A Photo-Journey Around Campus: 10 Places for a First-Year to Know

Rutgers is huge. You're probably already aware of that. It can be very difficult to find the most important places you need to know. This post includes a comprehensive list of ten things/places you should know about before you move in. They're there for you to take advantage of, and you might even make a habit of visiting some of them during the week. If you're aware of these before you move in, you'll feel less overwhelmed, more eager to get involved, and you'll enjoy your year.

1. Student Centers

Other student centers on campus include: Cook Campus Center (CCC),
Douglass Campus Center (DCC), Busch Campus Center (BCC), and the
Rutgers Student Center on College Ave (RSC)

No matter what campus you live on, you'll find yourself frequenting these spots a few times a week. It might even feel like a second home on campus (especially if you're like me and have so many classes on Livingston that you find yourself hanging out in the upstairs of the LSC multiple times a week.) Not only are they great places to study or meet with people for schoolwork, they're also pretty convenient places to eat when you're not in the mood for the dining hall, or just hang out with other people. Many campus events are held in student centers, and some places, such as the Livingston Student Center (right) have spots such as the RutgersZone where you can spend some fun time with friends in a non-academic atmosphere. Know them, know where they are, and you have a place to spend time outside of your dorm.

2. Dorms

Nicholas Hall on Cook Campus (my first-year dorm)

Now this spot is pretty obvious (considering you have no choice but to be aware of it), but your dorm is much more than a place to shower and sleep. This is where you meet friends. This is where you learn about campus from your RA. You have the option to introduce yourself to new people and get involved with your living community. Whether it's making posters or crafts for a certain event in your dorm, or joining RHA (Residence Hall Association) and becoming involved with your hall government, there's so much more to a residence hall than it serving as simply a home-away-from-home. Plus, if you ever have questions, your RA is there to help you. After completing orientation, your dorm is the second place you have to make connections with people and get involved with the university community.

3. Dining Halls

Neilson Dining Hall (Cook/Douglass). Others include: Brower
Commons (College Ave), Busch Dining Hall, and Livingston
Dining Commons (affectionately known as New Tillett)

An essential place to know as well as a pretty awesome one, your dining hall is one of the first places you should find once you move in. The dining hall is a common place to gather with friends. Even the pickiest of eaters will find something to eat in each of them, and if you ever have any special needs or accommodations, Dining Services will be more than happy to help you out. You'll find yourself here every day, so learn about them before you move in.





4. Signs and Maps: it's okay to use them

Rutgers is a huge campus. You're not going to learn where every building is in the first day, and that's okay. Your first day or two you might have to pull out your iPhone maps or try to look at signs/campus maps. When you see these signs on campus, pay attention them them; they could help you out!









5. The bus system

This is probably the most important thing you'll have to learn: the buses. It will seem absolutely impossible at first, but once you start taking them, it will seem like second-nature to you. There are 8 different buses for each campus (as well as two bus routes on weekends), and multiple bus stops on every campus. Once you learn what campuses your classes are on, you'll then have to learn which buses you have to use. It may seem confusing at first, but try to learn them before you move in, and you'll be set.


6. Advising Centers

College Hall (Cook/Douglass). Other advising 

centers are located in: Lucy Stone Hall (Livingston),

Milledoler Hall (College Ave), and in the Busch

Campus Center

The advising centers are hugely important but underutilized places on campus for many first-years. This is half because they don't know where they are, and half because they don't feel the need to go. VISIT ADVISORS! Trust me, you will feel much better about your academic future if you do this. Schools such as SEBS assign advisors to their first-year students before they declare their major. Other schools like SAS do not have specific advisors, so it's up to you to contact them, yourself. Using SAS as an example, there is an advising center on all four campuses. If you have any questions about gen. ed. classes, your major, credits, or anything academic, make an appointment at one of the centers and they will be more than happy to assist you.

7. Lounges 
There are plenty of getaways on campus. Rutgers has some awesome places where friends or clubs can meet up. These include cafes and lounges on each campus. Some serve food such as Au Bon Pain on College Ave, and others are just common places for students to meet for extracurricular activities or to study. Some of these include the River Lounge in the Student Activities Center (SAC, right) and the international lounge, as well as the commuter lounge in the Busch Campus Center.


8. Libraries

Alexander Library (College Ave). Other major libraries include: 

Douglass Library (Douglass),  Library of Science and Medicine 

(Busch), Kilmer (Livingston)

During finals, you're going to be very happy that you knew about your campus library. This building is a sanctuary for students in need of a place to get work done-- really get work done (hopefully without being on Facebook the whole time). Each library has plenty of space for students to study during each semester, and all of them specialize in certain types of catalogs (i.e., Alexander Library (left) has a section for East Asian books, and the Douglass library has a section for music and multimedia collections. The libraries have late hours, as well, so students can stay and accomplish their work in one sitting. So if you ever need to get away from your dorm when distraction is slowly winning, take a trip to your local library. You'll be glad you did!


9. Housing

Cook/Douglass Housing (located inside the PAL building)

You probably won't have to frequent your housing/res. life buildings too often during the year, but they're helpful to know if in case you ever need to visit them. Housing is where you go in case you lose your ID or your key to your dorm. Additionally, if you ever have a problem with something in your dorm room (your mini-fridge breaks, any other problems) and your RA isn't around, it might be helpful to save the number just in case you need to contact them. Each campus has one, and you never know when you might have to take a visit.


10. Health Center

Willets Health Center on Cook/Douglass.
Others include Hurtado (College Ave), and
the Busch-Livingston Health Center.

Your campus health center is an extremely important place to know. It is the closest place you can get to a doctor on campus. If you feel like you're ill or have an injury, you're going to want to come to the health center. First, you MUST MAKE AN APPOINTMENT (if I did this the first time I went, it would have saved me plenty of trouble), then once you're there, you fill out some paperwork, your temperature/blood pressure/height and weight are taken, and then you meet with the in-house doctor. Everyone working in here is very helpful. My advise is to come to school with your own medicine, but just in case it doesn't help, your next best bet is to visit the health center.









Before you move in, be sure to familiarize yourself with these ten places. If you have an idea of where these places are and what they can do for you, you'll feel much more confident about adjusting to the school.