The Tab’s declassified Rutgers survival guide
Think of it as an RU cheat sheet
Some lessons are learned very quickly here at Rutgers, like how the buses are rarely empty enough for your bag to deserve its own seat, or how a guy cannot simply walk into a frat party without proper “ratio” (sorry, candles and gift baskets aren’t appropriate).
At the same time, there are tons of little pieces of RU wisdom that students could easily graduate without ever knowing. Here is a handy list of tips you might not know so you can milk every dollar of your tuition for what it’s worth.
Food
If you want to eat at the dining hall occasionally without a meal plan, you can pay guest price with RU Express, cash, or credit card. In fact, paying guest price can actually save you more money in the long-run than some meal plans. (Hint: If you got the 75 meal plan and run out of swipes, don’t get the 110 next time. It’s cheaper to get the 75 and pay with guest swipes the rest of the semester.
Hungry commuters – Microwaves are available for student use in each other campus centers. Some of the locations are the Red Lion Café in the College Ave Student Center, the NJC Lounge Kitchen in the Douglass Campus Center, and the convenience stores in the Livingston and Busch Student Centers.
Students do not have to pay sales tax for food purchased on campus.
Transportation
Call the Knight Mover when regular buses aren’t running and they will pick you up anywhere on campus (including nearby areas like George St. and Robert Wood Johnson) and transport you anywhere else on or near campus.
You can get around College Ave by taking the F or EE from the SAC to Scott Hall, or by taking the LX, H, or A from Scott Hall to the SAC.
For those late nights at Club Mabel, there is a shuttle bus that travels to and from the Cook/Douglass residence halls and Douglass Library from 10 pm to 2 am.
Instead of taking the train to NYC for $26 round trip, you can take the bus from Albany Street across from the train station for $17 round trip. Remember to buy tickets ahead of time from the Student Activities Business Office.
Health
Regardless of how sick you are or how many broken limbs you have, the Health Center will not see you unless you have made an appointment. Take the time to make call them or fill out the online form before going in.
Rutgers Recreation offers a variety of massage therapy and spa services to full-time students for very reasonable prices compared to those you’d find outside Rutgers. During your birthday month, you can get a half hour massage for $15, or $25 regularly.
Free drop-in meditation workshops are held three days a week at the Busch, College Ave, and Douglass student centers at 12 pm. All sessions are beginner-friendly, according to the CAPS website. Health Services offers STI testing, as well as other sexual health services, and visits are confidential.
Other helpful stuff
If you lose a file for any reason but saved it onto a Rutgers computer at some point, it will be available on that same computer for 24 hours or the next time you log in.
You can release all of your print jobs at once at the print release stations by selecting the first one and dragging down at an angle. Commuter lockers are available for rent at the CAC and DCC. And finally – the 7-11 at Rockoff is an Amazon Locker location where you can have your packages delivered no matter where you live.