New Jersey Institute of Technology

Receives some flack due to its particular urban setting, but the University Heights section is actually pretty safe. University police are everywhere, since the Newark campus of Rutgers is across the street, and Essex County College is down the street. The worst that happens is cars getting stolen. Word of advice: do not park in the street, park only in university parking lots. No cars have been stolen from there.

There is more greenery than one would expect. Efforts have added a field called "the Green" and numerous trees and flowers. The amount of greenery suddenly increases near Dean's Day, when prospective students visit the campus.

Although recent efforts are trying to shift away from the "public research" theme, a majority of classes are taught by researchers. This is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. It is good since researchers presumably know what should be taught for practical use in the real world, but bad if the researcher does not know how to be a teacher. A recent trend I have noticed in my major department (Computer Science) is that more and more classes are being taught by professionals from the field, and their teaching ability thus far is very good. Like many other universities, some classes, especially lower-level ones, are taught by graduate students. I would also like to note that although it is primarily an engineering school, the humanities department is quite good and the professors are very enthusiastic. I ended up minoring in Literature because of that.

Names of buildings seem to be changed annually, or whenever someone donates enough money. Strangely enough, one of the buildings renamed two semesters ago is still listed as the old name on all printed material, including maps and class schedules. update Jan 20 2001: the name change is now reflected properly, 4 semesters later. I am currently saving up money to get at least a bench named after me.

The student population is very diverse. I do not have hard numbers, but it seems there is a disproportionate amount of asians (compared to the general population). Oh wait, I do have a statistic. Since I last heard, the male to female ratio is 10:1. Add this to the fact that it's an engineering school with a large geek population, and you can guess what the situation is like. However, since Rutgers is right across the street and students can cross-register for classes there as well, it's not terribly difficult from men to meet women, unless they are terribly shy. Women have no problems hooking up, other than the fact that every male wants to hook up with them, which can be quite troublesome at times.

The school has a large commuter population. It used to be at almost 50% but is decreasing due to increased housing efforts. As a commuter, it is easy to get detached from campus life, and effort must be taken to prevent this. Parking is a problem, and the deck and lots are usually packed. There is Lot 18, but it is in East Bumblefuck and no one wants to park there, especially since the walk to the campus doesn't seem quite safe. However, the parking deck is currently under construction and two levels are being added. Word has it that one of the other lots will become space for a dorm, so I'm not quite sure how effective adding two levels will be if that lot is removed. In any case, I will be long gone before that dorm is erected so it looks like I will be happy, parking-wise, for my last semester.

When i first came as a transfer student, I did not like the school all that much. Now, it is 2 years later and I am nearing graduation, and I can say that it truly provides a quality education for a good value. I transferred from a huge public university, which is a totally different experience, but it is possible to have a complete college experience here, as long as you put effort into it. When I get my diploma, I will be proud to have graduated from this school.