Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 14:34     Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
One of their fraternities was just shut down for hazing (and the building had more than 19 code violations.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 14:26     Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:Took my DS to see it a few years ago. Wanted to see it since I thought it would have been an academic match. Essentially, an easier admit OOS than Ohio State but still has Big 10 sports. He hated it.

Not sure why exactly. He is at Pitt and loves it, so he does like urban schools.


Unlike Pitt or Ohio State, it's a very disjointed campus which results in less community.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 14:22     Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Took my DS to see it a few years ago. Wanted to see it since I thought it would have been an academic match. Essentially, an easier admit OOS than Ohio State but still has Big 10 sports. He hated it.

Not sure why exactly. He is at Pitt and loves it, so he does like urban schools.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 14:09     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is another reason why the US News rankings for publics are bunk: Rutgers with its 66% acceptance rate is not BC, Tufts, or BU, though it is ranked essentially the same. Not. Even. Close.


I’ll never understand DCUM. In one breath it “T10/25/50” blah blah blah and in the next breath it’s “oh those rankings suck and mean nothing and are totally wrong.”


It’s very easy to understand.

DCuM points to socially acceptable schools for UMC snobs and says “it’s not because of race/class, they are objectively ranked higher academically”

If a school that isn’t socially acceptable gets in the top ranks for actual academics, well, rankings can be gamed and aren’t everything.

Rutgers is in the wrong part of New Jersey (uncool), puts academics over sports (don’t roll that tide) and has a lot of first generation / brown students who are treated equally and not as charity cases.

Severe “not our kind dear” problems.

University of Alabama on the other hand is super white and socially exclusive, so it’s easy to overlook rankings (100 places below Rutgers) well it’s a wonderful bargain!!!







Well, to be fair, we don't like Rutgers (due to campus only) and Alabama. But I'd rather my kid be at Rutgers if we have to pick one or the other.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 14:06     Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:I think the issue with Rutgers is that the campus is split up and kids have to take buses to get to campus. Not the end of the world, but makes it less attractive for kids who aren’t getting in state tuition,


This. My kid toured recently and was very turned off by the campus.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 14:04     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is another reason why the US News rankings for publics are bunk: Rutgers with its 66% acceptance rate is not BC, Tufts, or BU, though it is ranked essentially the same. Not. Even. Close.


I’ll never understand DCUM. In one breath it “T10/25/50” blah blah blah and in the next breath it’s “oh those rankings suck and mean nothing and are totally wrong.”


It’s very easy to understand.

DCuM points to socially acceptable schools for UMC snobs and says “it’s not because of race/class, they are objectively ranked higher academically”

If a school that isn’t socially acceptable gets in the top ranks for actual academics, well, rankings can be gamed and aren’t everything.

Rutgers is in the wrong part of New Jersey (uncool), puts academics over sports (don’t roll that tide) and has a lot of first generation / brown students who are treated equally and not as charity cases.

Severe “not our kind dear” problems.

University of Alabama on the other hand is super white and socially exclusive, so it’s easy to overlook rankings (100 places below Rutgers) well it’s a wonderful bargain!!!





Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 13:31     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rutgers has an honors college. Is that new? Is that a draw for students?


There was one in the 80s. Not sure if it's the same.

Rutgers is never mentioned because it's the state school of NJ. The equivalent here would be UVA, VA Tech, UMD, etc. which are mentioned frequently.


Rutgers is much better known than UMD.

Except in Maryland.


UMD alum. I know so many out of state NJ kids from college. I think it’s the campus vibe (or lack thereof) at Rutgers.

One of my kid's UMD roommate is from NJ. My nephew went to Rutgers. I think both are good schools, but UMD campus is much better than Rutgers, which is way to spread out. My nephew said sometimes he'd skip classes in the winter because he didn't want to wait for the bus to take him to the other side campus.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 13:29     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rutgers has an honors college. Is that new? Is that a draw for students?


There was one in the 80s. Not sure if it's the same.

Rutgers is never mentioned because it's the state school of NJ. The equivalent here would be UVA, VA Tech, UMD, etc. which are mentioned frequently.


Rutgers is much better known than UMD.

Except in Maryland.

Um.. UMD is Top 20 for CS.
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 12:57     Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Rutgers is mentioned daily here. Many many times!
Anonymous
Post 10/27/2025 12:53     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rutgers has an honors college. Is that new? Is that a draw for students?


There was one in the 80s. Not sure if it's the same.

Rutgers is never mentioned because it's the state school of NJ. The equivalent here would be UVA, VA Tech, UMD, etc. which are mentioned frequently.


Rutgers is much better known than UMD.

Except in Maryland.


UMD alum. I know so many out of state NJ kids from college. I think it’s the campus vibe (or lack thereof) at Rutgers.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2024 01:17     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
It's a good public flagship but nothing to write home about. There's plenty of similar public flagships that are overlooked similarly for example the University of Minnesota and Ohio State.

Public flagships are generally talked about here if they are in the top 5 (Berkeley, Michigan, etc.), or top tier in the desired field of study (Purdue and Georgia Tech for engineering, Washington for CS, etc.).

Because otherwise the in-state tuition really is not worth it.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2024 00:49     Subject: Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:It has a weirdly low profile even in NJ. I live near Philly and nobody from our HS goes there, even though it is relatively close. U Del on the other hand is hugely popular.


Everyone in NYC knows it. I think it's part of the north/south Jersey split--more on the NY side than the Philadelphia side. Also suspect Delaware is cheaper and easier to get in.
Anonymous
Post 01/27/2024 00:47     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rutgers has an honors college. Is that new? Is that a draw for students?


There was one in the 80s. Not sure if it's the same.

Rutgers is never mentioned because it's the state school of NJ. The equivalent here would be UVA, VA Tech, UMD, etc. which are mentioned frequently.


Rutgers is much better known than UMD.

Except in Maryland.
Anonymous
Post 01/26/2024 20:04     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rutgers has an honors college. Is that new? Is that a draw for students?


There was one in the 80s. Not sure if it's the same.

Rutgers is never mentioned because it's the state school of NJ. The equivalent here would be UVA, VA Tech, UMD, etc. which are mentioned frequently.


I guess PPs question is really along the lines of "Why are state schools like Penn State, Pitt, Wisconsin and U-SC mentioned often on this board but not Rutgers, a higher ranked school".


Pittsburgh is a utopia compared to New Brunswick.
Correct. It is ranked higher but rarely mentioned. Was curious as to why. We plan on checking it out when we do some visits this spring - seemed there was something I was missing. Based on projections it would by $15k cheaper a year for us than penn state (we are oos for both).


DS, senior, has admission to both. Focus on the cost of Tuition+fees. That number is $36,264 for Rutgers and $40,188 for Penn State, about 4K cheaper. We assume the rest of the costs will be about $20K wherever DS goes so not that relevant.. Sure a city/high cost state could cost closer to $20K and a low cost place a bit less but that's usually offset by something else.

Comparable cost at Pitt, a DCUM darling, is $45,408! None of these three schools are know for generous merit aid. The one thing we didn't like about Rutgers was the campus when we did a self guided tour. Does not have a typical college town vibe. Maybe the admitted students day (if it still ends up being on the list) will change our minds.


Funny how the DCUM crowd loves to talk about Pitt, but don't report any matriculation there. It's not like Pittsburgh is a utopia or anything.


Pitt has a nice campus in a good location in a fun city. Lots of kids want to live there. Other kids like the classic college town vibe of Penn State's "Happy Valley." Nobody's angling to live in New Brunswick. Doesn't mean Rutgers isn't a good school--just that it's not a aesthetic draw for out of state kids.
Anonymous
Post 01/26/2024 15:48     Subject: Re:Rutgers- why is this almost never mentioned
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Rutgers has an honors college. Is that new? Is that a draw for students?


There was one in the 80s. Not sure if it's the same.

Rutgers is never mentioned because it's the state school of NJ. The equivalent here would be UVA, VA Tech, UMD, etc. which are mentioned frequently.


I guess PPs question is really along the lines of "Why are state schools like Penn State, Pitt, Wisconsin and U-SC mentioned often on this board but not Rutgers, a higher ranked school".


Pittsburgh is a utopia compared to New Brunswick.
Correct. It is ranked higher but rarely mentioned. Was curious as to why. We plan on checking it out when we do some visits this spring - seemed there was something I was missing. Based on projections it would by $15k cheaper a year for us than penn state (we are oos for both).


DS, senior, has admission to both. Focus on the cost of Tuition+fees. That number is $36,264 for Rutgers and $40,188 for Penn State, about 4K cheaper. We assume the rest of the costs will be about $20K wherever DS goes so not that relevant.. Sure a city/high cost state could cost closer to $20K and a low cost place a bit less but that's usually offset by something else.

Comparable cost at Pitt, a DCUM darling, is $45,408! None of these three schools are know for generous merit aid. The one thing we didn't like about Rutgers was the campus when we did a self guided tour. Does not have a typical college town vibe. Maybe the admitted students day (if it still ends up being on the list) will change our minds.


Funny how the DCUM crowd loves to talk about Pitt, but don't report any matriculation there. It's not like Pittsburgh is a utopia or anything.