Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey -- New Brunswick

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Biochemistry
Minor: Sociology
Student Self Identifies as: South Asian Straight Female

Summary

I participate in the Muslim Student Association, the Douglas Residential College (DRC), the Out Of State Student Organization, and the Pre-Medical Society.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Public high school in San Antonio, TX with a graduating class of 900 people. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Biochemistry
Minor: Sociology

Extracurricular Activities: I participate in the Muslim Student Association, the Douglas Residential College (DRC), the Out Of State Student Organization, and the Pre-Medical Society.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
All of them have shaped me in some ways, but it took a little bit to find each organization. Rutgers is about [94%] in-state students [excluding international students], so the Out of state Student Organization has helped me find my voice. It’s helpful to find like-minded people.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your pre-requisite classes?
For the pre-requisite classes, we have three mid-terms and a final. Each one is graded pretty heavily and most of the final grade is from the exams. Attendance does count, but it’s less than 5% of the grade.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
Most of the people in Biochemistry have an interest in research. They’re not necessarily all pre-med. I think because Rutgers is a huge research institution they do a good job of introducing you to research aspects. There’s a whole program for rising sophomores in the summer called Aresty, which is a research opportunity for undergraduates to get into labs.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I don’t think it’s competitive or collaborative. Most classes are graded on a curve so it depends on how the rest of the class does. The curve is a little discouraging if you do poorly in the class.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re fairly inaccessible. They have office hours for one hour twice a week and they’re generally midday. Most of the time, emailing the professors and going to TAs is how I get help. The TAs have better and more frequent office hours. You can flag the professor down right before or after a lecture, but otherwise, if I’m studying during the day I’m better off going to a TA.
How was transitioning academically as a transfer college student? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
For first-generation students in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, there’s a program for first-generation students called Academic Mentoring and they help you understand Rutgers and it’s degree system and how to get ahead. It’s a good idea, but the class itself is bad. You’re in an environment where you don’t know what to do, and they tell you to read the textbook, study, and work. Most of the assignments from that class were about how you feel, not how Rutgers works. With Rutgers, you really have to understand your professor.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I like Biochemistry but I don’t like the course requirements. You have to take engineering, calculus 1 and 2. For Chemistry and Biology, you don’t have to take all of those classes, you just have to take calculus 1.

Reasons to Attend

1) Their math department is really hard but it’s also [highly ranked], so it’s a really good school.
2) There are a lot of interesting majors and classes. They also have really good intentions with their programs, like academic mentoring and mental health programs. They do care about their students and take the initiative to start programs, but they’re not so great right now.
3) The football atmosphere is really appealing and the school spirit is enticing.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) There’s a huge partying culture.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Tinsley Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Pell Hall with one roommate
How was transitioning from your hometown in San Antonio to New Brunswick, NJ?
The roads are a lot scarier and I don’t drive at all here. It has a lot more of a city feel, especially this campus. If you go to the Busch Campus with the medical building and the engineering school, it’s very spread out and you have to take a bus from one part to another. It’s not very walking-friendly, but you can walk to everywhere on the College Avenue campus.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
We do get crime alerts, so Rutgers will send us an email about a robbery or shooting that happened in the area. They’re generally off-campus between College Avenue and the Cook and Douglass campuses is downtown New Brunswick, which is where more of the students who are off campus live. I try to avoid it at night. It almost has a New York feel because the streets are really close together and there are always buses and cars everywhere.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I don’t have time for any of that. I live on College Avenue and that’s where most of the sororities and parties are. Thursday nights are bigger than Friday nights. People are always walking around in groups. I don’t participate in the parties. I do alternative things like going to the movies and it’s fairly cheap. There are showings every hour so I’ll do that or go out to eat with my friends.
What are your favorite events or activities?
If there’s ever a festival or a carnival it’ll be on College Avenue. It’s the heart of Rutgers. Last year I’d just walk out of my room and there would be an inflatable slide, and there are tons of people around. There was one week with six festivals in a row, and I think one of them was the annual Hot Dog Day.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
On the weekends the busses are even more unreliable. They have two busses that go to all campuses, so it takes a lot longer.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I met most of them in my dorm last year. We were all freshmen and didn’t know what we were doing and had somewhat similar interests, so we became friends. We’re still friends this year, but it’s harder when we have different classes and schedules.
How was transitioning as an out of state college student?
It’s a little interesting because most people assume you’re from New Jersey. It’s not terrible. Sometimes you can bring something up that you don’t really know anything about as a conversation starter, like how popular the Wawa gas station is here and they would go off on a tangent and talk all about it. It’s helped me understand and made me friends.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Rutgers?
Socially it really varies from campus to campus. Most people who live on the Busch campus are engineering majors who don’t have a lot of time to party. Everyone on College Avenue is extremely friendly and outgoing, so it’s almost harder to not make friends here. For the most part, people fit their stereotypes on their campuses.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
There are a lot of international students. I think that’s really helped international students make friends with other international students, but they don’t seem to leave that circle either. Inside the Douglas Residential College program, it’s mostly Black women, but I think they’re friends because they have common interests, not because they’re Black. My group of friends is racially diverse. [The undergraduate population is 26% Asian, 7% African American, 12% Latino, 38% White, and about 9% international students.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
Greek life tends to stay within Greek life, so as a freshman last year our whole dorm was all freshmen and everyone was pretty social with one another. The second semester when rush happens, the girls began to only talk to girls who were also rushing the same sorority. That impacted who you talk to and where you live sophomore year.
How do you like how Rutgers has multiple campuses?
I kind of like it. It’s really easy to meet new people and see new faces, but it’s also interesting when you find your friends on the bus. It’s a different lifestyle, but I like it. Sometimes I’ll have a bus buddy, which is a friend who’s going to the same campus at the same time.
How would you describe the South Asian community on campus? How strong is it?
We’re actually 20-minutes from Edison which has the highest population of South Asians in the country. There are a lot of South Asians at Rutgers. There are specific fraternities and sororities which helps South Asian people bond. Generally, it’s a really diverse state and school.
How do you like the urban aspects of the campus? How has that impacted your experience?
I really enjoy it. It’s helpful especially for someone who doesn’t have a car. When I’m sick or need to go to the pharmacy it’s helpful to live in a downtown metropolitan area because I can find a doctor and a pharmacist, and it’s not relatively expensive either.
How do you like the size of Rutgers in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 36,000] students?
It’s a little intimidating at first, but you have to remember that because it’s such a big school there’s a program and website for everything you can think of. The problem is finding it.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
There’s a professional careers office and it’s really helpful. You go in and take an assessment and mark what you’re interested in and what you want to do. They navigate you through what you want to go into. For me, I marked medical and optometry school. For medical school, it’s a completely different procedure than optometry school and I really had no idea they were so different. One of the office attendants explained it to me and told me how the letters of recommendation and applications worked.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
The office is a little difficult to find, but everyone within the office is helpful. They take a couple of days to email back, and the average call wait time was over an hour. Once you do get on the phone with someone, they’re really helpful.