A public R1 flagship in New Brunswick, NJ, admitting 58.15% of applicants with proximity to New York City and Philadelphia, a 33.63% Asian enrollment, and a first-generation student rate of 34.58%.
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Rutgers University-New Brunswick is a public R1 research university in New Brunswick, New Jersey, founded in 1766 as Queen's College and the eighth-oldest college in the United States. It is the flagship campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and enrolls approximately 36,010 undergraduates and 20,253 graduate students across thirty-three schools and colleges. The largest undergraduate schools include the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering, the Rutgers Business School, the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and the School of Communication and Information.
Business, engineering, computer science, biological sciences, and social sciences account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees. Rutgers is accredited through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Rutgers University is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Rutgers is a member of the Big Ten Conference and the Association of American Universities, recognized as one of the leading public research universities in the country.
Official website: newbrunswick.rutgers.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Rutgers University-New Brunswick scores 79.02 overall, rated Good. Outcomes (84.28) reflects an 83.63% six-year graduation rate and 90.88% first-year retention. Value scores 80.99, driven by ten-year earnings of $74,479 relative to an average net price of $24,406. Selectivity scores 67.57, reflecting a 58.15% admit rate. All scores use verified federal data only.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick admits 58.15% of applicants. Rutgers is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Rutgers uses the Common App. The priority deadline for merit scholarship consideration is November 1; the regular decision deadline is January 15 for most programs. Students apply to specific schools within Rutgers; the School of Engineering and Rutgers Business School-New Brunswick are more competitive than the university-wide rate. New Jersey residents make up the largest share of the undergraduate class; Rutgers draws heavily from the tri-state area (NJ, NY, CT) and nationally.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Rutgers University-New Brunswick is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Rutgers charges $17,929 in in-state tuition and $36,141 in out-of-state tuition, plus room and board, bringing the estimated in-state total cost of attendance to approximately $36,027 before aid. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $24,406. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $16,343. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $18,403.
For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $24,866. The federal loan rate of 34.79% and median debt of $21,500 are in the moderate-to-higher range for a flagship, reflecting New Jersey's relatively limited state financial aid infrastructure compared to states like Florida or Georgia. The endowment stands at approximately $3.1 billion.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $70 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick graduates a strong majority of students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 83.63% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. First-year retention stands at 90.88%. The federal loan rate of 34.79% and median debt of $21,500 are among the higher rates in this peer group for a flagship, reflecting limited state grant funding in New Jersey relative to peer states.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick graduates earn above the national median for public research universities, boosted substantially by the New York City and Philadelphia labor markets. Median earnings are $54,890 six years after first enrolling and $74,479 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 87.89% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate.
The New York City metro area, approximately 35 miles northeast of New Brunswick, provides one of the most competitive and diverse labor markets in the world, with direct access to finance (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citigroup), technology, media, pharmaceuticals (Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer), and consulting firms. New Jersey itself is a major pharmaceutical hub: Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk all have significant New Jersey operations. Philadelphia is approximately 55 miles southwest, offering additional healthcare, education, and professional services employment.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick enrolls approximately 36,010 undergraduates on its multi-campus footprint centered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, along the Raritan River. Asian students account for 33.63% of undergraduates, one of the highest rates of any public flagship in the country; White students are 31.96%, Hispanic 17.69%, and Black 6.68%. Approximately 27.51% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 34.58% are first-generation college students, both above average for a selective public flagship.
The New Brunswick campus spreads across multiple geographically separated sites connected by a campus bus system; navigating the multi-campus structure is one of the distinctive logistical features of the Rutgers undergraduate experience. New Brunswick has a revitalized downtown with restaurants, culture, and rail access to New York Penn Station (approximately 50 minutes by NJ Transit).
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick offers an extensive catalog of programs: 238 distinct programs across 26 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Rutgers University-New Brunswick operates at a student-to-faculty ratio consistent with large public research universities. 52.55% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty, which is substantially below the Big Ten flagship average and is one of the lower rates in this peer group. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $16,839 per year.
The endowment stands at approximately $3.1 billion. Rutgers has strong research programs in pharmaceuticals and life sciences, cancer research (Rutgers Cancer Institute), climate science (Rutgers Climate Institute), and materials science, benefiting from New Jersey's pharmaceutical and biotech industry concentration. The School of Communication and Information is among the top journalism and information schools in the Northeast.
3,426 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 1,133 | 33% | $176,488 |
| Associate Professors | 887 | 26% | $116,440 |
| Assistant Professors | 1,243 | 36% | $91,767 |
| Instructors | 104 | 3% | $72,438 |
| Lecturers | 59 | 2% | $72,450 |
Rutgers University-New Brunswick's defining strengths are its access to the New York City and New Jersey pharmaceutical labor markets, UCD 79.02 Good score, strong ten-year earnings of $74,479, a diverse student body with 33.63% Asian enrollment, and an 83.63% six-year graduation rate. UCD 79.02 Good.
The considerations: the 52.55% full-time faculty rate is among the lowest in this peer group and significantly below Big Ten norms; the net price of $24,406 is higher than most peer flagships, and the federal loan rate of 34.79% is elevated; the multi-campus structure can feel fragmented; and New Jersey's state financial aid infrastructure is weaker than peer states like Florida or Georgia. Best fit for New Jersey residents who want a flagship research university with direct access to New York City's labor markets, particularly in computer science, engineering, pharmacy, or business.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Rutgers: what the New York City proximity means for careers, how the multi-campus structure works, how diverse the campus is, and what different schools within Rutgers offer.
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