Why I Chose Rutgers
When I was a senior in high school, I decided to make Rutgers University-New Brunswick my home for the next four years of my life. As a current college sophomore, I stand by that choice every single day, and here’s why:
At an institution like Rutgers, you truly feel that you are going to a school gives you so many tools for success through the vast variety of majors and the sheer amount of classes that are offered. I have friends who went to schools with very small programs where every student takes the same classes because it's all that is offered to fulfill their requirements. At Rutgers, major requirements are flexible, allowing students of the same major to leave with experiences tailored to their personal interests.
Just the other day I met a student from Russia who is a double major: fine arts and biochemistry. She explained to me that the reason Rutgers stood out to her from all the other schools in the U.S. was not only because of the reputation of Mason Gross and the Biochemistry department at Rutgers, but also the flexibility to double major in what she was interested in. ‘Flexibility’ describes all aspects of Rutgers’ curriculum; it is incredibly easy to switch majors at the school. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 80% of college students will change their major at some point in their college career. For those who go to smaller schools with fewer majors, this decision can lead to them being forced to transfer or stay in college an extra year to accommodate this change. However, within your school at Rutgers, it can be done with a quick email to an advisor and a click of a button. I've known people to change their major as late as their junior year and thanks to this ease and flexibility, they can still graduate on time.
Around campus, there are research and internship opportunities in a wide variety of fields. With Rutgers’ skilled faculty and researchers, there are always openings as TA's (teachers assistants) and lab assistants. For business students, Rutgers is located conveniently across the street from Johnson & Johnson central headquarters, and there are Career & Internship Mega Fairs—amongst the largest in recruiting opportunities in the nation—held once every semester in New Brunswick. If you're pre-med, Robert Wood Johnson is also right in New Brunswick and there's a bus that can take you there within 10 minutes. All of these factors and many more make Rutgers-New Brunswick a college with opportunities everywhere you look. Flyers and advertisements cover the entire campus for everything from part-time jobs to internships to research positions.
Last summer as a freshman, I had my first internship where I got to design and perform my own research. Not only is finding the perfect internship usually hard for students, but finding one as a freshman is relatively unheard of at other schools. However, at Rutgers, I was able to get an internship where I could do meaningful research and present my findings at a Research Symposium to every member of the faculty in the department. An internship where you aren't just cleaning out Petri dishes or making photocopies is so useful and provides valuable experience that prepares you for a career.
While opportunities are a major deciding factor for college, price also plays a vital role. I think everyone in New Jersey knows that Rutgers is one of the most affordable schools to attend for local residents. Most people see that and assume going to Rutgers is just settling for the cheapest option when it comes to your college experience but at Rutgers, you don't even have to settle. For the quality of education and the access to professors who are at the top of their industry, Rutgers is a great return on investment. Everyone loves saving money and if you can do that while also getting an excellent education, it’s a great deal!
The Rutgers environment is one driven by excitement, a characteristic that definitely drew me to the university. All colleges have a culture, and a huge contributor to that culture is sports. Whether your school is the best at a sport or not, the camaraderie and fellowship of sports and games can unite an otherwise big and diverse school to create a social experience that is fundamental to a college experience. Rutgers football and basketball games are such impactful entertainment and social events that even those who aren't interested in sports attend to take part in the spirited Rutgers chants and have that iconic game day experience. Constantly being surrounded by students at games and around campus has led me to meet some of my closest friends.
My best friend is in the Business School and I am in the School of Environmental & Biological Sciences. The fact that our majors are so different and yet we both attend the same school with incredibly good programs in both of these fields is indicative of the benefit of going to a school like Rutgers. People with very different skills can put together their knowledge and experience to achieve more and transform into more well-rounded individuals. One of my professors once told me,“The people you have around you now and choose to spend time with will directly predict what your life will look like in 5 or 10 years.” This quote reminds me to feel so grateful I go to Rutgers because every one of my friends is someone I want to be more like and who I genuinely believe will be very successful once we have all graduated. This stems from the fact that Rutgers has so many good programs, no matter who I meet, they are intelligent and motivated to succeed in their respective fields of interest and that is exactly the type of people I want to be surrounded by during the most formative years of my life.
My name is Rhea Bolar and I am a second-year student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick Campus double majoring in Agriculture & Food Systems and Plant Science with a minor in Environmental Business Economics. And these are the reasons I'm glad I chose Rutgers.
