonymous
02/23/2026 17:11
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
It is only known because of that Nappy comment made many years ago.
Maryland kids who cant get into UMD would rather go UDELL, Viginia Tech, Penn State or Pitt. Mabye even UMASS Amherst.
Rutgers is not very pretty or in a real college town.
SUNY New Paltz is a way cooler school if doing a state school for less.
Maryland kids who cant get into UMD would rather go UDELL, Viginia Tech, Penn State or Pitt. Mabye even UMASS Amherst.
Rutgers is not very pretty or in a real college town.
SUNY New Paltz is a way cooler school if doing a state school for less.
Anonymous
02/23/2026 16:48
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Rutgers is viewed in higher regard than UMD in NYC, but probably not in DC area. Consider them peer schools, with a slight edge to Rutgers for business, law, premed and engineering - UMD better for teaching, nursing, and social sciences. Rutgers much better location with proximity to NYC, and a lively social landscape. IMO Rutgers all day every day over UMD
Not sure where you get your information.
USNWR
BUSINESS
Undergrad
UMD 24
Rutgers 77
Grad
UMD 52
Rutgers 53
LAW
UMD 63
Rutgers 104
ENGINEERING
Undergrad
UMD 21
Rutgers 50
Grad
UMD 18
Rutgers 72
I have no affiliation with either school, but when I saw that statement, I knew it couldn't be close to true, so thank you PP for looking it up.
Anonymous
02/23/2026 14:32
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I would not send my kid unless in state tuition and kind of commuting from home in NJ. Most people are from NJ and hang out with their highschool friends. I think as like a commuter school it could make sense. New Brunswick can be pretty dicey. The off campus housing/slumlord situation is not safe feeling. Walking home from some of the more remote locations for classes can feel very very unsafe. Taking a long bus ride to the disjointed different areas of the 'campus' is draining. Again, if I had a kid from NJ who wanted to come home a lot on the weekends, hang out with high school friends, and all for a great price, okay. Or a kid who blew it in high school and as an in state kid is able to get in as a transfer after a year elsewhere, great deal again. That kid is at a reach school for a great price. Otherwise, no. And yes NJ is not that proud of Rutgers. It's the kind of place hardworking kids go to just get their education and move on with life. It's not a college experience.
-100
This poster is ridiculous. I went to RU and had a great time, it was a true college experience, I made tons of friends and didn’t hang out with anyone from HS. Yes it’s a disjointed campus but you just got used to taking buses as needed.
NJ is absolutely proud of its school.
My DC is at UMD and while it’s a great school, College Park is just okay. Being close to DC is nice but nothing like being close to NYC.
PP here, I went to RU too and am from NJ. I wouldn't want any kids from the DC area going unaware to Rutgers. Maybe if they have family nearby? But if I'm ridiculous, that's good news to me-- I have a soft spot in my heart for Rutgers, am proud I went there, and grateful for the opportunities it gave me. I would love it if Rutgers had become a UMich and I just didn't notice. I did visit recently, and still I just don't see it as like a UVa, UMich or even UMD experience.
Anonymous
02/23/2026 10:15
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
A couple of years ago, I took my son to look at Rutgers. We are from Pennsylvania. His grades were good but not great. So, I had no idea what was possible. He wanted a big sports school because he had cousins at Ohio State but he didn't like Penn State. I was guessing it was going to be an easier admit than Ohio State or Penn State but a similarly ranked/viewed school. He didn't like it. It was much more urban than we thought it was going to be. There was a lot of construction too at the time. It just appeared very busy. And this was over the summer.
Anonymous
02/23/2026 09:41
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I would not send my kid unless in state tuition and kind of commuting from home in NJ. Most people are from NJ and hang out with their highschool friends. I think as like a commuter school it could make sense. New Brunswick can be pretty dicey. The off campus housing/slumlord situation is not safe feeling. Walking home from some of the more remote locations for classes can feel very very unsafe. Taking a long bus ride to the disjointed different areas of the 'campus' is draining. Again, if I had a kid from NJ who wanted to come home a lot on the weekends, hang out with high school friends, and all for a great price, okay. Or a kid who blew it in high school and as an in state kid is able to get in as a transfer after a year elsewhere, great deal again. That kid is at a reach school for a great price. Otherwise, no. And yes NJ is not that proud of Rutgers. It's the kind of place hardworking kids go to just get their education and move on with life. It's not a college experience.
-100
This poster is ridiculous. I went to RU and had a great time, it was a true college experience, I made tons of friends and didn’t hang out with anyone from HS. Yes it’s a disjointed campus but you just got used to taking buses as needed.
NJ is absolutely proud of its school.
My DC is at UMD and while it’s a great school, College Park is just okay. Being close to DC is nice but nothing like being close to NYC.
People aren't going into the city every weekend, though. The disjointed campus is a turn off for many. My niece hated taking the bus to class, and during the winter (like the arctic freeze we had a few weeks ago), she would not bother going to class because she didn't want to wait for the bus outside.
Rutgers and UMD are probably on par, but IMO, UMD campus layout is much better.
Anonymous
02/23/2026 08:02
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:I would not send my kid unless in state tuition and kind of commuting from home in NJ. Most people are from NJ and hang out with their highschool friends. I think as like a commuter school it could make sense. New Brunswick can be pretty dicey. The off campus housing/slumlord situation is not safe feeling. Walking home from some of the more remote locations for classes can feel very very unsafe. Taking a long bus ride to the disjointed different areas of the 'campus' is draining. Again, if I had a kid from NJ who wanted to come home a lot on the weekends, hang out with high school friends, and all for a great price, okay. Or a kid who blew it in high school and as an in state kid is able to get in as a transfer after a year elsewhere, great deal again. That kid is at a reach school for a great price. Otherwise, no. And yes NJ is not that proud of Rutgers. It's the kind of place hardworking kids go to just get their education and move on with life. It's not a college experience.
-100
This poster is ridiculous. I went to RU and had a great time, it was a true college experience, I made tons of friends and didn’t hang out with anyone from HS. Yes it’s a disjointed campus but you just got used to taking buses as needed.
NJ is absolutely proud of its school.
My DC is at UMD and while it’s a great school, College Park is just okay. Being close to DC is nice but nothing like being close to NYC.
Anonymous
02/23/2026 00:03
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Rutgers is viewed in higher regard than UMD in NYC, but probably not in DC area. Consider them peer schools, with a slight edge to Rutgers for business, law, premed and engineering - UMD better for teaching, nursing, and social sciences. Rutgers much better location with proximity to NYC, and a lively social landscape. IMO Rutgers all day every day over UMD
Not sure where you get your information.
USNWR
BUSINESS
Undergrad
UMD 24
Rutgers 77
Grad
UMD 52
Rutgers 53
LAW
UMD 63
Rutgers 104
ENGINEERING
Undergrad
UMD 21
Rutgers 50
Grad
UMD 18
Rutgers 72
Anonymous
02/22/2026 20:57
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Rutgers is viewed in higher regard than UMD in NYC, but probably not in DC area. Consider them peer schools, with a slight edge to Rutgers for business, law, premed and engineering - UMD better for teaching, nursing, and social sciences. Rutgers much better location with proximity to NYC, and a lively social landscape. IMO Rutgers all day every day over UMD[/quote]
in nyc. My niece went to Rutgers, and they hated how spread out it was.
I went to Rutgers for grad school and was happy. But, I had a car. It is very spread out, and it would have been a pain to get around solely relying on the university bus system. I really enjoyed taking the bus or NJ transit train to NYC!
Anonymous
02/22/2026 20:47
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Rutgers is viewed in higher regard than UMD in NYC, but probably not in DC area. Consider them peer schools, with a slight edge to Rutgers for business, law, premed and engineering - UMD better for teaching, nursing, and social sciences. Rutgers much better location with proximity to NYC, and a lively social landscape. IMO Rutgers all day every day over UMD[/quote]
in nyc. My niece went to Rutgers, and they hated how spread out it was.
Anonymous
02/22/2026 19:01
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One of the notable things about the best public universities is how much love these school get in-state - UC Berkeley and UCLA, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia. People in those states take a lot of pride in their public universities.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of love for Rutgers within New Jersey. I figure the people of New Jersey know best.
Why tho?
Rutgers is excellent, but the full cost of attendance for an in-state student without any aid is about $45,000 per year.
So, sending a student there may cost a family with an income of about $150,000 to $200,000 about as much as sending the student to a SUNY school, Arizona State or a private LAC with some merit aid.
The cost means that Rutgers isn’t a great default financial safety option for New Jersey families, even though it’s a fine school.
This may be statistically accurate, but there has been real distress among NJ families on reddit who believed that, based upon the past, that EA to Rutgers was a safety, but then learned that it no longer is after Rutgers went to the Common App.
Anonymous
02/22/2026 18:12
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Rutgers is viewed in higher regard than UMD in NYC, but probably not in DC area. Consider them peer schools, with a slight edge to Rutgers for business, law, premed and engineering - UMD better for teaching, nursing, and social sciences. Rutgers much better location with proximity to NYC, and a lively social landscape. IMO Rutgers all day every day over UMD
Anonymous
02/22/2026 16:33
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One of the notable things about the best public universities is how much love these school get in-state - UC Berkeley and UCLA, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia. People in those states take a lot of pride in their public universities.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of love for Rutgers within New Jersey. I figure the people of New Jersey know best.
Why tho?
Rutgers is excellent, but the full cost of attendance for an in-state student without any aid is about $45,000 per year.
So, sending a student there may cost a family with an income of about $150,000 to $200,000 about as much as sending the student to a SUNY school, Arizona State or a private LAC with some merit aid.
The cost means that Rutgers isn’t a great default financial safety option for New Jersey families, even though it’s a fine school.
Yes, this and it's in the center of the state, so nearly everyone lives <1 hour away, which is fine if that appeals to you, but many kids would like to explore something a bit further away. So, expensive in-state + too close to home + non-contiguous campus with bussing required between locations. Many NJ residents end up commuting into NYC or Philly. No point doing it during college too.
Plus very strong public education throughout the state means high SAT scores, many competitive students who can get merit aid to explore a more immersive residential campus in another state.
Anonymous
02/22/2026 16:15
Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One of the notable things about the best public universities is how much love these school get in-state - UC Berkeley and UCLA, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia. People in those states take a lot of pride in their public universities.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of love for Rutgers within New Jersey. I figure the people of New Jersey know best.
Why tho?
Rutgers is excellent, but the full cost of attendance for an in-state student without any aid is about $45,000 per year.
So, sending a student there may cost a family with an income of about $150,000 to $200,000 about as much as sending the student to a SUNY school, Arizona State or a private LAC with some merit aid.
The cost means that Rutgers isn’t a great default financial safety option for New Jersey families, even though it’s a fine school.