Rutgers-New Brunswick is different from many schools across the country in the sense that we are not limited to just one campus. The school is blessed with four eclectic campuses, each having its own quirks, secrets, positives, and negatives. Although I cannot tell you which is the worst and which is the best, I can provide decent insight on each. So here are the pros and cons for each of our campuses:
In my freshman year I had the pleasure of living on Cook/Douglas, and if I am being honest, I wasn’t very excited at first. No one at Rutgers wants to live on Cook their freshman year, especially when all the hype surrounds some other well-known campuses. Regardless, Cook had some great things to offer. For example, it is easily our most scenic campus. Between the passion puddle and the open fields, it puts the other campuses to shame in terms of beauty. One of the downfalls of the campus however, is that it is far from the other campuses. Mix that with the infrequency of RexLs and RexBs, and you get yourself a classic “RU Screw."
In my sophomore year, I made the transition to Busch Campus. Busch is a campus that has a lot to offer. One of the biggest assets that Busch gives, is the proximity to the football stadium. When it comes to game day, the campus lights up with tailgates and music, and everyone is ready to cheer on the team. Yet, Busch falls short in the sense that it is too big. There are too many buildings and far too much space in between them. For someone that doesn’t live there, it can be an unpleasant experience and equally as confusing as a maze.
Next is College Avenue, the campus I live on now. I just recently started living here and the pros and cons have become very apparent very fast. The best thing about this campus is how close all the restaurants are and the overall culture of its small streets. When you think college, or "Rutgers", “the Ave” does a great job of summing it up. However, this comes hand in hand with a very big con: the noise. The noise at night has reached unbearable levels, that even on the quietest of Thirsty Thursdays, you may or may not be able to get a wink of sleep.
Last but not least is Livingston. From what I’ve heard through the grapevine, Livi used to be one of the worst campuses. To anyone that sees it today, it is a beautiful modern campus that has every college kid’s essentials. Whether it be the movie theatre or the Starbucks, the campus can satisfy everyone’s needs. The issue with this campus is that everyone wants to come to Livingston, making the bus stops some of the most crowded. Maybe it’s time to bring a car on campus, because catching a bus has become next to impossible!
