Bus Tours and New Students

Before visiting Rutgers New Brunswick campus, students must register online for either a Scarlet Day or a Scarlet Day Plus.  Both options offer incoming visitors an information session with an admissions counselor as well as a bus tour around the campuses.  The Scarlet Day Plus offers a session to meet with faculty that are part of a prospective major.  For my field observation, I attended a regular Scarlet Day.  The bus tour portion of the Scarlet Day lasted about an hour and covered all five campuses of Rutgers New Brunswick.  My tour guide, Stefanie, supplied a lot of information throughout the tour, whether it was about buildings we were passing or various parts of the Rutgers University experience that are commonly asked about.  

I was able to ask her after the bus tour what parts of the tour she thought were particularly important to new students as well as what advice she would give to new students thinking about Rutgers University. One of the things she said was that during the bus tours, it is very easy for students as well as parents to get overwhelmed because there is a lot of information thrown at them at one time.  She said, "when choosing a college make sure what it offers you on a deeper level, rather than physical."  She cited her experience while visiting University of Connecticut, which she found to be aesthetically beautiful, but after deciding on Rutgers and being here for two years, she realized that it wouldn't have offered her the same opportunities.  

Another thing she advises new students in their transition is to take a walking tour if they are taking a bus tour.  She realizes that the bus tour can feel very overwhelming and that it gives off the impression of a separated and disconnected campus, but she says once people experience the walking tour, that impression wears off.  

The Summer Orientation that New Student Orientation offers really helps students navigate and get a better feeling of the campus by doing a walking tour of a particular campus.  This is vital, as Stefanie stated, because it gives students a real familiarity with the campus and a more at ease feeling of their transition to college.  Students may still be nervous about the bus system as a whole, but welcome week is incredibly comforting to students.  It is a great opportunity for students to navigate the bus system to find their classes before their classes actually start.  Orientation is a great time to stress the important of doing this as well as stressing the fact that the buses, as well as Rutgers University, isn't as daunting as it may seem.