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Rutgers University (New Brunswick) Profile

New Brunswic, New Jersey

The Basics

Founded in 1766 as Queens College in New Brunswick New Jersey, Rutgers University has developed into a very large state university system with three separate facilities including the New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark campus. The main campus is located in New Brunswick New Jersey. The footprint of each site is large for an urban, and suburban school with approximately 40 acres in Camden, 34 acres in Newark, and several miles of campus facilities in the New Brunswick campus which could be considered a city in it’s self. The main campus in New Brunswick is also unique because its actually 5 campuses in total with the Busch, and Livingston campus in Piscataway New Jersey, and the Douglass, Cook, and College Avenue campuses in New Brunswick.

The main campus in New Brunswick has approximately 120 buildings including academic, research, cultural, recreation, sports, residential, dining, and student services facilities. The internal campus setting provides students and employees with several types of student services including health, physical fitness, library, and cultural meeting places. The focal point of each campus during my tour will be observed in the same order it was offered by the university. Each campus is also unique for students because they have different qualities about them including physical environment. Each campus has it’s own student and recreation center, housing and dining hall, and finally it’s own student services.

The internal campus setting of each particular college provides students and employees with several types of student services including physical fitness, library services, and cultural meeting places and dining halls. Each Rutgers University College had observed focal points of reference during my campus visit, but the main areas of activity were found within each campuses student, and athletic centers. The main areas of pedestrian traffic were found on the sidewalks from the dining hall to the academic buildings and library. Each campus also has several green areas within the footprint for outside activities and socializing. I observed heavy pedestrian traffic from these areas of the campus. The physical footprint of the colleges also observes several roads and parking lots that allow students to walk onto campus at several different locations.

The published demographic information for the university describes a culturally diverse student population with students from all across the country, and the world. Rutgers University has developed 5 different campuses, within a campus structures to offer students a Liberal Arts and Science, Research, and a Comprehensive education format to enhance it’s commitment to different types of career endeavors. Rutgers has also developed education facilities in 2 other major metropolitan areas of New Jersey including Camden, and Newark. This large state university system allows students from all over the state to enjoy higher education resources with affordable prices. Below is a description of demographics for Rutgers University’s New Brunswick New Jersey facilities.

Rutgers New Brunswick Campus. The university is home to approximately 49% male, and 51% female students. The average age of a freshman is 18 years old. 91% of students are in state residents; the others come from mostly the Middle Atlantic. Students on campus provide a diverse multi-cultural makeup including students from 19 other states. 54% of students are White, 10% are Black, 8% are Hispanic, and 22% are Asian Americans, and 4% are unknown. Total student population, 34,450

Rutgers University has 4 colleges within it’s educational system that offer Liberal Arts programs. The following New Brunswick facilities offer liberal arts programs, the Douglass College, Livingston, Rutgers, and the College Avenue liberal arts campus. The university also has 8 professional schools including: Cook College, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers Business School, New Brunswick School of Communication, School of Information and Library Studies, School of Engineering, the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, School of Management and Labor Relations. Each school within the New Brunswick campus has individual requirements, policies, and fees. Applicants should contact the particular school for the most recent information. Below is general admission, and academic standards information for Rutgers New Brunswick.

Student Housing

The purpose of student housing is to provide safe and reasonable accommodations for students living away from home. The issue of housing and dormitory life is a critical element of overall campus life because students spend a large amount of time in their rooms. Student housing units historically come in 3 different styles including traditional corridor, suite, and apartment style units.

Rutgers University/New Brunswick guarantees housing for freshman and sophomores students who have filed their intent to reside on campus by the stated deadline and who have continuously registered as full time students. The housing is old accept for the new suite style units on the Busch campus. The school has started developing housing resources for upper classman through it’s capital improvement initiatives. The University apartments are new, and beautiful, but only upper classmen can rent them.

Off Campus Housing

Rutgers University has been described as a mini-city in a downtown, and suburban residential community. The reason I have mentioned the overall community of New Brunswick and Piscataway is to re-assert the point that RU’s network of affiliated campuses has encapsulated it’s real estate holdings within the area. The campus footprint allows almost every student to have housing within walking distance to the campus. The issue of off campus housing has a different feel to it compared to other university off campus housing demands.

The demand for housing, especially off campus housing is usually a tough issue for institutions attempting to keep students within the general geographical area. Rutgers has addressed this issue by buying up residential buildings and developing housing networks. One such network is called The Off- Campus Housing Service, which lists local rooms and apartments for students. The service only allows students with an acceptance letter, and or, a current student I.D. to use this program. Below is a link to the program.

Campus Life

Rutgers University is an active multi-cultural public university campus environment that provides students with an outstanding social, and educational atmosphere. The admissions demographics paint a picture of a very diverse community with students from all over the State of New Jersey, and the world. The local communities of New Brunswick and Piscataway only add to the universities international status because the community has multi-cultural roots as well. Rutgers also addresses the issue of ecology in a positive way. The physical environment is clean and well maintained and the economic conditions are favorable to students and local residents due to the available services in walking distance to the school. The emotional climate of the entire community is positive because students are involved with local community groups.

This issue of school culture is also a very important part of campus life because everyone wants to have a connection and emotional fit to their new school and community. Rutgers has done a great job developing positive social systems with it’s students by providing a series of coordinated programs including workshops and seminars for freshman students. This type of process provides a foundation for learning and personal growth providing over 300 academic clubs, student organizations, and over 50 intramural sports activities.

Sports activities for Rutgers Division I athletic teams is also a big deal on campus. Rutgers University has more than 40 men’s, and women’s teams that compete in the NCAA Big East Division I conference. The university also has several state of the art sports facilities for the teams including Rutgers Stadium and the Hale Center, and the Louis Brown Athletic Center (The RAC) for basketball games. The university footprint is full of sports venues for students to root on fellow RU students. I personally liked the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center that has a state of the art swimming pool and diving facility. The down side of RU’s sports venues is the location for obvious reasons, the football and swimming facility is on Busch campus which is a suburban campus. The same can be said for the RAC, which is located on the Livingston campus, which is very remote from the New Brunswick side of the Raritan River. Rutgers is also home to a substantial Greek population with 18% of students belonging to 27 national fraternities and 15 national sororities.

Campus life at Rutgers is more than sports & fraternities, its about performing arts, history, cultural events, restaurants, and local museums. For example, the Douglass campus has several performing arts facilities including the Philip J. Levin Theater for the arts. The Douglass facility also has the Cabaret Theater, and the Blanche & Irving Laurie Music Library for students and visitors to enjoy. The College Avenue campus has several historical, and cultural buildings to enjoy including the Old Queens Campus and Zimmerli Museum, and the Center for Latino Arts & Culture. The university has several global education centers in the area for students to learn, and gather information about studying abroad.

Public Transportation

New Jersey Transit provides bus, and rail, service to all areas within the Rutgers footprint. The N.J. Transit system provides reliable public transportation services to students who don’t have vehicles on campus. The university has a very large number of in-state students who know the streets and highways very well. Knowing the area is key because students who come from other states may not know the area as well and might opt to take a bus or train to their destination because they don’t want to risk getting lost on local roads.

Rutgers Bus System

Public transportation resources for RU students is available through the Rutgers Bus System which provides bus service for daily classes, student activities, links to N.J. Transit, and general commuter needs. Information for services can be found at http://rudots.rutgers.edu/ the phone number is (732) 932-7744. This service is crucial to students who don’t have cars. RU is located in a suburban, and city neighborhood and most of the shopping is not close to the campus. RU Transportation Services provide much needed transportation resources for students who have classes on different campuses. The service is excellent because it starts early approximately 7:00AM, and it runs late in the evening to 2:00AM. The RU bus service runs through out the campus and provides reliable bus service to students who don’t, or can’t have vehicles on campus.

Community Profile

New Brunswick, New Jersey has been identified on maps geographically as a part of Middlesex County, which is in commuting distance to both New York City, and Philadelphia. The community has been described as scholarly and intellectual due to its student population and historical neighborhood architecture. The greatest number of residents within George Street, and College Avenue is in fact a college student. Rutgers University is the main property owner within the area; it owns most of the buildings within downtown New Brunswick. The local pedestrian walkways on College, and Easton Avenues, not to mention George Street links local residents and students to a large number of restaurants and local shops.

The City of New Brunswick is one of the largest urban communities within the State of New Jersey, with size comes transportation resources. Several major roadways within the state including the New Jersey Turnpike, which is the major north, south corridor, and Route 278, which is a major east, west roadway, link New Brunswick geographically. The school also has several high traffic road systems including Routes 1, and 18, which makes Rutgers a convenient location to drive to from across the state.

The College Avenue section of New Brunswick is unique because it offers students a university feel, while encapsulating itself from the rest of the city. The physical footprint for the area observes a large number of academic, housing, cultural, entertainment, social club buildings, and several other types of student resource facilities within several city blocks. The local community also shares several cultural and social meeting places including museums, restaurants, coffee houses, and library facilities. The College Avenue community is city, within a city because the main population in this areas are students, university employees, campus visitors and finally, young working professionals.

The overall community has a real city type feel to it because people usually walk on a number of neighboring streets around the College Avenue campus. The downtown area of New Brunswick is very active with students and local residents enjoying dining, and local shopping. The downtown area of New Brunswick around the old Queens campus gets disserted after dark and George Street between Commercial and Livingston Avenues has less foot traffic at night as well.

The following demographics for New Brunswick describe a multi-cultural community within a total population of 49,950 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The community survey highlights several characteristics to describe the population including: 49.6% of residents are male, 50.4 are female. 48% of residents are white, 22% are African American, 25% are Hispanic or Latino, and 5% are Asian. The median age of population is 23.6 years old. 80% of residents are 18 years old, 40.6% of residents are over 21 years old, and 6.5% of city residents are over the age of 65. The issue of housing in New Brunswick is also interesting. 94% of all housing units within the city are occupied. 73.7% of housing units are renter-occupied, while only 26.3% of units are owner-occupied.

A Census Bureau community survey for Piscataway New Jersey highlights several characteristics to describe the population including: 49.5% of residents are male, 50.5 are female. 49% of residents are white, 20% are African American, 5% are Hispanic or Latino, and 24% are Asian. The median age of population is 26 years old. 78% of residents are 18 years old, 70.4% of residents are over 21 years old, and 8.7% of city residents are over the age of 65. The issue of housing in Piscataway is also interesting. 97% of all housing units within the township are occupied. 31%of housing units are renter-occupied, while 69% of units are owner-occupied.

Local weather

Weather is also an issue to consider for students preparing for a college experience. New Jersey enjoys all four seasons of weather including rain and snow. Northeast weather patterns sometimes allow for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees for a considerable amount of time during the winter. New Jersey also gets it’s share of rain during the spring and summer months as well.

Rutgers University New Brunswick & Vicinity Hotel Quick Links

Hyatt Regency New Brunswick
2 Albany Street
New Brunswick N.J. 08901
The Heldrich Hotel & Spa
10 Livingston Ave
New Brunswick N.J. 08901
**Holiday Inn Express Tower Center
4 Tower Center Blvd
East Brunswick N.J. 08816
** Hilton East Brunswick & Towers
3 Tower Center Blvd
East Brunswick N.J. 08816
**Hampton Inn North Brunswick
841 Georges Road
North Brunswick N.J. 08902
** Indicates Approx 10 minute drive to Rutgers**

Rutgers New Brunswick Off Campus Restaurants

Below is a sample list of local restaurants in, and around Rutgers main campus.

The Your College Profile web site also contains an “Everything in New York City” document for families who wish to explore the NYC while visiting Rutgers. This site contains a full list of hotels, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, and tourism resources for families enjoying the region.

Rutgers New Brunswick Quick Links

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