perception of rutgers in state

[mdk01]

Once again
50,000 kids graduate NJ high schools each year
6,500 Freshmen enroll at Rutgers each year

These kids aren't going to Delaware & UConn because it's a better campus or to avoid diversity or to get away. There's no spot for them at Rutgers. If you have 150 kids in your graduating class and you are outside of the top 20, your class ranking is below the 13% that Rutgers will take. It's actually lower once you consider OOS & specialized school admissions. New Jersey effectively throws away many good students every year because there's no spot for them at the one large state university.

Everybody likes to think their kid is the brightest lightbulb, but Rutgers isn't the safety school is was when we all applied so many years ago.

And that's a good thing. Maybe Rowan, Willie Pat & Montclair should step it up to keep all these amazing kids in state.

It's not that simple. At some schools, looking at the Top 20 in the class, you'll have 5 going Ivy, 2 going Stanford or Duke, 5 or 6 going to quality non-Ivy colleges (Lehigh, Colgate, Villanova, BC, NYU) and 3-4 going to Mommy or Daddy's school. RU isn't getting to pick and choose among that Top 20. Throw in the 3 or 4 that go Delaware or UConn for the misguided reasons and it becomes even more of a problem, but those are the kids RU should be targeting.

 

[RUfinal4]

And many in Pennsy feel the same about going to State College, right? You know, with so many from their HS, it's an extension of same. There's a certain truth to this but it likely exists in all 50 states, to varying degrees. But then, if the schools are so big (enrollment-wise and physical campus size/spread), why worry all that much about it....you may never bump into a single one in 4 years.

Comparing PA to NJ can be interesting.

PA has 12.7 mil residents to NJ's 8.9

NJ has 1 large state university that is situated within 45 mins of probably more than 40% of the residents. I wonder if the perception would be different if Rutgers was in Flemington or Jackson NJ where it would be a more rural campus and not in a population center so most students would like more than 45 mins away.

PA has 3 large state university's (PSU, Pitt, and Temple). PSU is pretty much 3 hours from the population centers and the Pitt metro population is about 2.5 mil. Temple is mostly a 3rd option to many (like Rowan is in NJ to TCNJ and Rutgers).

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Rutgers has two satellite schools: Rutgers- Newark and Rutgers- Camden

Penn State has 19...

NINETEEN

 

[Cheesesteak Vegas]

Comparing PA to NJ can be interesting.

PA has 12.7 mil residents to NJ's 8.9

NJ has 1 large state university that is situated within 45 mins of probably more than 40% of the residents. I wonder if the perception would be different if Rutgers was in Flemington or Jackson NJ where it would be a more rural campus and not in a population center so most students would like more than 45 mins away.

PA has 3 large state university's (PSU, Pitt, and Temple). PSU is pretty much 3 hours from the population centers and the Pitt metro population is about 2.5 mil. Temple is mostly a 3rd option to many (like Rowan is in NJ to TCNJ and Rutgers).

And notably, Pitt and PSU are the most expensive public schools in the country.

Pitt: $18,618 (in-state) / $29,758 (out) / $10,950 (room and board)
PSU: $17,514 (in-state) / $31,346 (out) / $10,926 (room and board)

That's for University Park; the PSU branch campuses are more affordable and take on a higher percentage of PA students. Temple isn't far behind, FWIW.

 

[RUfinal4]

It's not that simple. At some schools, looking at the Top 20 in the class, you'll have 5 going Ivy, 2 going Stanford or Duke, 5 or 6 going to quality non-Ivy colleges (Lehigh, Colgate, Villanova, BC, NYU) and 3-4 going to Mommy or Daddy's school. RU isn't getting to pick and choose among that Top 20. Throw in the 3 or 4 that go Delaware or UConn for the misguided reasons and it becomes even more of a problem, but those are the kids RU should be targeting.

I think the point many of us are making is that the kids that would qualify for Rutgers are going elsewhere. In the top 10 of a graduating class you may have 2 to Ivies, 2 to premier privates, 2 to Rutgers, and 4 to out of state publics / non-premier privates. The 4 I mentioned are the ones passing on Rutgers.

 

[djrc89]

I started the post because I graduated in 89 and have been an avid supporter of the school from the beginning. The perception seems worse. The team has gone thru decades of ineptitude and there have always been kids who've yearned to leave. This seems new and I don't know why or if it's simply my perception. Thanks for all the replies

 

[RUfinal4]

Also using some data from my 1990 HS class:
4 of the top 10 went to Rutgers. All 4 were 1st generation Americans with 2 as commuters. Of the 4 was the valedictorian and salutatorian who received a lot of scholarship money. I am friends still with the valedictorian and he wanted to go to PSU but going to RU for free was a big deal to his parents.

We had 1 go to UConn to play football on scholarship (was in their 1AA days).

Others went to Bucknell, NYU, MD, UNC and Cornell. the MD person transfered to a state school after a year.

I had over 20 HS classmates at Rutgers which was a lot considering there were probably 80-100 on campus at 1 time if you look at 4-5 graduating classes.

 

[MrsScrew]

And notably, Pitt and PSU are the most expensive public schools in the country.

Pitt: $18,618 (in-state) / $29,758 (out) / $10,950 (room and board)
PSU: $17,514 (in-state) / $31,346 (out) / $10,926 (room and board)

That's for University Park; the PSU branch campuses are more affordable and take on a higher percentage of PA students. Temple isn't far behind, FWIW.

Rutgers is not far behind on the list of most expensive schools

TUITION AND EXPENSES
Cost of Attendance In-state: $31,733
Out-of-state: $47,384
Tuition and Fees
In-state: $14,372
Out-of-state: $30,023
Room and Board
$12,260
Books and Supplies
$1,350
Other Expenses
$3,751

 

[yesrutgers01]

Not sure how old everyone on this thread is, but I'm in my early 20s and I've been living in Texas (Houston) for three years now...there's a big difference between the generations...all my older coworkers believe Rutgers is a good school...whereas all my younger friends and coworkers here feel that it is an average school. Obviously, that has to do with us, younger folks, being misinformed and having social media guide our perceptions..but it's scary to think that some of these same folks will make hiring decisions in the future and look down upon RU

And yes, I do my best to show and convince them that RU is a great school

And the interesting thing is that Rutgers may be a much better school now then it was back in those older generations.

Scarlet Scourge, you are right on. I have been a resident of Florida for twenty five years and when I am asked where I went to college and I reply Rutgers it is almost automatic. that I get'"oh you went to an Ivy League school".As far as those in New Jersey who disrespect Rutgers mostof them could not gain entrance into Rutgers with crow bar.Have a safe day and lock and load and rock and roll.

Exactly...Outside of NY/NJ, "Rutgers' is a good thing

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

The further away you go the better it gets. When I went to the West Coast on a business trip, Rutgers was look at like a Ivy league school.

People from China and India look at it the same way. Most foreign students are from those two countries.

IMHO, It is little bother syndrome from living next to NYC in North Jersey and Philly in South Jersey. In Central Jersey Rutgers is seen in a much greater light. Tons of Block Rs everywhere. Kids going as Rutgers Football players for Halloween, etc.

I think this plays a big part in it.

This is very misleading.ink is an Ivy league school are folks who 't know about RU or provincial in general. The only people whose opinion counts are HS guidance counselors and especially top employers and top graduate schools. I can assure that the informed folks in California or Kalamazoo or Colorado don't think we are an Ivy League school, because if they , all of the sought after employers from Silicon Valley to Seattle, etc. would be here recruiting our kids in swarms. They are not.

The further away you go the better it gets. When I went to the West Coast on a business trip, Rutgers was look at like a Ivy league school.

People from China and India look at it the same way. Most foreign students are from those two countries.

IMHO, It is little bother syndrome from living next to NYC in North Jersey and Philly in South Jersey. In Central Jersey Rutgers is seen in a much greater light. Tons of Block Rs everywhere. Kids going as Rutgers Football players for Halloween, etc.

I think this plays a big part in it.

The further away you go the better it gets. When I went to the West Coast on a business trip, Rutgers was look at like a Ivy league school.

People from China and India look at it the same way. Most foreign students are from those two countries.

IMHO, It is little bother syndrome from living next to NYC in North Jersey and Philly in South Jersey. In Central Jersey Rutgers is seen in a much greater light. Tons of Block Rs everywhere. Kids going as Rutgers Football players for Halloween, etc.

I think this plays a big part in it.

I must respectfully disagree as someone who has lived and worked far form the banks for many years. The only people whose perception of RU matters are the guidance counselors at strong HS's and especially the hiring folks at top companies, law firms, etc. and the admissions folks at top grad schools. I can assure you that especially folks in the latter two categories, whether they are in California, Kalamazoo or Colorado do not think RU is an Ivy League school. If they did, Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc.and other elite employers would be breaking down our doors to hire our kids and Stanford and other top grad and professional schools would be admitting droves of our kids. Those things are not happening. Just because some random uninformed person far from NJ who couldn't tell you where RU is located or even what "Ivy League" means, doesn't know that RU is a State U and thinks it's "Ivy League" because of its name, age etc., that doesn't mean that RU "has a better reputation outside of NJ than in it". Among those that count, for better or worse, the reputation is the same in state or not - especially among top law firms and the McKinsey's, Bain's etc. Otherwise you'd be seeing hundreds more employers from all over the country doing on campus interviews at RU - just like they do at "Ivy League" schools.

 

[RUnTeX]

I spent about a year in durham while my fiancée was finishing law school at Duke. It has east campus and west campus... the bus system essentially connects the two and off housing campus... it is tiny and condense compared to Rutgers. Probably the most beautiful campus I've stepped on to be honest... I love my Rutgers and the out of state and out of country perception so great. Just us New Jersey folk think of it as a safety school.

Yeah, of course it's relative and not nearly as expansive as Rutgers, but it's not all that compact either and it isn't a single campus setup. Very nice campus to be sure, though admittedly not my favorite. One can bike between east/west or perhaps do some travel on foot within reason, but they're not by any means contiguous, it's about 2-3 miles distance between them, there's a highway that runs in between (granted, doesn't require traveling on), and they do have a bus system to move students around to where they want to go....it's not just a rinky dink shuttle service (or as might be expected, a fancy, luxury shuttle, LOL -- it's Duke afterall).

 

[Cheesesteak Vegas]

Rutgers is not far behind on the list of most expensive schools

TUITION AND EXPENSES
Cost of Attendance In-state: $31,733
Out-of-state: $47,384
Tuition and Fees
In-state: $14,372
Out-of-state: $30,023
Room and Board
$12,260
Books and Supplies
$1,350
Other Expenses
$3,751

No it isn't.

It makes me a hypocrite, since it's the path I took, but as a soon-to-be parent, it's hard for me to justify kids going out of state to attend a similar school (e.g. Rutgers v. PSU), without a very good reason for doing so. Fortunately, we'll have the full-court PSU press on in our house from birth, so hopefully it takes.

 

[RUfinal4]

Rutgers is not far behind on the list of most expensive schools

TUITION AND EXPENSES
Cost of Attendance In-state: $31,733
Out-of-state: $47,384
Tuition and Fees
In-state: $14,372
Out-of-state: $30,023
Room and Board
$12,260
Books and Supplies
$1,350
Other Expenses
$3,751

Some quick compares:
Rutgers - $31,733 in state (http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1441)

West Va - $ 32,114 (https://admissions.wvu.edu/cost-and-aid)

Ohio - $36,120 (http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=391)

Va Tech - $38,539 (http://admissions.vt.edu/cost.html)

NC St - $42,770 (http://catalog.ncsu.edu/undergraduate/admission/tuitionandfees/)

Delaware - $46,618 (http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1669)

UConn - $47,344 (http://uconn.edu/admissions/tuition-and-costs/)

Syracuse - $63,000+ (http://financialaid.syr.edu/costofattendance/undergraduate/)

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Rutgers is not far behind on the list of most expensive schools

TUITION AND EXPENSES
Cost of Attendance In-state: $31,733
Out-of-state: $47,384
Tuition and Fees
In-state: $14,372
Out-of-state: $30,023
Room and Board
$12,260
Books and Supplies
$1,350
Other Expenses
$3,751

NJIT is the most expensive state school on NJ.
In State: $16,108
Out of State: $30,326
Room and Board: $15,700

College of New Jersey is the 2nd:
In State: $15,466
Out of State: $26,397
Room and Board: $16,154

3rd is Rutgers

Private Schools in NJ are a LOT more.

 

[DanceAppreciationTA]

Something else to add to this that may affect the perception outside of NJ is that quite frankly it seems that there just aren't that many alumni nowadays moving out of the Tri-State area.

Here in Houston, I've seen at least 10x more Penn State gear/stickers than Rutgers stuff

 

[Cheesesteak Vegas]

Something else to add to this that may affect the perception outside of NJ is that quite frankly it seems that there just aren't that many alumni nowadays moving out of the Tri-State area.

Here in Houston, I've seen at least 10x more Penn State gear/stickers than Rutgers stuff

Along with simply not moving, it could be the result of a couple of things.

RU's web site says 17% of its students come from outside of the state. Compare that with 28% at PSU (and 38% at University Park). Further, PSU has more than 70,000 undergrads system-wide, compared with 32,200 at RU.

With more Penn Staters in raw numbers, and more coming from varied locations, it stands to reason we will be more spread out following graduation.

EDITED TO ADD: I just looked it up, and the PSU Alumni Association counts 11,016 alumni in Texas, if you cared to look up the comparable RU figure.

 

[FanuSanu52]

This is very misleading.ink is an Ivy league school are folks who 't know about RU or provincial in general. The only people whose opinion counts are HS guidance counselors and especially top employers and top graduate schools. I can assure that the informed folks in California or Kalamazoo or Colorado don't think we are an Ivy League school, because if they , all of the sought after employers from Silicon Valley to Seattle, etc. would be here recruiting our kids in swarms. They are not.



I must respectfully disagree as someone who has lived and worked far form the banks for many years. The only people whose perception of RU matters are the guidance counselors at strong HS's and especially the hiring folks at top companies, law firms, etc. and the admissions folks at top grad schools. I can assure you that especially folks in the latter two categories, whether they are in California, Kalamazoo or Colorado do not think RU is an Ivy League school. If they did, Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc.and other elite employers would be breaking down our doors to hire our kids and Stanford and other top grad and professional schools would be admitting droves of our kids. Those things are not happening. Just because some random uninformed person far from NJ who couldn't tell you where RU is located or even what "Ivy League" means, doesn't know that RU is a State U and thinks it's "Ivy League" because of its name, age etc., that doesn't mean that RU "has a better reputation outside of NJ than in it". Among those that count, for better or worse, the reputation is the same in state or not - especially among top law firms and the McKinsey's, Bain's etc. Otherwise you'd be seeing hundreds more employers from all over the country doing on campus interviews at RU - just like they do at "Ivy League" schools.

Except that it does.

I'm also pretty sure that this conversation was not really about hiring managers of law firms and tech companies.

 

[DanceAppreciationTA]

Along with simply not moving, it could be the result of a couple of things.

RU's web site says 17% of its students come from outside of the state. Compare that with 28% at PSU (and 38% at University Park). Further, PSU has more than 70,000 undergrads system-wide, compared with 32,200 at RU.

With more Penn Staters in raw numbers, and more coming from varied locations, it stands to reason we will be more spread out following graduation.

EDITED TO ADD: I just looked it up, and the PSU Alumni Association counts 11,016 alumni in Texas, if you cared to look up the comparable RU figure.

Well it's also a pride issue too...I've met a quiet a few alumni down here outside of our Alumni Club and they just arent the types of folks to wear RU gear or show it off on their cars. That being said you are partially right....If we are counting system-wide, RU definitely has at least 50,000 undergrads (Counting Newark & Camden). As for the Texas number, I'm not quite sure what it is but I know that in the proper Houston area we have about 1100 alumni (Doesn't include the outskirting areas of Sugarland, Humble, Woodlands...etc)

 

[ScarletKid2008]

Perception will improve with the following .....

1) RU must improve its standing in US News and other publications rankings. That would most quickly change the perception for parents / kids who really don't know anything about RU. - the master plan identified our weaknesses here but nothing as of yet to address

2) Educate the HS counselors / teachers about RU. Get them on campus often. Teach them things while at RU and make them feel apart of it. - I don't think RU does much/any of that so far

3) RU alums must be more visible and proud of their school - I've seen a lot of improvement here in the last 10 years

4) Improve the New Brunswick campus. Make it a beautiful and desirable place to be. - This has been a huge initiative for RU over last 3 years and for the next 5. This will make a big difference in perception!

5) Hold as many events on campus for non-alum related people of the state as possible to get people to see the "new and improved RU New Brunswick" -- HS football games & playoffs, Sport camps, concerts, HS bball tournament of champions, conferences, etc.

RU has recognized 1, 3, and 4. And in progress of improving. I think 2 & 5 are important to get the rest of the state on board and pro RU even if they have no connection. Nearly everyone that has negative comments had never stepped foot on campus.

 

[RUfinal4]

Perception will improve with the following .....

1) RU must improve its standing in US News and other publications rankings. That would most quickly change the perception for parents / kids who really don't know anything about RU. - the master plan identified our weaknesses here but nothing as of yet to address

2) Educate the HS counselors / teachers about RU. Get them on campus often. Teach them things while at RU and make them feel apart of it. - I don't think RU does much/any of that so far

3) RU alums must be more visible and proud of their school - I've seen a lot of improvement here in the last 10 years

4) Improve the New Brunswick campus. Make it a beautiful and desirable place to be. - This has been a huge initiative for RU over last 3 years and for the next 5. This will make a big difference in perception!

5) Hold as many events on campus for non-alum related people of the state as possible to get people to see the "new and improved RU New Brunswick" -- HS football games & playoffs, Sport camps, concerts, HS bball tournament of champions, conferences, etc.

RU has recognized 1, 3, and 4. And in progress of improving. I think 2 & 5 are important to get the rest of the state on board and pro RU even if they have no connection. Nearly everyone that has negative comments had never stepped foot on campus.

I agree, especially with 1 and 4. US News is a flawed rating system but it seems to bethe most popular. If PSU, Delaware, and UConn are 5-10 spots ahead of RU there are parents who will spend the extra 10k a year to send their kids to those schools.

You need the dorms and all classrooms to be modern. When visiting other schools Rutgers needs to compete. It can be as simple as parents trying out the dining hall and having a worse experience at Rutgers vs. school B or C.

 

[retired711]

I have relatives in the Phoenix area. Arizona St is similar to Rutgers because Tempe is so close to Phoenix and Scottsdale. Over there the University of Arizona is considered the cool state school where Az st is looked upon as an extension to high school / commuter school. I can guess that UCLA is like that too with a lot of local LA kids.

UCLA has long been considered cool because it is so good. The credentials of students admitted to UCLA are tied with Berkeley admittees as the best in the University of California system.

I don't really know how many commuters there are at New Brunswick/Piscataway, but my impression is that it is fewer than one might imagine. A lot of parents want their college-age kids out of the house, at least during the week, and my impression is that going to Rutgers as a commuter is not nearly as fulfilling as living in the dorms or other off-scampus housing.

 

[Mr_Twister]

Something else to add to this that may affect the perception outside of NJ is that quite frankly it seems that there just aren't that many alumni nowadays moving out of the Tri-State area.

Here in Houston, I've seen at least 10x more Penn State gear/stickers than Rutgers stuff

College gear/stickers ... a huge factor is sports success/history.

 

[batts]

NJ Students go out of State for various reasons:
1. Many students (like my daughter) wanted to go out of State. That was her main preference.
2. Some Students don't like the fact that Rutgers is fragmented in several campuses in an urban environment. Many students want more of a traditional College campus. I heard freshmen, who don't have a car, find it difficult relying on the shuttle buses to travel to classes located on different campuses. I obtained my graduate degree at RU and liked the variety of different campuses but I had a car which made travel between my dorm and classes relatively easy.

 

[RU31trap]

people at work really rip into Rutgers, especially those in executive positions. Not totally sure why but the sarcasm meter redlines at times. I think Rutgers biggest problem is the way they treat their employees, it's not good. The entire medical school merger now has 13,000+ former UNDNJ employees poisoning RU whenever given the opportunity. in-state, there's also a perception that Rucltgers is in lockstep with Chris Christie. The cost of athletics, specifically the football program has many residents asking why?

 

[retired711]

I could see that.

I remember watching the Cal-Stanford game a year or two ago, and Stanford fans were yelling "safety school" at Cal fans. Seemed like the same type of snooty attitude we get here at RU (didn't get into an Ivy or the popular out-of-state school of the moment, so must be your safety school).

It's BS. Getting into Cal aka Berkeley is *really* hard. There are an awful lot of Cal alums who say that they could never have gotten into Cal under today's standards. (Um, I'm one of them!) Cal, UCLA and the other top-tier UC schools have a big advantage over us; there aren't nearly as many good private schools out there. And California is big enough that a student at a UC school frequently won't be going home for weekends, let along commuting.

That said, Stanford is one heck of a good school to have a degree from -- and it is very hard to get into. The big difference between Cal and Stanford is that Stanford has much easier grading because Stanford wants its students to feel good about the experience so that they'll contribute a lot of money to their alma mater.

 

[RUJohnny99]

.

EDITED TO ADD: I just looked it up, and the PSU Alumni Association counts 11,016 alumni in Texas, if you cared to look up the comparable RU figure.

5,655 as of Fall 2015

 

[retired711]

people at work really rip into Rutgers, especially those in executive positions. Not totally sure why but the sarcasm meter redlines at times. I think Rutgers biggest problem is the way they treat their employees, it's not good. The entire medical school merger now has 13,000+ former UNDNJ employees poisoning RU whenever given the opportunity. in-state, there's also a perception that Rucltgers is in lockstep with Chris Christie. The cost of athletics, specifically the football program has many residents asking why?

For some reason, New Jerseyites don't take the same pride in their state university's athletic achievements as in the rest of the B1G, and this is going to be a problem for us in becoming competitive.

 

[batts]

For most NJ people, college sports isn't that important. Most people have strong allegiances to professional, rather than college teams. Older citizens traditionally viewed Rutgers Football as a Patriot League caliber Team playing the likes of Princeton, Cornell and Colgate. When Rutgers attempted to compete at a higher level, it was viewed as Sad Sack (e.g. Shea years) with mostly bad years sprinkled some decent Teams (e.g. Graber years) throughout the years. Schiano changed the perception of the Program dramatically, but the Team has once again fallen on hard times. Our citizens have short memories especially since most of them follow the Jets, Giants and Eagles.

Forget about Basketball. How many non-Rutgers people are going to follow a program that has one of the longest NCAA droughts?

 

[17Q66]

I know we discuss this often. I only have observational evidence, but it seems like more than ever perception at a real nadir. I see patients with college age kids, and have friends with kids in school. I cant believe the way kids flock to Delaware and UConn and how noses seem to get turned up at Rutgers.

What I find hysterical about this perception is that many of these people say that intercollegiate athletics aren't important and that Rutgers should just "give up" on competing in The Big Ten/FBS/Division 1, yet these same people would be banging down the doors of Old Queens to get in if Rutgers was a top-10 athletic department. I have no doubt whatsoever that becoming ultra-competitive in all of our intercollegiate sports programs -- clubs as well as varsity -- is the number one thing that Rutgers can do to become the state's most sought-after acceptance letter.

 

[RU848789]

Well, among my circle of friends and coworkers, just about all of whom would qualify as "upper middle class," a sizable percentage have kids who chose Rutgers over all kinds of "better" schools - and all reports are that these kids love being at Rutgers. Anecdotal, yes, but I simply don't see the disdain for RU that so many in this thread keep talking about.

And with regard to the appeal of Rutgers in the business world for good jobs, I can only comment about my company, Merck, which is certainly a "top company." I've posted about this many times, but will repeat the basic message: we generally recruit regionally to nationally from top Ivy/Private/State schools (for chemists, engineers, biologists, sales people, accountants, etc.) and that includes Rutgers.

I can also tell you that the RU grads we hire do just as well as the grads from any of the "top" universities. In fact, in my department of about 140 people, we have about 11-12 RU grads (mostly chemical engineers) and of our "senior staff" of 10 people, half have RU degrees (including yours truly). I can also say that RU grads have done just as well throughout the research and manufacturing divisions (I've been involved in recruiting RU for engineers for both divisions for 10+ years).

I have zero knowledge of recruiting, in general, and I acknowledge that Merck is a NJ-based company, but I would hope that companies outside of NJ would see similar results when hiring Rutgers grads. I do know that in my circle of friends with kids at RU, many of these kids have graduated in the last year or two and I've heard that most of them are getting good jobs (including one at Google).

My message isn't that this all makes Rutgers the "best" place to send one's kids, but merely to counter the "nattering nabobs of negativism" (to quote my old favorite essayist and speechwriter, William Safire) in this thread who would have you believe that Rutgers is a mediocre school, with mediocre students, who don't get good jobs.

 

[17Q66]

For some reason, New Jerseyites don't take the same pride in their state university's athletic achievements as in the rest of the B1G, and this is going to be a problem for us in becoming competitive.

This, along with calling them "New Jerseyites."

 

[mdk01]

It's BS. Getting into Cal aka Berkeley is *really* hard. There are an awful lot of Cal alums who say that they could never have gotten into Cal under today's standards. (Um, I'm one of them!) Cal, UCLA and the other top-tier UC schools have a big advantage over us; there aren't nearly as many good private schools out there. And California is big enough that a student at a UC school frequently won't be going home for weekends, let along commuting.

That said, Stanford is one heck of a good school to have a degree from -- and it is very hard to get into. The big difference between Cal and Stanford is that Stanford has much easier grading because Stanford wants its students to feel good about the experience so that they'll contribute a lot of money to their alma mater.

Oh, I don't think Stanford grades that much easier. A little "reverse snooty" there.

BTW, Harvard, Yale and Princeton students were known to yell "safety school" at Cornell, Dartmouth and Brown students back when attendance at Ivy football games exceeded 5,000.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

After the loss to Michigan, one of my coworkers said she doesn't understand why Rutgers thinks it can fit in this conference. She said the football team isn't competitive and even academically they aren't on the same level as the other schools in the Big Ten. I can understand thinking the football team doesn't belong if you don't understand recruiting, but academically not on the same level???? She went to Fairleigh Dickinson. I wanted to ask her if her diploma actually says Fairleigh Dickinson or if it just says Safety School, but I decided it was best to avoid an argument.

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. I stopped being nice a long time ago when a-holes started coming up out of every rat hole to pile on Rutgers.

 

[NorthernKnight]

I know we discuss this often. I only have observational evidence, but it seems like more than ever perception at a real nadir. I see patients with college age kids, and have friends with kids in school. I cant believe the way kids flock to Delaware and UConn and how noses seem to get turned up at Rutgers.

LOL. Two weak schools.

 

[NorthernKnight]

Was in NJ recently and was surprised at how many people disrespected the institution. Never saw such disdain for the state university in other parts of the country except the Northeast.

Absolutely agreed, especially given that Rutgers is one of the Crown Jewels of NJ.

NJ residents are self hating and feel compelled to tear anything down. It's a disease.

 

[RUnTeX]

I'm sure that's the case for some people in PA. Where State College might benefit in this discussion is the physical distance from home is likely greater for most prospective students, which might help negate the fact that many of their HS classmates are also going. Rutgers would have been a half hour from home for me, and like others have touched on already, that's a far cry from "going away to school."

Understand completely about physical distance and State College/University Park being an outpost. But not sure I follow the logic of why the distance away from the hometown might negate the fact that fellow HS classmates are attending. If there are a lot of HS classmates, whether it's 40 miles away or 240 miles away from the hometown, it would still be considered a lot regardless of the distance. With being in a bubble of isolation, it could reinforce the potential negative of bumping into those classmates more often (if one desired not to cross paths with them again).

If the campus were closer to said hometown, the likelihood of bumping into one or more of them might actually be lower because they might be away from campus more often if some of them are "suitcase" students (go home often on weekends). This could be even more true if the campus is more scattered/spread out as I mentioned previously. So, it would seem that the specific issue of fellow HS classmates shouldn't be as much of a negative, especially if the other two (seemingly negative) characteristics, i.e. physical distance from hometown to campus and spread out campus layout, can potentially offset said HS classmate issue.

In my opinion, I don't think any of that really matters since the HS classmate issue is mostly just nonsense. Rather, it's about students trying to impress friends/relatives (and parents of students trying to impress their friends/relatives/colleagues). Unless there's a significant mismatch in the cost of attendance analysis (i.e. after accounting for the financial packages), for schools academically on par with others, it's not impressive to pay more and have a lower ROI. And for some families who have the financial means, they are stupidly willing to pay more just because the perception is that it must be better, which is just silly.

 

[Phi_1055]

There are nearly 2,500 4-year colleges and universities in the US. Get over it

 

[NotInRHouse]

A couple of things-

- It cannot be stressed enough how many students go OOS because they don't get into RU or other NJ state schools. Certainly some of those are at UDel/UConn/Ped, some of them got into RU but left NJ anyway, but even more so at the level of WVU, JMU, USCe...these are people who did not get into RU and want a college experience and they are not going to get it at Montclair. If the parents have $ you can't really blame them.

- RU has the second highest number of on campus students (I think MSU is first)...it's not a commuter school.

- The distance card is overplayed, when you consider that 3 of the top 5 OOS schools for NJ kids are UDel, Drexel, and NYU and those are closer to big chunks of the state's population than RU is.

I think the biggest factor as I have said before is prestige in the Shop Rite line...that diminished lately but it is still there.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

A couple of things-

- It cannot be stressed enough how many students go OOS because they don't get into RU or other NJ state schools. Certainly some of those are at UDel/UConn/Ped, some of them got into RU but left NJ anyway, but even more so at the level of WVU, JMU, USCe...these are people who did not get into RU and want a college experience and they are not going to get it at Montclair. If the parents have $ you can't really blame them.

- RU has the second highest number of on campus students (I think MSU is first)...it's not a commuter school.

- The distance card is overplayed, when you consider that 3 of the top 5 OOS schools for NJ kids are UDel, Drexel, and NYU and those are closer to big chunks of the state's population than RU is.

I think the biggest factor as I have said before is prestige in the Shop Rite line...that diminished lately but it is still there.

It's funny you say that because the is the perception I keep hearing from SU people, BC people and a few others. It is only second to Michigan State in housing students.

I think some kids and their parents get bad intel on Rutgers. The experience of Rutgers is not like that of Montclair State or TCNJ, or Rowan. Those schools are small time and smell of NJ experience. Rutgers is a community that can't be match in NJ. Even though Rutgers is nearby to most NJ kids the experience at Rutgers is similar to that of other large state schools. I know from experience. Colorado felt like a small school compared to Rutgers and diversity is much greater at Rutgers as well as things to do.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I think it depends on where you are

I'm in Plainsboro in a ridiculous top end school system and I see MORE Rutgers stuff than ever

It isn't far off the 2006 levels...still pretty damn close

People who want to hate....let them hate

When we start to do better in sports....not being in the big ten...it will be "more in" than ever to go to Rutgers

I am not worried about those who just want to hate