Rutgers University Reviews

"My greatest accomplishment in life was graduating from William Paterson University in May of 2013. I studied Sociology with a concentration on Criminal Justice. It was a very long, but much needed 4 years in college. After graduating from high school, I had never thought about what I wanted to do afterwards. After many months of debating on whether I wanted to attend college or go straight to work, I finally made the decision to go to college. Prior to attending William Paterson University, I attended Raritan Valley Community College. I did not know what to expect from college, but I knew it would be more serious than high school. Graduating from North Plainfield High School was not the hardest thing to do. I graduated with a 2.3 GPA, and at the time, I thought that was very good. Raritan Valley Community College gave me a very good example of what the real world would be like. I only attended Raritan Valley Community College for one year before transferring to William Paterson. I took up many general education classes, but one class in particular was very interesting to me. My “Introduction to Sociology” class opened my eyes to the world. I had learned to many things about diversity, equality, society, and social relationships. Once I took that class, I headed straight to the Office of Studies, and declared my major as Sociology. I knew that learning more about the world that I live in was a great thing to do. While studying Sociology, I also started attending Sociology Club meetings. At the meetings we discussed, debated, and analyzed many of the current events that was happening. Sociology answers many questions about the puzzles of life. Studying Sociology with a concentration on Criminal Justice made my time in college more interesting than anything I had ever done in life. I got the best of both worlds by learning about human behavior, social organization, and criminal justice systems. Sociology has opened up my mind to looking at the bigger picture of things. Before studying sociology, I could look at a magazine, or watch something on television, and not second-guess anything. Sociology helped me really analyze everything around me, but most importantly, media. Going into my junior year of college, I finally started to get an idea of what I wanted to do with my life. Dr. Charlie Flint was not my personal advisor, but mentored me in the right career path choice. I knew that I wanted to become a juvenile probation officer. As a juvenile probation officer, I will have the privilege of supervising criminal offenders and performing my job duties. More importantly, I will be able to mentor and guide these young offenders in the right path in life. Helping and mentoring juveniles after they have taken the wrong path in life will be very rewarding to me. Rutgers not only has a great reputation for their Social Work graduate program, but the teachers of Rutgers University also has a reputation of challenging their students, and pushing them to the best of their abilities. Without a challenge, you will not know your strengths and weaknesses. During my college career and also my work experience, I have learned what my skills, strengths, and weaknesses are. I have acquired excellent knowledge and skills to work and support diverse communities. I have a good understanding of human development and human interaction in society, with support options that I have developed over the years. I have experience with working with people who have developmental disabilities as well as behavioral disabilities. My life’s passion is helping people become a better person in every capacity. Some specific skills that I have obtained is my ability to be organized, an active listener, and my ability to set boundaries. In order to be a great social worker, I believe these skills that I have obtained are very important. A social worker has a busy schedule and most times a very large caseload. Being organized will be essential to make sure that the clients are receiving the best services possible. Being an active listener is crucial because you need to listen carefully and be able to ask and answer questions for your client. Building their trust is very important, so you always want to know their needs and listen carefully. Setting boundaries for yourself as a social worker is setting a realistic goal for yourself. You don’t ever want to take on too much, because these clients are looking forward to their case being recognized in a timely manner. With these skills I have obtained through work and school, I know that I will become successful in my career path. My strengths are my ability to be a careful listener and a very strong person. In the field that I am taking on, you have to be strong minded and hearted because some of the stories that you will hear can be heartbreaking. You always want to show compassion and let people know that you are there for them and you do care, but also upholding your professional manner. One weakness that I have learned that I have was spending a lot of time on one particular assignment or task. This is actually a weakness I have overcome by making sure my work is efficient, making sure that I have read what is asked of me, and then checking my work after I am done for perfection. With all of my experience and my passion to help people, I believe Rutgers school of social work will be the best fit for me. I will be able to challenge myself in various ways, as well as being in an innovative setting where I feel welcomed and believe I will be on my path to success. I will make it my duty to see that all of my clients are not only in compliance with the laws, but also help them not make the same mistake again. In my life I have been through some up’s and down’s and through my experiences, I plan on helping someone else that could use some words of advice. Children are our future, and not many people are helping the delinquent children. It will be my goal to try my best and have all of my clients be on the right path in life, which includes going to college, and bettering themselves for the future. People make mistakes in life, but with the proper counseling, discipline, and determination, these mistakes will not have to be made twice."

"The social work program at Rutgers is a wonderful program to be a part of. The professors care about the students and take the time to ensure all students reach their full potentials. The cons is that there isn't much financial aid that is given out to the students. Other than that the program is great."

"Believe Rutgers is a pretty school. It offers a lot of services to its students and it is up to the student to inquire about such services. There is also a student run info customer service area that helps answers all students questions. If you put in the work and effort, you will reap all of the wonderful things that Rutgers has to offer."

"Great program and great classmates. I am happy with my decision to attend here!"

"Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is providing me with an excellent medical education. The faculty is extremely helpful and accessible, and they take our feedback seriously in order to help improve our courses. I am surrounded by fantastic classmates who will certainly make important contributions to the field of medicine. The one con of the school is the price tag. Although it is a state school, the cost of attendance will leave me in over $200,000 of debt. The cost may influence which specialty I chose, especially if I feel I won't be able to pay off my loans in a reasonable amount of time."

"This graduate program to become a physican assistant is very hands on. The program has been around for many years (formerly umdnj) and has a great reputation. No cons that I can think of!"

"My overall experience at Rutgers University has been good. My only advice for incoming students is to focus on your studies and not to get lost in what your friends are doing. You are paying for your education for a reason and it is a privilege not a luxury."

"Too large, it's up to you not to fall through the cracks. Too many core requirements are pointless liberal arts courses. Very little career training."

"The ranking of the MSW program and the location were definitely pros in my decision process. The price was also attractive. I do not have any particular cons to say about Rutgers MSW program."

"Pros: Pros of the Program include dedicated professors that are willing to help you to succeed to make sure no student falls behind or fails. I appreciate the fact that university professors constantly email job openings, internships, and fellowship positions daily. Cons: There are not enough public health administration electives and general public health related electives which forces students to take non-related course material. There needs to be a Public Health group that directly gives graduating students assistance and a starting point to finding a future career, sometimes you do not know where to start."

"Teachers are very informative and want students to learn and do well. Some of the workload, however is unrealistic to what would be expected of us as future educators in the field."

"Rutgers is a very competitive school that will teach you alot about medicine and the PA profession."

"I believe that I go to a great school and I love my campus (NB) and all it offers me and I love my program but I think that financial aid in general is a big deal. There just isn't enough money and for smaller schools to offer graduate/research.teaching assistantships as actual jobs for twenty hours a week and this school as large as it is to only offer a few research assistantships for 6 hours a week isn't enough to help students. You say you don't really want us working but your not offering anything to help alleviate those costs. Put good in and get great out- many students are burning out to be able to get through this program and be able to survive outside of school as well."

"I believe that social work is an ever changing field with many important dynamics to be improved and discovered. I feel that Rutgers University is not only a helpful resource in which to invest my education in but a growing community that actively supports students working in the field. I picture myself not only growing academically but growing professionally and as an individual at Rutgers. I believe that the University offers excellent resources around campus that make it convenient to apply program studies to the community. I strongly feel that Rutgers has the foundation and tools I need to excel in the focus that I will choose. I foresee that Rutgers will help me embrace opportunity and offer variety in my future career as well. I admire how Rutgers exemplifies diversity which is an important and realistic aspect of social work. I firmly believe that these components make Rutgers the best and most effective choice to further my education."

"The pro for the social work graduate program is that you learn a lot of hands on materials that will be beneficial when you enter into your career. Also, the professors are proficient in their specialized fields and know how to teach the students the materials. In contrast, the con for the social work graduate program is that the books are very expensive and you need the books for each of your classes. In addition, it is expensive to live on campus, but for some students that live far away, that is their only option."

"The graduate program in Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers was a great experience for me. The program size is small and getting to know your peers and professors is well facilitated. Rutgers is a large University and because of that the resources and support you get to network for your career are vast but it is up to you to be proactive about making those connections. This program fit me well because I am self-motivated and don't need a very rigid structure to achieve my goals. My overall experience at this school has been invaluable!"

"Excellent technological resources; brilliant and connected faculty; affordable and competitive program nestled amongst surrounding elite northeastern schools. Unfortunately, not an academic challenge or a powerful name outside of the tri-state. Overall, this program is a great value as a vocational, technical program for those with professional ambitions."

"This is an outstanding program. The only mark down I have is for the physical area surrounding the Rutgers Campuses, which is, of course, typical sprawling and totally inaccessible New Jersey. Everything that actually matters in a grad program--student support both from the faculty and financially in the form of assistantships and fellowships--rivals other graduate programs."

"Rutgers Graduate School of Education is a five-year accelerated program, which makes it a great value. Also, because Rutgers is such a huge school and so many people in New Jersey have graduated from here, it is a good network to be a part of."

"The Public Policy Program at Rutgers Bloustein School is so much more then what I expected it to be! The school truly takes advantage of providing high caliber faculty who truly go the extra mile for their students. Professors are well versed in the material and have great experiences in both the public and private sector. There really are no downsides to this program!"