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How to Respond to the 2023-2024 Rutgers Supplemental Essay Prompts

Cece Gilmore is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cece earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University. While at ASU, she was the education editor as well as a published staff reporter at Downtown Devil. Cece was also the co-host of her own radio show on Blaze Radio ASU.

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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.

The Rutgers University essay prompts are ready and waiting! If your goal is to become a Scarlet Knight, then read on because we have a handy dandy guide on how to best respond to the Rutgers’ application prompts. Keep in mind that students can also apply to Rutgers through the Common Application , but our guide focuses on the Rutgers specific prompts. Ok, let’s learn how to best respond to the Rutgers supplemental essay prompts!

First, some background on Rutgers University

Rutgers University is the state university of New Jersey. As a diverse public research university. Rutgers offers three regional campuses in the following cities in New Jersey: 

• New Brunswick

Rutgers offers more than 150 undergraduate majors throughout their schools and colleges across all three campuses. Therefore, Rutgers has something for everyone! Let’s break down the Rutgers essay choices to make responding as clear as possible. 

The Rutgers University supplemental essay prompts

Rutgers requires applicants to complete only one essay – so it is your lucky day!  Applicants can choose from a list of five different topics or submit an essay on the topic of their choice. Therefore, be sure to select the prompt that most interests you. Essay responses should be up to 3800 characters (or 500 words).

Remember, do not select a prompt or write your own essay about a subject you have already written about for your Common App or in any other part of your application. You want Rutgers to get a good well-rounded sense of who you are so avoid repetition when possible! 

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“Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.”

For this prompt, think about a moment in your life that has changed you. If an event did not immediately pop into your mind, this may not be the prompt for you. However, if you read this prompt and said, “I have a profound story to share…,” think of the following questions to help you write your response. 

Questions to consider

• Who was involved and what happened during this experience? 
• What did you learn from this instance?
• How has this event changed you as a person? 
• What do you want someone to take away from this story of your life? 

The most important aspect of this essay response is to focus on how this experience demonstrates your character or helped to shape it. Don’t get too caught up in describing the experience in extreme detail. Connect back to Rutgers at the end of your response and show how you plan on using your experience to help you in your future endeavors. It will also demonstrate that you are the type of person who truly learns from the past and will continue to blossom while attending Rutgers.

Also see: How to write an essay about yourself  

“What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?”

For this prompt, it is important to focus on your main hobbies and interests. You want to be completely authentic in your responses to allow Rutgers to truly get to know you. Therefore, truly reflect on your passions and life and select the one that means the most to you. 

• What is something you are passionate about? 
• What have you learned from this passion/interest? 
• How did you become interested in this topic? 

After writing about your passion or interest, it is important to answer the second part of this question, “How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?” 

In order to answer the second part of this question, you will need to reflect deeply on this passion or interest you selected. 

• How has this interest changed you? 
• What have you learned about yourself through this passion? 
• Why is this an interest you have? 

The most important thing is that you are reflecting upon your passion and digging deep to discover what motivates you and how it has shaped you. 

Also see: What looks good on a college application?

“Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?”

To answer this prompt, choose a distinct time in your life where you had a positive impact on others. Be sure this is a very obvious event or time when you had a positive impact.  Once you decide what event to write about, make sure that you provide meaningful details. This includes setting the scene, describing what exactly happened, and how you had a positive impact.

After describing the time, dive into the challenges and rewards of this particular time in your life. In addition, write about what you have learned from this experience. 

• How did you make a positive impact on others? 
• Would you want to be in a similar situation again? 
• What were the responses of those around you? Positive or negative? 
• Why did you take on the role of being a positive impact on others? 
• What did you learn about yourself from this experience? 

“Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?”

To begin this prompt, think about a time in which you were questioned. This could be a time in which you realized your beliefs were right or even wrong!

Once you choose an example, set the scene and make that experience come to life. 

• What led up to your beliefs being questioned?
• Who questioned you? A stranger? A close friend? 
• Was this questioning of beliefs friendly? Or more confrontational? 
• Did this event make you question your beliefs? Or uphold these beliefs more strongly? 
• What did you learn from this event? 
• How will you demonstrate what you learned from this event while attending Rutgers? 

The most important part of responding to this prompt is your demonstration of growth and learning from this experience. Therefore, be sure to truly reflect on this experience and share how you will continue to take what you learned with you. 

“What success have you achieved or obstacles have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?”

For this response, choose to write about either a success you have achieved or an obstacle you have faced. No matter which option you choose to write about, it is important to describe what exactly happened. After describing either the success or obstacle, you should then describe what you learned from this experience. 

Then, you should detail advice you would give a friend or sibling that is going through a similar situation. This genuine advice should be that you would actually give a friend or family member. 

• What accomplishments mean the most to you?
• What obstacle have you had to overcome?
• Did anyone support your success or help you through a difficult time?

“Submit an essay on a topic of your choice”

The final topic example for the Rutgers supplemental essay is to just simply submit an essay on a topic of your choice. Select this option if none of the other options stood out to you. Remember, this is an admissions requirement, so you want to ensure that you are putting your best foot forward and not using an essay from another school.

The most important thing to note if you select this option is that you should not be repeating yourself in your application. Therefore, if your Common App essay is about your soccer career, this essay should not be about your soccer career! Rather, highlight one of your other amazing characteristics. Write about something that has not yet been discussed on your application.

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Wrapping up

Although Rutgers only requires one essay response, it can be quite daunting trying to choose between all of the options they provide. Therefore, try to pick the topic that most appeals to you–the one that makes you feel you could  write a novel about! Also, remember if none of the topics appeal to you, you can choose to write an essay on a topic of your choice. Remember, Rutgers is viewing your application as a whole, so it is important to be authentic and avoid repetition. Best of luck! 

Additional resources

Scholarships360 is a great source that offers an abundance of assistance in the college application process! Check out our other helpful guides on how to write a great supplemental essay , how to respond to the Common App prompts , how to write an essay about yourself , and how to write 250 or 500 word essays. 

Other colleges to consider

• University of Delaware (Newark, DE)
• Cornell University (Ithaca ,NY)
• New York University (New York, NY)

Frequently asked questions about responding to the Rutgers supplemental essay prompts

Does rutgers care about application essays, how long should my rutgers essay be, how to i stand out when writing my rutgers essay, can i reuse essays from other applications for my rutgers essay, scholarships360 recommended.

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A Good Rutgers Essay Example

What’s covered:, essay example , where to get feedback on your essay .

With over 60,000 students, Rutgers University is the largest higher education institution in New Jersey. With such a large school, there is something for everybody, which is why it might seem that everybody applies. In order to make your Rutgers application stand out from the crowd, you need to have well-written essays. In this post, we’ll share a real essay a student submitted to Rutgers, and outline its strengths and areas of improvement. (Names and identifying information have been changed, but all other details are preserved).

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Since the Rutgers essay prompts are the same as the Coalition Application prompts, we recommend checking out our guide to the Coalition Application essays for a comprehensive breakdown on how to write these supplemental prompts.

Prompt: Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs? (No word count given)

I was about to eat the last cookie when I heard a low growl. I looked up at my friend, her cheeks flushed red, and her brow pinched in a tight dip. She didn’t make eye contact with me when I extended my hand to give her the cookie. She pushed it away, and I kept insisting until she finally gave in. Growing up, family was extremely important to me. I was taught to treat others like my family, a mantra we would repeat. Sharing that cookie, despite not having lunch that day, was like sharing the last tortilla with my brother.

As much as I would like to say family is important to me now, it’s not. At least not the accepted concept of family which is the people you are related to by blood. The problem with this concept of family is that you don’t get to choose the people in your family, no matter how good or bad of a person they are. 

Unfortunately, I learned this through my dad’s death. Before this tragedy, my family was inseparable. We would have parties every weekend to celebrate the big game or just see each other. Now, those parties only frequent the occasional birthday. It was weird for me to lose my closeness with my family, but this closeness was quickly replaced by relationships with my friends. I’ll never forget the heartfelt discussions I had with my friend Nick, who would give his shoulder for me to cry on and tell a joke that would make me wheeze in laughter.

Two years have passed, and I stand towering over my dad’s grave. There’s a flag pierced in the dead grass, and my hands are frozen. It’s quiet, and I think about the detrimental truth my mom whispered in my ear. It took me so long to realize this, blind to the hints he left behind. He would have improved his chances of surviving cancer if he took care of himself. He didn’t care about my brother and me, and at his grave I accepted that. I talked to him genuinely one last time, touched his tombstone, then walked away. I moved on.

This truth of my dad not caring for his health dawned the realization that my family was just a bunch of people who didn’t know me. I coped through isolation as I was comfortable being alone, but my family tried to force me out to go places and surround myself with people who weren’t emotionally available. In response, I instead surrounded myself with the people I chose to be my family, such as Nick. We would often go to the mall and browse each store or go to the Rollercade and spend hours falling. I would steal sips from his red ICEE, and he would always try to catch me but slip on the floor. These moments meant more than scarce instances I had with my dad. 

Every day I message my friends, some new and others old. I cherish these people who are not bound by blood, but for my personality, my laughter, my jokes, and my intelligence. I’ll never forget how my reformed belief of family allowed me to make friends who have made long lasting impressions and positive influences in my life.

What the Essay Did Well

The first thing that jumps out at you is how vulnerable this essay is. The author wasn’t afraid to let the reader into their personal life, and because of that, the essay is stronger. So much more is revealed about who this student is and how they respond to difficult situations because they were honest with us.

Another thing that this essay does well is describing what family means to this student. Taking an accepted concept like family and boiling it down to the little moments helps us see what they value. For them, seeing each other frequently, celebrating together, having a shoulder to cry on, sharing the last bite of food, and losing track of time by just being in each other’s company is what makes a family. Sprinkling in all these examples and anecdotes shows us what their definition of a family is, without explicitly needing to tell us.

There’s a nice balance in this essay between what this student accepted as the traditional idea of family and how they now see family. For this prompt, it’s important to have that balance so you can show what the long-cherished belief was, as well as how a challenge to that belief changed your perspective. This essay does a good job of encompassing both.

What Could Be Improved

Although a really vulnerable topic can be great for revealing personal details and creating empathy, it can also backfire and make the reader uncomfortable. This isn’t a guarantee, but it’s something to keep in mind when choosing a deeply personal and somewhat traumatic topic. For the most part, the author did a good job of keeping the story focused on themselves and their emotions, but it’s always a possibility that someone reading the essay lost someone close to them and finds this essay too hard to read.

In terms of the structure of the essay, it wavered back and forth between focusing on the student’s dad and their friends. To make it a little easier to follow, they should have started with how their traditional family was important to them until their dad died, and then explain how they found a new definition of family among their friends. This structure is more concise and clearer than starting with the dad, jumping to Nick, going back to the dad, and then going to Nick once again.

Want feedback like this on your Rutgers essay before you submit? We offer expert essay review by advisors who have helped students get into their dream schools. You can book a review with an expert to receive notes on your topic, grammar, and essay structure to make your essay stand out to admissions officers.

Haven’t started writing your essay yet? Advisors on CollegeVine also offer expert college counseling packages . You can purchase a package to get one-on-one guidance on any aspect of the college application process, including brainstorming and writing essays.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, rutgers essay prompts for 2023-2024 applicants.

I'm starting to work on my Rutgers application and I'm trying to find the essay prompts for 2023-2024. Can anyone help me out? Also, any advice on how to approach these prompts would be greatly appreciated!

I understand you're looking for the Rutgers essay prompts for the 2023-2024 application cycle. While I don't have the exact prompts in front of me, I recommend checking the Rutgers University undergraduate admissions website for up-to-date information on their essay requirements. Keep an eye out for updates, as they typically release essay prompts during the summer months before the application cycle begins.

As for advice on how to approach writing your essay, consider the following tips:

1. Read and understand the prompt carefully: Take time to fully understand what the essay question is asking, and ensure that your essay addresses all aspects of the prompt.

2. Be genuine and authentic: Write about something that is meaningful to you, and share your unique perspective. Avoid cliché topics and focus on conveying a personal story that says something significant about who you are.

3. Stay organized: Create an outline to ensure that your essay has a clear structure and logical flow. This will help you stay focused on addressing the prompt while maintaining coherence.

4. Show, don't tell: Use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate your points, rather than relying on generic statements. This will create a more engaging and memorable essay.

5. Edit and proofread: This is a key step in the writing process. Make sure to review your essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, as well as clarity and coherence. It is a good idea to have someone else read your essay to provide feedback and catch any errors or areas for improvement.

Remember that your essay is an opportunity to showcase your personality, strengths, and interests to the admissions committee. It is important to be honest, engaging, and thoughtful. Lastly, don't forget to give yourself plenty of time to brainstorm, write, and revise your essay. The more time and effort you put into your writing, the better your essay will be. Good luck with your application!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

Rutgers University Supplemental Essays Guide: 2021-2022

Not sure how to approach the Rutgers essay prompts? CollegeAdvisor.com’s guide to the Rutgers supplemental essays will show you how to write engaging Rutgers essays and maximize your admissions odds.

For more help crafting your Rutgers supplemental essays, click here to create your free account or schedule a free advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

Rutgers Essay Guide Quick Facts:

• According to U.S. News , the Rutgers University Ranking is #63 in National Universities.
• Rutgers has an acceptance rate of 66.9%.
• Rutgers requires one essay of 3800 characters through the Coalition Application or their Rutgers portal.
• We recommend completing the Rutgers supplement essay cohesively and thoroughly to maximize your admissions odds. Strong Rutgers essays can make a huge difference!

Rutgers University wants students who will be active members of their academic community and the Global Rutgers network . Rutgers looks for students who can clearly articulate their beliefs and values to others. This is why the Rutgers application essay is so important.

Ready to get started? Let’s talk Rutgers essays.

Does Rutgers have a Supplemental Essay?

Yes. Rutgers accepts applications through the Rutgers Application Portal or the Coalition Application. All applicants must complete one Rutgers supplement essay, which can be submitted either through the Coalition Application or through the Rutgers Application Portal.

The Rutgers-specific essay prompts are the same as those listed on the Coalition Application.

Check out the Rutgers admissions website for more specific details, including information about the Rutgers application essay and tips on how to write strong Rutgers essays.

How Many Essays does Rutgers Require?

Good news! There is only one Rutgers supplemental essay.

Rutgers requires one essay of 3800 characters including spaces (around 500 words). This essay should address one of four topics . Your Rutgers application essay can also be on a topic of your choosing.

Does Rutgers Care about Supplemental Essays?

Yes—all schools care about supplemental essays, and Rutgers is no exception.

The Rutgers essay is a great chance for applicants to show who they are and why they should be admitted. Additionally, your Rutgers application essay is your only chance to address the admissions team on your own terms. The Rutgers admissions team will read thousands of Rutgers essays, and you want yours to stand out. In your Rutgers supplement essay, then, you should do all you can to show what makes you unique.

How do I Write the Rutgers College Essay?

We have provided the prompts for the Rutgers supplemental essays 2021-2022 below. You’ll find a breakdown of how to approach the Rutgers essays as well as tips for creating a strong application narrative.

In your Rutgers supplemental essays, you’ll want to keep your application narrative in mind. An application narrative is the story that your application tells. Ideally, each part of your application will work together to form a full picture. For example, a student looking to study architecture may seek out recommendation letters from their math teachers. That student may also highlight a summer internship at a local architecture firm. Finally, they may write an essay on the moment that they discovered their interest in building design.

Unsure of what an application narrative would look like for you? Check out CollegeAdvisor’s article A Deep Dive into the Personal Narrative .

What are the Essays for Rutgers?

The Rutgers supplemental essays 2021-2022 are available on the main Rutgers website along with a full list of application requirements. You can also find the Rutgers application essays on the Coalition Application.

Additionally, we’ve outlined each of the Rutgers supplemental essays below. We’ve also included strategies on how to respond to each of the Rutgers essay prompts.

Have questions about how to approach supplemental essays for other applications? Then check out our FAQs on all things Supplemental Essays .

Let’s break down the Rutgers essay prompts!

Choosing one of the Rutgers essay prompts is one of the most important parts of the essay process. There are five Rutgers essay prompts. Not sure which to choose? Try thinking about the following questions as you approach each potential Rutgers supplemental essay topic.

For each potential Rutgers application essay topic, ask yourself:

• Do I have a specific story to tell?
• Why am I telling this story?
• How does my story connect to my interest in Rutgers?
• Can I address what I like about Rutgers that I can’t find anywhere else?

If you can answer these questions clearly, then you are ready to write your Rutgers application essay!

Need more inspiration? Then, check out CollegeAdvisor’s article 39 essay tips from Admissions Experts .

Rutgers Supplemental Essays – Topic 1 (Optional)

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

The Rutgers essay prompts are designed to help you introduce yourself to the admissions committee. In your Rutgers supplemental essay, you want to discuss an experience that is about YOU. This prompt asks you to tell a story about who you are or who you have become.

Consider what values and personality traits you hold. What story might reflect these traits? For example, you might have plenty of stories about going fishing with your grandpa. However, if none of these stories emphasize your patience or your passion for family, then we won’t learn much from your Rutgers application essay.

The first of the Rutgers essay prompts asks you to tell a “story.” This story should be a full narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. However, the most important part of this story is that it revolves around you. Don’t spend so much time in your Rutgers application essay discussing what happened that you don’t have the space to tell your reader why it mattered and how it relates to your identity.

In addition, you’ll want to connect this story with the kind of student you’d be at Rutgers. Among other things, the Rutgers essay prompts are designed to assess how you’d “fit” at Rutgers. You should use your Rutgers application essay, then, to show how your priorities align with Rutgers’ offerings and values.

Have you read the Rutgers mission statement? Check out their about page for more info.

Rutgers Essay Draft Key Questions:

• Does your essay emphasize your core identity?
• Do you clearly showcase your values and personality traits?
• Does your essay show how you would embody Rutgers’ ideals?

Rutgers Supplemental Essays – Topic 2 (Optional)

Describe a time you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.

This Rutgers supplement essay topic has two parts. Firstly, it asks you to describe a meaningful contribution you made to others. This contribution can be large or small-scale. What matters most is that the contribution you discuss in your Rutgers application essay reflects something important about you.

With prompts like this, writing can sometimes feel like bragging—this makes some students downplay their achievements out of self-consciousness. In your Rutgers supplement essay, however, don’t discount the value of your contribution. Your Rutgers application essay should show that you care about the common good and have actively dedicated yourself to others. In your Rutgers supplement essay, you should foreground what’s important to you and how you’ve served the world around you.

The second part of this Rutgers supplement essay question asks you to discuss the challenges and rewards of your contribution. When you talk about challenges, don’t undermine yourself. Avoid sentences that start with “I didn’t do…” or “I failed at…” Instead, focus on how you solved these challenges or how you would have solved them if you were to do it over again. The strongest Rutgers essays will use specific details to discuss how you contributed to your community, the impact you made, and any complications that you faced.

• Does your essay respond to both parts of the question?
• Do you clearly state the impact of your contribution?
• Do you avoid fixating on the challenges and shortcomings of your contribution?

Rutgers Supplemental Essays – Topic 3 (Optional)

Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?

As you approach this Rutgers supplement essay, start by finding a clear and concise way to describe your belief. A belief can be anything as serious as your religion or as simple as the belief that hot dogs are also sandwiches (controversial, I know). In both scenarios, your readers need to understand what your belief is and where it came from.

The story you tell in your Rutgers supplement essay should reveal something deep about your character and values. The best Rutgers essays, then, will use an instance of a belief being challenged to reveal something essential about how a student deals with conflicting perspectives.

Once you’ve established your belief, then discuss how it felt for this belief to be challenged. How did this conversation affect you? Did it force you to reconsider your perspectives? Did it create an emotional response? As you write, describe how you felt specifically. Ask yourself if you felt attacked by this challenge or if it opened your eyes to the viewpoints of others. Finally, describe how your belief system changed. Discuss any realizations you had and how you changed as a result of the situation. Overall, your Rutgers supplement should discuss what kind of student or thinker this conversation helped you become.

• Do you describe your belief and its origins?
• Does your Rutgers supplement essay describe how you were emotionally affected by this situation?
• Do you share how this challenge changed you as a student and thinker?

Rutgers Supplemental Essays – Topic 4 (Optional)

What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?

This Rutgers essay may seem difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. The key to this Rutgers supplemental essay is to be honest. You don’t need to spend your Rutgers supplemental essay describing big-picture issues. Instead, just make sure your Rutgers supplement essay speaks clearly and deeply about something that matters to you.

Additionally, make sure you describe how these issues directly impact your life and shape the person you’re becoming. Discuss both the positives and the negatives, and make sure you use clear language.

Finally, remember that your Rutgers supplemental essays should be about you. In this Rutgers supplement essay, don’t just focus on general struggles and triumphs that teenagers face. Instead, make sure you tie these experiences to your own development. The best Rutgers essays will use a student’s view of the world to relate to their own experiences.

• Do you speak honestly about your experiences?
• Does your Rutgers supplement essay clearly define the positives and negatives of the teenage experience?
• Do you focus equally on the positives and negatives?
• Is your essay about you?

Rutgers Supplemental Essays – Topic 5 (Optional)

Submit an essay on the topic of your choice.

Not interested in any of the other Rutgers essay prompts? This is a perfect chance to show Rutgers who you are on your own terms.

However, make sure you don’t use this Rutgers application essay to tell a story about someone else. If you choose your own topic for your Rutgers supplement essay, make sure that it reflects an important aspect of yourself that you can’t discuss anywhere else. If you read your essay and it can apply to any other topic above, choose another of the Rutgers essay prompts.

Moreover, if your essay says a lot about a topic but nothing about you, then you should change your topic. This comes from the scope of your question. If your topic is something like “why I like bread,” then your reader will learn a lot about bread and nothing about you. However, if your topic is “why baking bread with my grandma taught me to value patience,” then your reader will learn about your experiences and insights. The strongest Rutgers essays will use specific details to tell a story that your reader couldn’t learn from any other part of your application.

• Does your Rutgers application essay topic reflect something not shown elsewhere in your application?
• Does your topic not fit with any of the other Rutgers essay prompts?
• Do you discuss what kind of student or person you are?

Additional tips for writing your Rutgers Supplemental Essays

Choose your topic wisely.

Do not choose a Rutgers application essay topic that does not speak to you. At the end of the day, your response to the Rutgers essay prompts needs to connect to your own experiences. Many essays might be well-written, but they would still be ineffective if they tell us nothing about the writer. In your Rutgers essays, the admissions team wants to understand what kind of person and student you are. Don’t make up a story in order to seem more interesting. Instead, just be yourself and thoroughly explain why your topic matters to you.

Do Your Research

Don’t forget to read the official Rutgers materials. In these materials, the school explains what makes Rutgers unique. This should be in your mind while you write your essay. Ultimately, your answers to the Rutgers essay prompts should work in conversation with Rutgers’ own values.

Connect it back to Rutgers

Although you are writing an essay about yourself, remember that this is a school-specific application. For this reason, you should probably mention Rutgers at least once. Your responses to the Rutgers essay prompts should describe something specific about Rutgers you couldn’t find elsewhere.

Rutgers Supplemental Essays: Final Thoughts

Your Rutgers application should connect yourself to the school. Remember that Rutgers wants to admit students who have a clear definition of why they need to be at Rutgers specifically. Spend time on the Rutgers website, and focus your essay on values related to the school. Finally, don’t forget to proofread your work. Good luck!

This 2021-2022 essay guide on Rutgers was written by Joy Nesbitt , Harvard ’21. For more CollegeAdvisor.com resources, click here . Want help crafting your Rutgers supplemental essays? Create your free account or schedule a free advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

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Supplemental Essay Guide 2024-25

What do the 2024-25 supplemental essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA's experts are here to break them all down.

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How to Get Into Rutgers University: Acceptance Rate & Stats

Reviewed by:

Former Admissions Committee Member, Columbia University

Reviewed: 5/27/24

Rutgers University is known as an academic, health, and research powerhouse. Read on to learn more about this university and how to join it.

Navigating the admissions process for Rutgers University can be exciting and stressful, but with the right knowledge and strategic approach, you can turn your aspirations into reality. We’ll explain everything you need to know about how to get into Rutgers University.

Rutgers University Acceptance Rate: 66%

Rutgers University has an acceptance rate of 66% , meaning you have a high chance of getting into this school! Getting into this school is moderately competitive, so ensure you have a strong application. 

Source : Common Data Set

Rutgers University Early Decision Acceptance Rate

Rutgers University doesn’t offer early decision acceptance , so students cannot apply at earlier deadlines.

How Hard Is It to Get Into Rutgers University?

WIth an acceptance rate of 66%, Rutgers University is somewhat selective. Students can increase their chances of admission by making their application more competitive.

Rutgers University Admission Statistics

While your cumulative GPA will be considered, ensure you receive the highest marks in these core courses to demonstrate your academic merit.

Rutgers University Average GPA: 3.7

The average GPA for successful Rutgers University applicants is 3.7. Your weighted GPA will be considered heavily in the selection process. Here’s a table of the average GPA of admitted students for the past three years:

This table will give you an idea of the GPA you’ll need to get accepted. 

Rutgers University Average SAT Score: 1375

The average SAT score at Rutgers University is 1375. This is higher than the national average SAT score of 1050.

While Rutgers is adopting a test-optional policy until 2024, students may still submit SAT scores if they believe it will strengthen their application. Although Rutgers is test-optional, those applying to the Rutgers-Camden BS/DO or Rutgers-Newark 7-year BA/MD joint-degree programs will be required to submit at least one standardized test score ( ACT or SAT ). 

Rutgers University Average SAT

Here’s a table of ​​Rutgers University SAT scores for the past three years: 

What Is Rutgers University Looking for in Applicants?

Having a competitive GPA, extracurriculars, AP classes, and other achievements are all part of how Rutgers University evaluates applicants. In addition, having a compelling personal essay and other achievements can help you stand out. From the common data set, the most important factors are your GPA and the rigor of your courses.

Source : Rutgers University

Rutgers University Key Takeaways From Rutgers University's Common Data Set

From the Common Data Set, it’s evident that Rutgers University prioritizes academic factors for admissions, such as GPA and difficulty of courses. Other criteria used to assess students are their application essays, extracurricular activities, as well as character and personality qualities.

Rutgers University Admissions Requirements

To get into Rutgers University, aim for an ACT score of at least 30 or an SAT score of 1375 or above. Maintain a GPA of 3.7 or higher and engage in diverse extracurriculars to demonstrate your excellence beyond the classroom.

Rutgers requires its students to submit the following application materials to be considered for enrollment: 

Academia Profile

One of the principal factors determining your admission to Rutgers University is your academic profile. This includes to following:

• Fulfilling subject requirements
• AP or honors courses
• Weighted GPA
• Cumulative rank
• SAT / ACT scores
• English Proficiency Exam (if relevant)

Other subjective factors are taken into account. These include:

• Personal essay
• College prep programs
• Extracurriculars
• Achievements
• Work history
• Familial commitments
• Socioeconomic background

You should always remember that you’re more than a number. Consider Yui, who leveraged her skills despite having a 3.6 GPA. She applied to 10 colleges and was admitted to 6, including Rutgers, but ultimately chose to attend Cornell Engineering. By highlighting relevant community involvement, Quad was able to help her become a competitive candidate.

Source : Quad Education

High School Course Requirements

Depending on the program you plan on applying to, there are certain credentials you’ll need to complete in high school:

• Four years of English 
• Zero to two years of a foreign language
• Three to four years of Mathematics (including Algebra, Geometry, and, for some programs, Precalculus) 
• Zero to two years of Science (of Biology and Chemistry or Physics and Chemistry, depending on your program)
• Five to nine other academic courses

Application Fee

A required non-refundable application fee of $70 is paid through either Rutgers Application or Common App. Rutgers must receive the fee or a fee waiver before an applicant’s application will be considered complete and ready for review.

GED Students Requirements

Applicants who hold a GED diploma/certificate must provide their official GED results. Alongside these results, submitting transcripts documenting any high school coursework is essential.

English Proficiency Test Requirements For International Students

If an applicant’s undergraduate education was in a non-English speaking country, you must submit a current TOEFL or IELTS score within two years. Exemptions apply to Permanent Residents, US citizens, or international applicants with at least three years of English-instructed undergraduate studies or a master's degree. 

Minimum scores include:

• Paper-based TOEFL: 550
• Computer-based TOEFL: 213
• Specific section requirements for IBT TOEFL, or an IELTS score of 7. 

Proficiency in English is essential, but some programs may have stricter language requirements; consult your program for details.

Letters of Recommendation

Admissions do not consider letters of recommendation, so there’s no need to ask for one . Instead, the Rutgers application offers various sections where applicants can highlight their achievements, activities, community service, and personal experiences.

Extracurricular Activities

On your Rutgers application , you’ll be required to fill out a section about the extracurriculars you pursued throughout high school. You’ll be asked to list up to five activities in order of importance.

There will also be an Awards section where you can list up to five awards received, a Volunteer section for any unpaid service you participated in, an Employment section, and a Pre-College Program section.

The final Natural Disasters and Emergency Situation section is optional and will ask you to check off all the boxes that apply to you. It will include prompts relating to COVID-19 and other circumstantial issues that may have affected your education. 

Talent Assessment

Students interested in applying to the Mason Gross School of Arts will be required to submit an audition, interview, or portfolio as part of their application.

Self-Reported Academic Record 

Without interim transcripts, the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) lets high school seniors report their academic details, including grades and GPAs. It's mandatory for current seniors but not for graduates or transfer students. 

Applicants can use their high school transcript as a reference, covering grades 9-11 and indicating grade 12 courses in progress as 'In Progress.' Ensure accuracy, as discrepancies can impact admission. International students can use SRAR but must also send official records and certificates from an educational authority upon enrollment.

Transfer Student Requirements

Transfer students must submit the application fee, college transcripts, and an essay (which is recommended). 

Rutgers University Application Process and Deadlines

Students must submit a Rutgers-specific application through the school’s online portal. They must identify their campus, school, and program preferences and complete all sections to be considered for admission. Rutgers University decision date

Keep these Rutgers University decision dates in mind to avoid any delays with your application:

Source : Rutgers’ Application Deadlines

Ensure that you meet the Rutgers University application deadline. While students can submit their applications past the suggested deadlines, doing so will limit their chances of admission, as Rutgers accepts students on a rolling basis. 

Students who submit past the suggested deadlines will also receive their decisions later than the listed notification deadlines.

Rutgers University Regular Decision Deadline

The suggested deadline for regular Rutgers University applicants is early December. Students should have their application ready by the end of the year.

Rutgers University Early Action/Early Decision Deadline  

Students applying to Rutgers University as early action applicants should apply by early November to meet the deadline. Having your application ready at this time will ensure you’re able to apply for early action. 

How to Improve Your Chances of Getting Into Rutgers University

The most effective strategy to boost your chances of getting into Rutgers University is to increase your academic promise . This can be done by achieving a high GPA while handling a challenging course selection and having a competitive SAT/ACT score. You can also focus on several other qualitative factors:

Participate In Various Extracurriculars

Your application will ask you to separate your extracurricular participation , work, and volunteer experiences . You should pursue activities from each section. While you don’t have to participate in five extracurriculars or pick up a new job each year, you should stick to at least one activity per section for several months or preferably years.

Choose Your Essay Topic Wisely

Your supplemental essay will give the committee insight into your writing skills and help them connect with you more. 

Choose a topic you feel most compelled to write about, and keep your answer simple! Use language you understand and focus on the topic at hand. Proofread your essay several times before submission to show off your impeccable writing skills.

Only Write the SAT/ACT if Necessary

Considering the stress you’ll already be under trying to apply to your top choices on time and graduating from high school with the necessary GPA, you should only write the SAT or ACT if you believe it’ll strengthen your application.

In other words, if your GPA is not quite high enough to be considered competitive, receiving an SAT or ACT score in or above the expected range can make up for this weak spot in your application.

However, if you already have a competitive GPA, you can avoid the added stress and opt out of writing the SAT/ACT, as it will not give you any additional advantage. 

Rutgers University Essay Prompts

Students will have to submit an essay addressing one of the following subjects:

• Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
• The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
• Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

It’s important to note that unless you apply through Rutgers Application, these Rutgers University essay prompts are actually Common App personal statements.

If you’re unsure how to get started, take a look at this video, where one of our admissions experts breaks down her top tips for writing standout college essays:

How to Prepare for the Rutgers University Interview

Rutgers University has a list of interviewing tips that applicants can follow. One key theme to remember is to understand yourself as an applicant. This means being able to confidently articulate your strong suits and explain any shortcomings in your profile. In extension, you should have a prepared list of questions that you’re interested in about Rutgers University.

Consider some interview tips from Marina, Wharton and Booth School of Business alumni, who’s been a member of the admissions committee at the University of Chicago as well as an interviewer at UChicago and UPenn.

She suggests diving in with mock interviews right away as a method of improving communication:

“Sometimes you just need to practice articulating things clearly to someone else…sometimes it can be even more helpful than writing things down to just like immediately engage in a mock interview.”

Also, being genuine and authentic can help foster a more collaborative atmosphere with your interviewer:

“Remember to be friendly and smile, and try to engage the person as you would in like real life if you came across somebody interesting to talk to.”

Rutgers University Tuition and Fees

Rutgers is considered an affordable university with lower tuition costs than many similar-ranking institutions. Here’s a breakdown of its annual tuition:

Source : Rutgers Tuition and Fees

To help students cover these costs, Rutgers offers comprehensive financial aid to its students in the form of merit and needs-based grants.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Rutgers provides financial aid through FAFSA to help you pay for tuition. Students may be offered financial aid packages—a combination of various types of aid, such as Rutgers University merit scholarships, awards, grants, loans, and work-study. 

FAQs: Getting Into Rutgers University

For any remaining questions about how to get into Rutgers University, read on to find your answers.

1. How Hard Is It to Get Into Rutgers University?

Considering its high acceptance rate, Rutgers is relatively easy to get into. 

2. Can I Get Into Rutgers With a 3.0 GPA?

Yes, a 3.0 GPA will put you within the median competitive range for the majority of Rutgers’ programs. This equates to a weighted GPA of around 3.7 .

Ensure you earn a high GPA, even a 4.0 wouldn’t hurt! It always helps to aim high and be as competitive an applicant as possible.

3. Can I Get Into Rutgers with a 2.4 GPA?

A 2.4 unweighted GPA will put you at around a 3.3 weighted GPA. This GPA is considered to be on the lower end, but you may still be considered a competitive applicant for certain programs.

4. Is Rutgers an Ivy League School?

No, Rutgers is not an Ivy League school.

5. Is Rutgers Prestigious?

Yes, Rutgers is considered one of the top public research schools in the nation. It is well known for its distinguished faculty, academics, and health-related programs.

6. Do You Need to Write an Essay for Rutgers?

Yes, students must submit one essay as part of the Rutgers application process. Students are given seven essay topics to choose from for this admission material.

7. How Many Letters of Recommendation Do I Need to Submit to Apply to Rutgers?

Rutgers does not require letters of recommendation as part of the application process. The application process provides adequate opportunity for students to describe the accomplishments, activities, honors, awards, and experiences that would otherwise be shared through recommendation letters.

8. How Much is Tuition at Rutgers University?

Resident tuition at Rutgers is around $17,000. Students who are not residents of New Jersey will pay around $35,000.

9. What Is the Transfer Acceptance Rate at Rutgers University?

The Rutgers University transfer acceptance rate is around 55%. On the other hand, the Rutgers University yield rate for this year is 28%. Compared to last year, the number of applicants has decreased by 3.49% (1,507).

Final Thoughts

Now that we’ve covered how to get into Rutgers University, you’ll be set when applying! Rutgers prides itself on being students’ home away from home, where they’re immersed into a supportive yet academically rigorous environment! Keep the deadlines, admission requirements, and tips shared in this guide to ensure you too, can join Rutgers’ renowned community!

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These Rutgers University college application essays were written by students accepted at Rutgers University. All of our sample college essays include the question prompt and the year written. Please use these sample admission essays responsibly.

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Recent Questions about Rutgers University

The Question and Answer section for Rutgers University is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Would This Be a bad idea for a College Essay?

I think this really depends on the context of what is expected for your essay. Unfortunately this is only a short-answer space about specific literature.

Do my quotes strongly support the author's purpose which is to inform us on the importance of finding a purpose, path, and journey in your life?

I'm not sure what novel your quotes pertain to, but I would say that they seem to fit in with the categories you've cited.

How does the apartment building itself create problems for the Younger family as they begin the day? Since the family has to share a bathroom they fight over the bathroom.

From the text:

Moreover, a section of this room, for it is not really a room unto itself, though the landlord's lease would make it seem so, slopes backward to provide a small kitchen area, where the family prepares the meals that are eaten in the...

Rutgers Honors prompt

Hello-- This is the prompt for the Rutgers Honors College essay. What are they trying to ask? (I guess Im not smart enough for Honors if I cant even help my child interpret the question!)

“Please share with us your concept of an educational challenge that interests you, and how you anticipate meeting this challenge at Rutgers through your involvement in an honors program.”

To clarify…i think they are asking for a societal problem but why are they assuming every student is interested in solving an issue related to education in their next 4 yrs?? What if they are focused on curing cancer or reversing climate change? Usually the questions are more broad so all students can have an authentic answer.

My son was puzzled too. After few discussions and brainstorming with me, I think the question is not asking the challenge in education field but the challenge a student interests/seeks when in school.

Thank you! She found more detail on the Rutgers website:

• In the question, the term “educational challenge” refers to a concept you might encounter in the classroom, in a service-based setting, during research or artistry, or in your everyday life; an issue you envision confronting. The choice is yours and you have some latitude.
• But please note, this question is less about what you define as the problem, and more about how you will engage in an honors program to address this challenge. That is the facet on which we hope you will focus.
• Please do not restate or iterate your accomplishments or what is already on your resume and application. Use this statement to tell us something about you that we don’t already know.

As illustrated by the post by @albanat , Rutgers has given a response in a generalized fashion.

It will be interesting to see if the new Honor prompt (first year they have done it) changes their admission criteria. Recently it has mostly just been GPA (not even test scores).

I’m also interested in seeing the outcomes of adding an essa!

so they don’t have essay in the past? That’s why my son’s friend knows nothing about the prompt and she told him she did not have that last year.

Correct, no essay prior to this year. There wasn’t any Honors application at all, or even checkbox. They either invited you or they didn’t based on your regular app info.

we interpreted the prompt as what educational challenge you personally feel that an honors program can help you overcome so say someone is looking to overcome the challenge of feeling lost in a big school, being in an honors program gives them access to smaller classes. another educational challenge is access to research opportunities so how would being enrolled in an honors program then allow a student to overcome that challenge?

they are going to get a lot of different answers and various interpretations of the prompt. with this being the first year they are on the CA and even allowing students to raise their hands for consideration into the various honors paths at Rutgers, they still will use scores and grades but just get a better idea around how the student thinks and writes. there is no wrong answer to this prompt because everyone defines educational challenge differently and no one should be judged on what they consider challenging.

also, again, with this being the first year Rutgers is using the CA, this is just another way for them to sort out the applications because they are going to get inundated with even more than they have ever received in past years.

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Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts

• Cracking Med School Admissions

Other than a strong academic performance (strong GPA, strong MCAT score, and strong letters of recommendation), the way to differentiate yourself is through submitting phenomenal Rutgers New Jersey Medical School secondary application essays. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School wants to recruit medical students who want to serve the New Jersey community in the future. Additionally, they want to recruit students who strive to give quality healthcare to all residents. Read all our Rutgers secondary application tips below.

The Rutgers Medical School secondary has not changed in the past couple of years. Therefore, we think this is a great secondary to pre-write! It is EXTREMELY to submit your secondary early. In our opinion, the Rutgers secondary application should be one of the first secondaries you submit during the secondaries application process. 

Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to both Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School each year. We do this by helping students tailor their Rutgers secondaries and ace their medical school interviews. Contact us if you want help with your secondary essay edits and mock interviews . 

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Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024

• We are committed to an environment which fosters collaboration, humanism, equity and social justice. With this in mind, how will you contribute to the NJMS community? (1,500 characters max)
• We seek students who are self-aware, resilient and adaptable. Discuss a personal or professional challenge you’ve experienced and how you resolved it. Please include insight on what you learned about yourself as a result.  (1,500 characters max)
• (If applicable) If you will not be a full time student between June 2023 and August 2024, please describe in detail your planned activities, including projected time commitment for each activity. (1,500 characters max)
• (If applicable) If you chose to pursue one or more growth years prior to applying to medical school, please share insight on your decision. (1,500 characters max)
• (If applicable) If you are a re-applicant, please share what you have done to enhance your candidacy and re-application? (1,500 characters max)
• Please elaborate on challenges not thoroughly addressed anywhere else in your application (Please feel free to address any or all of the following if applicable: impact of COVID, institutional actions, academics, MCAT, personal difficulties, etc.).  (1,500 characters max)
• Please discuss any additional information you feel may help us in our review of your candidacy.  (1,500 characters max)

Tips to Answer RutgersNJMS  Secondary Application Essays

Rutgers NJMS Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: The Rutgers Medical School secondary has not changed in the past couple of years. Therefore, we think this is a great secondary to pre-write! It is EXTREMELY to submit your secondary early . In our opinion, the Rutgers secondary application should be one of the first secondaries you submit during the summer application cycle. 

• Download our  Cracking Med Secondary Essay Workbook and Examples .

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Tip #1: The NJMS Admissions Committee values medical students who have: ample direct patient care & clinical experience; research experience and exhibit critical thinking skills; and a commitment to New Jersey residents. Talk about how you want to serve New Jersey in your future career as a physician.  Additionally, if you have experiences in New Jersey, you should mention them throughout your NJMS secondary application! For example, our accepted students have written about doing community service work or clinical work on 2 or more of the essays. 

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Tip #2: Answer as many questions as possible on the Rutgers secondary application. And, make sure you answer the questions thoroughly. For example, for the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School secondary application essay, “ If you chose to pursue one or more growth years prior to applying to medical school, please share insight on your decision, ” use all the space to discuss everything you’ve been doing in your gap year(s). Don’t forget to add both clinical and non-clinical activities.

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Tip #3: Do you need to answer the optional question? YES! You always want to “sell” yourself as a strong applicant, and one way to do that is to write as many excellent secondary application essays, which show various perspectives about you. You can literally write about anything and we suggest that if you have no extenuating circumstances that you want to mention, then talk about an activity or passion that is important to you. 

For the question, “ Please discuss any additional information you feel may help us in our review of your candidacy, ” we tell our medical school application advisees to write about their strengths. For example, if a medical school applicant was not able to discuss his or her research in the other Rutgers secondary essays or extensively in your AMCAS primary application, then you should write about it in the last essay.  

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Tip #4: Don’t forget to incorporate a little bit about “Why Rutgers New Jersey Medical School” throughout the Rutgers secondary application. Talk about projects and research you want to do at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

• Read our HIGH-YIELD blog post:  Why this Medical School? Secondary Essay Example

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Tip #5: Get our help to edit your Rutgers Medical School secondary application. We can help you through our secondary essay packages , and we can help you tailor your essays towards each medical school and personalize your responses based on your strengths. Have questions about how you can stand out to the admissions committee? Contact us below

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Tip #6:  The Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Admissions Committee appreciates it when medical school applicants reflect on broader healthcare issues (like COVID-19) and how these healthcare issues affect New Jersey communities specifically. For example, if you read about healthcare disparities, you should think about what healthcare disparities there are in New Jersey.

• Read our Top 10 Current Events , updated by the Cracking Med School Admissions team each year!

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Tip #7: If you are a re-applicant, it is important to discuss how your application has changed from the first time you applied to this current time you are applying. First, identify weaknesses in your previous application. Make sure to discuss how you have improved on those weaknesses. For example, if you faced academic challenges in the previous application cycle, then you can discussed how you improved your academic profile – did you re-take the MCAT? Take extra-courses? enroll in a postbacc program? Additionally and importantly, if you have other significant extra-curricular activities or new work experiences, you should mention them. 

[Other Secondary Essay Tips:  University of Pennsylvania Perelman (UPenn); Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School ; Mount Sinai  (Icahn);  Cooper Medical School of Rowan University ]

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Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2022 – 2023

• If you will not be a full time student between June 2022 – August 2023, please describe in detail your planned activities, including projected time commitment for each activity.  (1,500 characters max)
• If you chose to pursue one or more growth years prior to applying to medical school, please share insight on your decision. (1,500 characters max)
• If you are a re-applicant, please share what you have done to enhance your candidacy and re-application? (1,500 characters max)

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Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022

• If you will not be a full time student between June 2021-August 2022, please describe in detail your planned activities, including projected time commitment for each activity.  (1,500 characters max)

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021

• If you will not be a full-time student between June 2020-August 2021, please describe in detail your planned activities, including projected time commitment for each activity. (1,500 characters max)

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2019 – 2020

• If you have participated in any program(s) affiliated with NJMS (i.e. summer programs, research, high school programs, internships, volunteering, graduate school, etc.), please indicate below. Please provide name(s) and date(s) of program participation. (1,500 characters max)
• If you have any relatives currently enrolled or who have graduated from NJMS please provide name(s), relationship to you and graduation year in the space provided below. (1,500 characters max)
• If you have any other connections to NJMS, or Rutgers University, please provide details below. (1,500 characters max)
• If you previously applied to NJMS through AMCAS or an accelerated program, please provide the following: Program name(s) and Application year(s). (1,500 characters max)
• Please indicate below if you previously met with either Dr. Heinrich or Ms. Rivero (prior to July 1, 2019). With whom did you meet and date(s). 
• How do you self-identify Racially
• How do you self-identify Ethnically
• How do you self-identify Culturally
• Integrity is a core value at NJMS. Please share your thoughts on Integrity. Additionally, we seek students who are self-aware, resilient and adaptable. Discuss a personal or professional challenge you have experienced and how you resolved it. (1,500 characters max)
• NJMS is committed to fostering a collaborative and cohesive environment. With this in mind, how will you contribute to our medical school community? (1,500 characters max)
• Please discuss any additional information you feel may help us in our review of your candidacy. Feel free to elaborate on any gaps (educational or experiences), discrepancies in academic history, institutional actions, etc. (1,500 characters max)

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2018 – 2019

• Please indicate below if you previously met with either Dr. Heinrich or Ms. Rivero (prior to July 1, 2018). With whom did you meet and date(s). 

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2017 – 2018

• We value qualities of integrity, humanism, diversity, and cultural competency in our student body. What would you bring to our medical school community? (1,500 characters max)
• Please discuss additional information not addressed in your application that you feel is important for the screening committee to know in reviewing your application (i.e. personal experiences, examples of resilience, discrepancies in academic history, etc.). (1,500 characters max)
• If there is any other information you feel enriches your candidacy, please feel free to share it here. (1,500 characters max)
• If you don’t currently reside in NJ, please share connections (if any) you may have. (1,500 characters max)
• If you will not be a full-time student between June 2016-August 2017, please describe in detail your planned activities, including chronology and time commitment. (1,500 characters max)

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2016 – 2017

Rutgers new jersey medical school secondary application questions: 2015 – 2016.

• We value integrity, humanism, cultural competence in our student body. What would you bring to our school? (1,500 characters max)
• If your legal residence on your AMCAS application is not NJ, please discuss specific reasons you have applied to NJMS and include connections you may have (if any) to New Jersey. (1,500 characters max)
• Please discuss any additional information that you feel is important to your candidacy for medical school. (1,500 characters max)
• If you are not attending college/university full-time as of fall 2014 or during the rest of the academic year, please describe your planned activities from June 2015 – August 2016. (1,500 characters max)

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2014 – 2015

• Please discuss any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for medicine, as well as a good fit for NJMS. (1,500 characters max)
• If you are not attending college/university full-time as of fall 2014 or during the rest of the academic year, please describe your planned activities from June 2014 – August 2015. (1,500 characters max)

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-leaders-of-rutgers-ucla-northwestern-testify-on-antisemitism-on-college-campuses-in-house-hearing

WATCH: Leaders of Rutgers, UCLA, Northwestern testify on antisemitism on college campuses in House hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The presidents of Northwestern and Rutgers universities defended their decisions to end pro-Palestinian encampments through negotiations rather than police force, telling a House committee on Thursday that they defused the danger without ceding ground to protesters.

Watch the hearing in the player above.

“We had to get the encampment down,” Northwestern’s Michael Schill said. “The police solution was not going to be available to us to keep people safe, and also may not be the wisest solution as we’ve seen at other campuses across the country.”

Schill and Jonathan Holloway of Rutgers were called before the House Education and the Workforce Committee as part of a series of hearings examining how colleges have responded to allegations of antisemitism.

Also testifying was Gene Block, chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, which has come under scrutiny for a delayed police response to violence between pro-Palestinian protesters and counterprotesters.

The committee’s inquiry expanded to large, public universities, UCLA and Rutgers, after earlier hearings largely focused on private, Ivy League colleges. Meantime, at Harvard’s commencement Thursday, hundreds of students in graduation robes chanted “Free, Free Palestine” as they walked out of the ceremony. The school had announced on Wednesday that 13 students who participated in a protest encampment would not be able to receive diplomas alongside their classmates.

READ MORE: Pro-Palestinian campus protests are evolving. Here’s what to watch

On Capitol Hill, committee Republicans accused the university leaders at the hearing of tolerating antisemitism, with particular scorn for Northwestern and Rutgers, where schools struck deals to end or limit protests .

Neither Northwestern nor Rutgers agreed to sever business ties with Israel — one of the protesters’ chief demands. Rutgers agreed to discuss the topic; Northwestern revived a committee on “investment responsibility.”

Other terms focused on expanding institutional support for Muslim and Arab students and scholars on campus, and Rutgers promised not to retaliate against those who participated in protests.

“Each of you should be ashamed of your decisions that allowed antisemitic encampments to endanger Jewish students,” said Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the committee chair. “Mr. Schill and Dr. Holloway, you should be doubly ashamed for capitulating to the antisemitic rule breakers.”

The presidents considered police action but said it was not necessary.

“We made a choice — that choice was to engage our students through dialogue as a first option instead of police action,” Holloway said. “We had seen what transpired at other universities and sought a different way.”

Schill said students were willing to negotiate and reach a compromise that did not include divestment, their main demand. He said agreeing to a space for Muslim students where they could eat and pray, like other faith communities had on campus, was something he supported.

“We had students who were willing to negotiate and gave up their demands,” Schill said. “We said no, nothing that singles out Israel. Let’s think about what will make the university stronger.”

Protesters hailed the agreements as victories. But on Capitol Hill, the presidents said they did not lose any ground.

“I would never recommend to the Board of Trustees divestment of anything or any academic boycott of Israel,” Schill said.

Even so, Foxx countered that Schill “created the perception” he would support divestment, “which encouraged other universities to cave on this.”

Each president denounced the rise of antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war. Schill and Block, who are Jewish, expressed their own disgust at some of the rhetoric and imagery used by protesters.

Block said public universities are in an especially tough bind as they work to shield students from discrimination while also upholding free speech. Unlike private universities, public universities are bound by the First Amendment. Even hateful speech must be protected, Block said, but UCLA draws the line when it crosses into threats and harassment.

WATCH: Protesters against Israel’s war in Gaza interrupt Blinken repeatedly in the Senate

He expressed remorse over the handling of a UCLA encampment that was attacked in early May. Counterprotesters threw traffic cones and released pepper spray in fighting that went on for hours before police stepped in, drawing criticism from Muslim students and political leaders.

“Tragically, it took several hours for law enforcement to quell the violence,” Block said “With the benefit of hindsight, we should have been prepared to immediately remove the encampment if and when the safety of our community was put at risk.”

On Wednesday, the police chief at UCLA was reassigned “pending an examination of our security processes,” according to a statement from the school.

A new pro-Palestinian encampment appeared on the UCLA campus as Bock testified. “Our safety personnel are on site and actively monitoring the situation,” Mary Osako, vice chancellor for UCLA Strategic Communications, said in a statement.

As in previous hearings, Republicans pressed the leaders on discipline. They asked how many students had been expelled and how many faculty had been fired over antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel.

None of the presidents said students had been expelled, though they said there are dozens of ongoing investigations. Four students were suspended at Rutgers, Holloway said.

Schill said the numbers aren’t a reflection of inaction.

“The fact that we didn’t have not yet suspended or expelled students does not mean that students have not received discipline,” he said. “There’s a wide range of discipline, and discipline has been meted out to many of those students.”

Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war have been high on campuses since the fall and spiked in recent weeks with a wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments that led to over 3,000 arrests nationwide.

After the first congressional hearings in December, an outcry of criticism from donors, students and politicians led to the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, who gave cautious, halting answers to questions about whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ conduct policies.

In April, the committee turned its attention to Columbia President Minouche Shafik , who took a more conciliatory approach to Republican-led questioning. Shafik’s concessions around faculty academic freedom upset students and professors at Columbia. Her testimony, and subsequent decision to call in police, escalated protests on campus that inspired students at other colleges to launch similar demonstrations.

Originally, the presidents of Yale University and the University of Michigan were called to testify on Thursday. But the committee shifted its attention to Northwestern and Rutgers after those colleges struck deals with pro-Palestinian protesters to limit or disband encampments.

Associated Press writer John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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3 More College Leaders to Face Congress Over Antisemitism Claims

The heads of Rutgers, Northwestern and U.C.L.A. will be the first university leaders to testify since a wave of protest encampments roiled college campuses.

By Sharon Otterman ,  Ernesto Londoño and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

For the fourth time in six months, the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce is summoning school leaders to Washington to be questioned about accusations of antisemitism at their institutions.

This time, on Thursday, the committee’s focus will be on how three diverse universities reacted when pro-Palestinian encampments sprung up on their lawns as part of an international wave of student activism against the war in Gaza.

Two of the schools whose leaders will testify — Northwestern and Rutgers — made deals with protesters to end their encampments peacefully. The third, the University of California, Los Angeles, called in the police to dismantle its encampment, but only after a violent attack by counterprotesters the night before caused the situation to veer out of control .

Representative Virginia Foxx, the chairwoman of the committee, has blasted Rutgers and Northwestern for negotiating with the demonstrators, whose views she has described as antisemitic and supportive of terrorism. But she has also derided U.C.L.A.’s chancellor for calling the police too late, saying he allowed his campus to become a “severe and pervasive hostile environment for Jewish students.”

“The committee has a clear message for mealy-mouthed, spineless college leaders: Congress will not tolerate your dereliction of your duty to your Jewish students,” Ms. Foxx said in a May 16 statement announcing the hearing. “No stone must go unturned while buildings are being defaced, campus greens are being captured or graduations are being ruined.”

The three college leaders do not dispute that Jewish students have faced antisemitism, both on and off their campuses. But all have largely defended their responses, saying that they have taken steps to stop it.

How aggressive they will be in pushing back against the committee’s claims, however, remains to be seen.

School leaders have taken different approaches at past hearings. The presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania were measured and legalistic; the president of Columbia was conciliatory. Three public school superintendents, who testified earlier this month, ceded little ground, sparring with lawmakers in ways rarely seen on Capitol Hill.

Those who distrust the committee’s motivations in grilling the college leaders hope Thursday will represent another moment of pushback. Many faculty members and students have seen the hearings as government intrusions motivated more by partisan politics than real concern for Jewish students.

Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, the chair of religious studies at Northwestern, defended the school’s decision to end its encampment using negotiation as a model of constructive conflict resolution.

“We can be proud of our administration and we can be proud of our students,” she said. She added that it pained her to see Northwestern’s president “dragged up there and subjected to this inquisitorial process that is so reminiscent of McCarthyism.”

Thursday’s hearing represents the first time that leaders of public universities — U.C.L.A. and Rutgers — have been brought to testify about campus antisemitism since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. This changes the hearing’s context somewhat, as public universities must follow First Amendment principles of free speech on their campuses, while private universities have more freedom to restrict what can be said.

It is also the first time that university leaders have been questioned since the decision of Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, to call in the police to end a pro-Palestinian encampment on April 18, shortly after her own congressional testimony.

Since then, at least 65 other university leaders across the country have cracked down on pro-Palestinian student protesters by detaining or arresting them, with nearly 3,000 arrests so far , according to a New York Times tracker. But more than a dozen colleges have reached agreements with demonstrators, often by consenting to talk about their key demand: severing their school’s financial ties with companies that profit from Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

The university leaders speaking before the committee Thursday face a variety of circumstances at their campuses, and their testimony is likely to vary in style and focus.

Only months from a preplanned retirement, Gene D. Block, the chancellor of U.C.L.A. and an expert in neuroscience, may feel freer than the other two college leaders to parry with committee members.

His campus was thrown into turmoil three weeks ago amid a flurry of conflict over the pro-Palestinian student encampment there. The conflict culminated in an attack on the camp on April 30 by a group of pro-Israel counterprotesters. The following night, the police arrested more than 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Since then, Dr. Block and the university’s police force have faced criticism on multiple fronts. Many have questioned why the counterprotesters were allowed to attack students in the encampment for several hours before the police intervened, and why only members of the camp — and not those who attacked it — have been arrested so far.

“It wasn’t that we were arrested that bothered us — at least for me, it was, What is this unreal double standard?” said Aidan Doyle, a third-year student who was arrested in the pro-Palestinian encampment after being injured by counterprotesters.

The education committee has charged that U.C.L.A. did not act soon enough to clear the camp, allowing acts of harassment against some Jewish students.

In his written testimony to the committee, provided to The Times, Dr. Block mentioned his childhood as a Jewish boy growing up in the Catskills region of New York, with relatives who were Holocaust survivors. He described how as chancellor of a public university, he must both allow free speech and keep students safe from discrimination, a difficult balance.

He also took some blame, acknowledging that U.C.L.A. was insufficiently prepared with security resources when violence broke out around the encampment. He pledged reform.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we should have been prepared to immediately remove the encampment if and when the safety of our community was put at risk,” he said.

On Wednesday, the school removed the campus police chief , John Thomas, from his post and reassigned him, according to U.C.L.A. officials.

Michael Schill , the president of Northwestern University since September 2022, is a legal scholar who has made safeguarding free speech one of his core priorities.

On April 29, Mr. Schill became the first university president to strike a deal with students who had called on their school to sever financial ties with companies profiting from Israel’s military campaign.

Under the agreement, students dismantled their tent encampment and Northwestern promised to be more transparent about its financial holdings. It also agreed to award scholarships to five Palestinian students affected by the conflict and to create roles for two Palestinian professors.

The deal restored a sense of normalcy on campus, but it was met with vociferous criticism from pro-Israel groups, which accused Mr. Schill of condoning antisemitism. Mr. Schill, who is Jewish, is expected to face tough questions about the deal on Thursday.

“I used to say that it was very hard to make everyone happy,” Mr. Schill said in an interview days after the agreement was announced. “Today it’s virtually impossible to make anyone happy.”

Eman Hamed, a junior at Northwestern who helped organize the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, said lawmakers and university administrators had focused too much on allegations of antisemitism while glossing over instances of harassment and abuse directed at Arab students.

“There’s a single story being told right now by presidents like Schill, who only honor and condemn antisemitism with no regard for rampant anti-Arab sentiment,” said Ms. Hamed.

Jonathan Holloway , the president of Rutgers since 2020, is a historian specializing in African American history. One of his goals at Rutgers, he has said , is to foster “a beloved community,” a university culture defined by tolerance, diversity and the spirited exchange of opinions and ideas.

He has also come under considerable criticism since negotiating an end to a large pro-Palestinian encampment on Rutgers’s campus in New Brunswick, N.J., on May 2. Under the agreement, the university will welcome 10 displaced Palestinian students to finish their educations at Rutgers, plan for a new cultural center for Arab and Muslim students and allow protesters to formally present their divestment requests.

Two Democratic congressmen from New Jersey, Donald Norcross and Josh Gottheimer, denounced Dr. Holloway’s response in a letter.

“We are concerned that Rutgers appears to have incentivized people to act in a lawless and threatening manner by appeasing the demands of violent and hateful agitators,” they wrote of the deal.

But Dr. Holloway has defended his approach, noting on May 6 that “the result of our actions was a peaceful return to the normal course of business.” (He has also allowed a second, smaller tent encampment to remain at the university’s Newark campus for three weeks. On Tuesday, administrators told protesters to “ leave now .”)

While some Jewish faculty members and students are upset by what they view as a capitulation to the protesters, others support Dr. Holloway.

“The negotiated agreement avoided the brutal confrontation with the police that we have seen unfold on other campuses across the country,” several Jewish Rutgers professors wrote in an open letter that has now been signed by more than 600 Jewish professors nationally.

Sharon Otterman is a Times reporter covering higher education, public health and other issues facing New York City. More about Sharon Otterman

Ernesto Londoño is a Times reporter based in Minnesota, covering news in the Midwest and drug use and counternarcotics policy. More about Ernesto Londoño

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on national stories across the United States with a focus on criminal justice. He is from upstate New York. More about Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

The Campus Protests Over the Gaza War

News and Analysis

​Harvard said that it will no longer take positions on matters outside of the university , accepting the recommendations of a faculty committee that urged the school to reduce its messages on issues of the day.

​Weeks after counterprotesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, the university police have made the first arrest related to the attack .

​​A union for academic workers in the University of California system announced that an ongoing strike challenging the system’s handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations would extend to two more campuses , U.C.L.A. and U.C. Davis.

The Battle Over College Speech:  ​University demonstrations over the war in Gaza have reignited the debate over campus speech, and have led to a rethinking of who sets the terms for language in academia .

Making Sense of the Protests:  In the weeks leading up to graduation, our reporter spoke with more than a dozen students at Columbia University and Barnard College about how the campus protests had shaped them .

A Complex Summer:  Many university leaders and officials may be confronting federal investigations, disputes over student discipline  — and the prospect that the protests start all over again in the fall.

A New Litmus Test:  Some Jewish students say their views on Zionism — which are sometimes assumed — have affected their social life on campus .