Adjusting to college is such an overwhelming experience for students nowadays. You're feeling a combination of excitement, fear, anxiety, curiosity, and a whole bunch of other emotions that come with leaving everything you knew and starting over in a new place. Rutgers, like most other large state universities, can be especially overwhelming due it's size. So for all you freshman and transfer students heading to the Rut, here are 15 things I wish someone told me.
1. This is a big school. This seems like an obvious statement, but accepted students day and APA day and orientation only give you a taste of one or two campuses, and even then you only see the highlights. Even one of our five campuses compete in size with the entirety of schools like TCNJ or Rowan.
2. You will get lost. So it is totally okay to pull up your map screenshots on your phone and ask for directions. No one will judge you, they'd rather you ask than walk slowly in circles in front of them.
3. Piggy-backing off of #2, go to all your classes before classes really start. Once you move in, take an hour or two to go find all your classroom buildings so you at least have a general idea where you are going, because I learned the hard way that professors don't care if your new and get lost, be on time!
4. Professor's really don't care about if you come to class. In high school, if you missed a class or a test your teacher would chase you down and give you the work and notes and let you make things up. Here they could honestly care less. They get paid whether you show up or not, and they will never remind you to turn something in or allow make-ups without a university accepted absence.
5. GO TO CLASS. I cannot stress this enough. You may not think it's important if the professor doesn't take attendance or they put all the slides on Sakaii anyway, but it is. You go to school to get an education first and foremost, so make sure you are getting educated!
6. The amount of work you have in one weekend will exceed any amount of work you've ever done in the past. Do not be surprised when you spend literally 12 hours in a library and still didn't finish everything you have to do. Time management is key.
7. Finals and midterms are as awful as everyone tells you they are. You will have multiple in one day, or for five days in a row, and they really do make or break your overall course grades for the most part.
8. Get involved. My first semester I didn't join any clubs or anything of the sort, and my experience at Rutgers was not as good as it has been since I joined clubs and organizations my second semester here. There is something for everyone, whether it be sports, volunteer work, Greek organizations, or hobby clubs. Take advantage of everything Rutgers has to offer!
9. Be friendly with the people you live with. It's obviously awkward at first living in a room with someone you don't know and sharing a bathroom with strangers, but keep your door open and smile at your neighbor, your going to be living together for a whole year so why not be friends?
10. Invest time in your social life. Form great relationships and do fun things with you friends. It really is true when everyone tells you "your college friends are your friends for life".
11. Frat parties at Rutgers are probably exactly what you imagine frat parties to be like in your head. It's tons of sweaty people stuffed in a basement crowding around one keg of shitty beer. People are all drunk and stumbling over and flailing all over the dance floor. But, they are a blast.
12. Roofies are real. Sexual Assaults are real. Alcohol Poising is real. Everyone always thinks "It'll never happen to me" until it does. Be careful, be smart, and don't be afraid to ask for help or call for help if something is not right. Rutgers has been in the news previously for partying-related incidents and it's a shame because so many of them could have been avoided.
13. Crime alerts are no joke. New Brunswick is not safe, and there are a lot of people in the surrounding area who will gladly take advantage of college kids. Always walk in groups and pepper spray isn't a bad investment.
14. Spring fever is an actual diagnosis. Those first few warm days in March and April are unlike any others. All of the sudden the campus is alive and fun and happy. After being cooped up inside, all winter get outside and throw a football or play some music or go enjoy a good old Rutgers dage.
15. We have a lot of school spirit, like A LOT. Gamedays are the best days ever and you rarely find someone who goes to this school that doesn't like it. Rutgers is a great community and an amazing place to go to school.
Looking back on this list, I'm realizing I focused a little more on the negative aspects than the positive. This is is no way a reflection of how I feel about going to Rutgers. Rutgers really is the happiest place on earth (sorry not sorry Disney). This place is like no other, and I know most people say that about their school, but it really is true here. We have great school spirit, amazing academics, fun extracurricular activities, an abundance of opportunity, and a great school to call home. Once you get here, you'll realize how lucky you are to be a Scarlet Knight!
