Rutgers University-New Brunswick Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

William

The students at Rutgers are very diverse. You can always find someone who has similar interest to yours. What I find the most enjoyable about Rutgers students is that they have Rutgers pride! Each and every one of them enjoy being a student at Rutgers!

Lauren

We are a very diverse campus. Everyone is different. I think overall people embrace eachother. My new friends have taught me about their cultural backgrounds, unique quirks, and artistic expressions, all of which broaden my awareness.

Lana

The majority of my classmates are engineering students. They are driven and determined to succeed in their careers. Many of them are confident on what their majors are and exactly what they will do after they graduate. Many are also unsure of what exactly they will do after college, or what they want to major in. The people themselves are extremely diverse, some traveling to Rutgers from half an hour away and some from China.

Akia

Fun-loving party people who know when to take the lamp shades off their heads and just study.

Sophia

Everyone is eager to make friends in the beginning, but once people have formed their cliques it becomes a little difficult to talk to people. There is a lot of diversity in this school so it is easier to find people with similar interests, much easier to find people completely different from you.

Rachit

Everyone is willing to help each other learn the material.

Sarah

My classmates are all interesting, fun-loving people who seem to really enjoy their classes and their lives.

Anh

Obnoxious. Too proud of their engineering majors, even though they have embarassing GPAs

Chelsea

Loud party goers.

Michael

My classmates are diverse, friendly, hard working and ambitious.

Richard

My classmates are a diverse group of people who have differnt backgrounds and opinions.

Daniel

The variety of races and ethnicities at Rutgers is unbelievable. I still don't believe that one race or ethnicity dominates, which is awesome, as it allows everyone to be comfortable, have others to associate with, and not have to worry about being looked down upon by others. I feel like the only students who are out of place are those who put themselves in that situation. As a transfer student I was worried about making friends with students who have common interests as me, and although it took me a few weeks, I ended up finding great friends who continue to be my friends today.

Ryan

Encountering people from a different race and class is an everyday occurrence at Rutgers University. The melting pot that is New Brunswick brings all walks of life together in a college town. To say that anyone would feel out of place here would be silly. Attire to class is dependent upon one major factor. This variable is the time of the class in question. Any class that starts before noon will most likely yield a class full of coffee driven pajama wearing kids. Any class that falls on the other side of noon will bring forth students in their "normal" attire. I say normal because depending on the department of which the class falls in, you will most likely be around a certain group of students. Environmental classes will have many more "down to earth" students than say Calculus II. All four major dining halls will have several defined groups in attendance at all times. Everything from the "gym rat" to the "nerd" will all be eating in a common space with no altercations arising in all my four years here. Most of the students seem to come from in state, with a higher percentage from north jersey than down south. Because of this there seems to be more than enough stuck up attitudes to go around. But as said before, there are plenty good eggs to overpower the bad.

Andrew

My classmates are very racially, religiously and political diverse which makes for a huge and important differences in point of views yet always somehow manage to get along with each other.

Tanieya

My classmates are a mixture of extremely smart young adults and your typically students who show that they do not really care. Its all up you of whether you want to take your classes seriously or just become another number in the class. Most students are full of questions and seem really interested in understanding the material but then there are those few who may have not matured yet or fully realized that their paying for these courses and should take them seriously.

Eli

Because of the large school size, the student population is incredibly diverse. Because Rutgers integrated Douglass College (formerly the Women's College of New Jersey), there are a lot of programs focused on tolerance and understanding, along with gender-neutral and -only dorms and dorms for LGBT members and supporters. There are a multitude of groups on campus, so many so that I can hardly even begin to describe 1{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of them. People are not divided arbitrarily among race, religion, socio-economic status, or any other measure unless they choose to do so. I can't think of a student that would feel out of place at Rutgers, unless they don't like a large school. Different types of student interact all the time. Most students wear jeans and a shirt to class, though it's not to uncommon to see people in their pajamas during early classes. If one were to look at 4 tables in the dining hall, they would likely be filled with people from dorms or apartments eating. Because of the diverse make-up of the university, it's hard to tell who exactly will be sitting there. Most students at Rutgers are from New Jersey, though there are plenty of out-of-state, international, and exchange students at Rutgers. Most students at Rutgers are middle-class or lower, since the tuition is lower than average. Political attitudes at Rutgers vary greatly. There is a sizable Rutgers Republican group, a good amount of Rutgers Democrats, as well as Rutgers Libertarians, etc. etc. etc. A good amount are politically aware and active, though some are apathetic. Students don't talk about how much they'll earn one day; typically, people talk about how they'll have to pay off their student loans or how they'll be eating beans for a good amount of years.

Ashley

My classmates are intelligent, motivated, knowledge-seekers, and goal oriented.

Karan

I have never really had a experience with any groups on the campus. Everyone accepts each other the way they are. I think the non-social kids would feel out of place. Rutgers is a place where you have to be sociable to make friends, especially if you are commuting. The attire mostly depends on the weather. If it's hot, then students wear shorts, t-shirts, tank tops etc. If it's cold, they wear coats, jackets etc. It's the normal dress code. All kinds of students interact. You barely see the same group talking to each other the whole time. Rutgers has a crowd that is very sociable. The first table normally has the sorority sisters with their boyfriends. The second table has the tutors teaching students and talking at the same time. The third table has a mix of girls and guys sitting and joking and laughing out loud, and the last table usually has kids on their macs or PCs either on facebook or playing a game. Most of the students are in state and from near by cities in NJ. You see people from all financial backgrounds. There is not one dominant group of people. Most of the students are politically aware and have rallies and discussions. Many students talk about internships and future career plans. Rutgers has a mature student crowd.

LauraMallalieu

The students at Rutgers are pretty diverse. The majority are definitely from New Jersey, but there's a lot of other different kinds of people as well. I live in a gender-neutral floor, where guys and girls share a bathroom and can choose to share a room, so I may be in a more diverse area than most, but there are a lot of different cultures, sexualities, and types of people that I have met during my time here at Rutgers. Most students are casual, walking around in hoodies and sweatshirts with a dash of people in designer clothes, and a dash of people who never bothered to change out of there pajamas. The campus is generally pretty liberal politically, but there is much more focus on finding a good job than on making a difference politically.

Max

Rutgers is home to over thirty-thousand undergraduates, which means there are tons of different social groups. There is a group for everything. Everybody finds their niche somewhat effortlessly because going to a large university allows you to be your own person. Rutgers is essentially its own city. Many of the students hail from New Jersey, but the university is home to students from all fifty states and many different countries. If you walk into the student center and saw four tables of students, you would see nothing more than four tables of students. There is so much diversity at Rutgers, and when you throw together this many people, they are likely to converge. Race is not an issue at Rutgers, nor is sexual preference. If you like something, chances are that a multitude of other students here enjoy the same thing. Rutgers is good with financial aid; most students attending Rutgers receive financial aid if they need it, as long as they maintain a good academic standing. To sum it up, being a student at Rutgers is similar to being in the real world because in the real world, you get diversity.

Mara

The students at Rutgers are very diverse. Most students are from New Jersey, which I like because we can still see each other often over school breaks and summers. There is every, race, religion, ethnicity, etc. at Rutgers. There are very politically active students and there are students who could care less about politics. You can find every type of person at Rutgers. It makes class discussions very interesting because everyone has such different opinions.

Mara

The students at Rutgers are very diverse. Most students are from New Jersey, which I like because we can still see each other often over school breaks and summers. There is every, race, religion, ethnicity, etc. at Rutgers. There are very politically active students and there are students who could care less about politics. You can find every type of person at Rutgers. It makes class discussions very interesting because everyone has such different opinions.

Jennifer

There is one thing that is commonly said about Rutgers and that is Rutgers is a very diverse school. This is indeed true. I've met RU students who are from all over the US and even the world, who come from different financial and ethnic backgrounds. You don't just meet these students occasionally or once a year but you meet these diverse students everywhere. Personally, I think we're all prone to make judgments (internal ones at least) about other people who are different from ourselves or what we are used to but RU students are generally very accepting of different cultures. When I get to know my classmates, majority of them are not from the same area or of the same nationality as myself; I have gotten the chance to expand my cultural social network. Obviously, the biggest LGBT and harassment/abuse debates on our campus has been fueled by the suicide of Tyler Clementi. Although the criminals in this case are from Rutgers, I think this they are poor representations of what all Rutgers students are like; I believe they are better representations of their younger schooling experiences and the parenting they received. Not everyone is okay with those of other sexual orientation besides heterosexuality (could be due to religion or how they were raised) but rates of harassment due to sexual orientation at RU is relatively low compared to other schools. I think a good chunk of Rutgers students are politically aware, especially because much of politics affect schools and universities such as Rutgers. A few times this past year, students have rallied together in peaceful (but loud) protests around College Ave, especially to get the attention of our former president. However, I would say that another good chuck of Rutgers students are not politically aware or active and this could definitely be improved (perhaps by enforcing a mandatory politics class; being aware/active after all is a responsibility of every US citizen). As far as what students talk about, I can say with confidence that every students talks about something related to class at least once a day if not multiple times a day. I talk with my classmates, friends, family, and boyfriend about what I learn is class everyday, either good or bad. Most RU students pay a great amount of money to attend Rutgers and actually learning is a high priority among us.

Leena

Rutgers is a really diverse school, and also very forward thinking. So many races, religions and sexual orientations are represented, and I've never seen another student discriminate for any of these reasons. We have religious, racial, and LGBT groups at school that anyone is welcome to join, whether they belong to that group or not. There are also students of ALL socio-economic statuses at Rutgers. But we do not let these categories define us or our friendships. When it comes down to it, we are all Rutgers students, and there is a camaraderie that comes with that. There are always different "types" of students interacting. The majority of the students are New Jerseyans, but that doesn't mean there aren't other students from all over the country, and world, here at Rutgers. Some people come from as far as China to attend school here. Another cool thing is that kids are definitely politically active and aware. There's a huge amount of Environmental activism at Rutgers, which is really cool. Kids are always asking other students to sign petitions around campus. Rutgers is really just one big happy melting pot, and there is something for everyone. Everyone is able to be their selves without worrying what other people think.

Cara

It usually depends on the student's major that varies their social life; usually science majors spend more time in the libraries and the libral art majors have more time to socialize.

Dhondup

They are well rounded individuals, from diverse background, and focused in their academics.

Bree

The students in the theatre department are all goal oriented, friendly, and team players.

Viviana

My classmates are eager to learn, always trying their best and always worrying about their grades at the end of the semester.

divya

My classmates are sociable and i am glad i was able to make friends real easily.

Jean-Luc

My classmates are attentive, always willing to help anyone who needs assistance, and try to make class interesting with the rigorous questions they ask.

William

Very diverse student body.

Riddhi

diverse.

Kenny

Full of diversity.

Emily

To be honest most of my classmates are like the ones I had in highschool, some are brillant and are good to work/study with and others are not; you must choice your study buddies wisely.

Raena

My classmates are surprizingly very welcoming and motivating to do well with all of my schoolwork, homewoek, projects, papers and etc.

Caitlyn

Very very diverse and hardworking people

Spencer

My classmates are mostly all motivated students who are eager to learn and help their fellow peers learn.

Jamie

My classmates were concerned with taking an easy class for a good grade, not the value of the content they recieved.

Alexa

In all of my classes my fellow students all are very respectful during the lectures and many of them want to make atleast one friend in the class just in case if they miss a class or an assignment and they are normally willing to help you also if you miss a class.

Jerry

Rutgers as a whole is very diverse, though the different groups of people can be separated in different places. Social groups form due to classes, organizations and even by chance in the dorms. One may see homogenous groups of people next to completely diverse groups. And the diversity extends beyond race, socioeconomic status, and sexuality, but also includes majors, interests, and background. While most people do hail from New Jersey, the state is different all over as are the people. A student whose parents pay for their time in Rutgers can very well find themself friends with someone who must pay their own way, working a job between studying and classes. Students often join cultural organizations when they are not of that culture. Political activism is not in-your-face or a negative, although social activism usually is prevalent and also not a negative. There will be students who had Rutgers as their primary and safety schools which becomes irrelavent once you meet people anyway.

sherry

They are open-minded, social, intelligent, aware, profound individuals.

Fahim

My classmates seem eager to learn but there are always those few who really don't seem to care.

Sara

There is a very diverse population at Rutgers University; it's definitly a main goal. I am a part of Douglas Residential College, a residential college for women and we have the most diverse campus at Rutgers. There are international students, out of state students, and local residents. The majority of people I have encountered are dedicated students. They have come to learn, work, and meet like-minded students looking to have fun. Although I have many big lecture halls, most of the students in them are friendly and want to connect with eachother. At Rutgers, you never sit alone.

Nadia

My classmates are unique, diverse, eclectic, all individually bright in their respectable fields and looking to gain the best from an affordable institution.

Stephanie

My classmates are very friendly and usually try to help in any way they can.

Jessica

The classes at Rutgers are full of a diverse student population from all different races, religous, and ethnic backgrounds.

Frederick

Kids from many different backgronds and personalities, all working hard (or at least trying) to complete the same goal as me, which is to finish getting our degrees.

Aman

There are plenty of classmates due to the size of the school, but overall, almost everyone is nice.

Allison

My classmates in my Portuguese classes are my friends and now my family, as we are such a tight-knit community we have become very close and all of us love the Portuguese language and studying it.

Briana

My classmates at Rutgers University are a diverse group of very studious young adults who are always eager and ready to learn, and who provide a wonderful learning environment for myself and all of my peers at the university.