March - June

The nomination is announced in March and the first thing you have to do is to officially accept it. After you accepted your nomination, start looking for a research project that would interest you. You easily find information about the different departments on Rutgers website. Make sure to look at departments that are situated in New Brunswick; Rutgers is a big university and have different campuses around New Jersey. I started emailing potential supervisors in the beginning of April and got in contact with my supervisor on my own. It later turned out that I would have had help from the international coordinator to find a supervisor; just by letting them know what departments I was interested in. 

It’s a good thing to start preparing your self by getting all the immunizations required. The health care program in Sweden covers the most of them, such as MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), tetanus and polio. Since Sweden isn’t in the high-risk areas of tuberculosis, you won't have to show immunization against this. They do require that you get a vaccination against hepatitis B and meningococcal meningitis. Twinrix is subsidized by KI and you find all information and book time for vaccination via the student health website. Since Twinrix is given in three doses during a longer period of time it’s a good idea get them right away. Nimenrix on the other hand is only one dose. You will also need a nurse or doctor to fill out your immunization form (you find this in your Rutgers Study Abroad application that you fill out later). 

Contact the student who went to Rutgers last year and ask all the types of questions you have in mind! 

July - September

You should receive an email from the international coordinator about project preferences and get help finding a project supervisor.  

The Rutgers Study Abroad application

The application opens in the beginning of August, the deadline is 15th of October. You get the application instructions together with your nomination from Malin Ahlén. It takes a lot of time to complete the application. Among other things, you are supposed to state if you want to live on campus (see Housing), write a statement of why you want to study at Rutgers and show proof of financial support.  

Immunization form

When you’re accepted by Rutgers you will need to upload an immunization record to your application. You will need a nurse to fill out and sign your immunization record, and this should be done at the 1st of the December at the latest but as with everything, the earlier you get it done the better. You do this by contacting City Akuten and book an appointment, just state your matter on the phone. You also have to get your Nimenrix if you haven’t done that yet.  

Buddy programme

The university will offer to set you up on the so-called Buddy programme. This programme matches you with a student at Rutgers that will be able to provide you with guidance of any sort. I did not benefit from this in any way since William (exchange student at Rutgers 2014) had already given me a lot of useful information. 

Meal plan

There is no point taking any of the meal plans that the university offers. Your lab will most likely be situated far from the dining halls. To profit from the meal plan, you will have to eat most of your meals in the dining halls. You can still purchase food in the dining halls and pay for them separately. 

October - December

Visa

The administrative staff at Rutgers will help you arranging for your Visa. Make sure that the staff at the Centre for Global Education and the administrative personnel at the department you going to work at communicate with each other. Be extremely clear that you are part of an official exchange programme; it is very important that this is stated on your Visa, otherwise you will experience problems with housing, getting a student card, etc. It is not required that you take courses during your stay at Rutgers. In case they claim so, refer to earlier exchange students form KI (William Johnson and Sara Torstensson) and Malin Ahlén.  

Date of arrival

You are allowed to arrive to the US 30 days before or 30 days after the date that is stated on your Visa. I therefore suggest that you set your date of arrival at the first day of the semester.  

DS-2019

The DS-2019 form will be sent home to you. The SEVIS code is printed in the upper right corner of the form. You will receive information and instructions along with the form. I highly recommend you to attend to these instructions as soon as possible. One of the things you have to do is to fill out a profile for an exchange visa (J-1) at ustraveldocs.com and schedule a time at the embassy (this you do in the end of the form on the web page). You will be able to pay the MRV and Visa Entry fee online (follow instructions), which I recommend you to do. If not, don’t forget to bring cash to the embassy, they do not except credit cards! Note: you don’t need to apply for ESTA.  

Personbevis

If you are a Swedish citizen, call Skatteverket to order a 120-personbevis. You cannot do this online!  

Proof of founding 

You will need a proof of founding for your The Rutgers Study Abroad application. To get this, contact your bank and ask for a certificate in English. 

Flight ticket

It is a lot cheaper to book a return ticket than a one-way ticket. The tickets are quite cheap if you book a couple of months in advance (I paid 4100 SEK). Make sure to land at Newark airport since it is closest to New Brunswick. The transportation from the airport to the university is both cheap and convenient. Take the AirTrain between the terminals and then the NJ Transit towards Trenton to New Brunswick. It takes 30-40 minutes. You can purchase a train ticket in one of the NJ Transit machines at the airport upon arrival. 

When purchasing your flight ticket, keep the dates of both the Swedish semester and the American semester in mind. You can find Rutgers housing opening and closing dates here. You will need at least 15 weeks at the lab; therefore it might be good to stay longer than the American semester. My housing closed at the 14th of May but I stayed until the 21st of May to make sure that I was able to finish up. The last weeks I stayed with my boyfriend at a hotel in New York, which was a great way of combining writing my report with seeing New York! Just make sure to be home for presentations in the beginning of June.  

Insurance

“All incoming exchange students are required to carry adequate health insurance. Rutgers University offers health insurance and will automatically bill you for this insurance unless you show proof of other coverage that is equal to Rutgers insurance coverage. A guide to minimum insurance requirements at Rutgers can be found here, but students will not be considered exempt until their policy has been reviewed by Rutgers.  If you currently have health insurance and would like to apply for exemption you will need to complete the Exemption Form and supply proof of insurance coverage, dates of coverage, and levels of coverage.  This will be reviewed by our Global Services Office and students will be notified if their coverage meets Rutgers minimum requirements.”. 

As a Swedish student, you have insurance from Kammarkollegiet. My recommendation is to get an extension of your home insurance that will cover all medical costs. Just contact your insurance company and they will help you. Don’t forget to get an insurance card or certificate, and to bring this with you. A good tip is also to take photos of these with your phone so you always have them with you.

Rutgers Rutgers own insurance

Since I wasn’t considered a regular student at Rutgers (due to trouble with my Visa) they never claimed proof of other insurance nor did they bill me for their own insurance. 

Arrival 

Take the NJ Transit with destination Trenton to New Brunswick. It takes approximately 15 min to walk from the train station to the Centre for Global Education on 102 College Avenue. The bus stops next to the station, but the routes can be hard to understand in the beginning, so make sure you know where you are going. There are also taxicabs at the station. 

On my day of arrival I was instructed to go to the Centre for Global Education. Since very few students were arriving that day we actually got help from the personnel there, who drove us to the office where we picked up our keys and got a RU card. 

J-1 Orientation 

There will be a J-1 Orientation one of the first days there; keep that in mind when setting up the first meeting with your supervisor. During orientation you will get information on how to register and other valuable information.

Coasts 

Immunizations

 Visa application 

•  SEVIS fee 180$ 
•  Visa Entry fee 131$ 
•  MRV fee 1200 SEK

Other

•  Translation of high school diploma: 100 SEK 
•  Airplane ticket: approximately 4500 SEK 
•  Insurance: approximately 3000 SEK (depending on your insurance company) 
• Housing on campus: 3985$ or 4029$ (College Avenue Campus more expensive) 

Housing

The apartments on campus are big and consist of two bedrooms, bathroom and combined living room and kitchen. Four students share each apartment. There’s no significant difference in costs between on-campus housing and off campus. The security of on-campus housing largely over weigh any other benefits of off campus housing. 

Campus

Housing is located at the four different campuses: Collage Avenue, Busch, Cook/Douglas and Livingston. Collage Avenue is the most central campus and closest to the train station. Here you also find restaurants, a pharmacy, T-Mobile and a convenient store (Bravo). I picked Silvers apartments at Bush campus since it was closest to my lab. The New Brunswick campus is very big and spread out, and the bus system is sometimes a bit tricky, I therefore recommend you to select housing according to where your lab is located. 

Working at the lab

My experience at the lab did not differ much from what I've experienced at home. My supervisor provided me with good guidance and I felt very welcome in the group. Most of my colleagues there worked on average eight hours per day, which as I understand it, has become more standard in the US the last couple of years.

Language

There isn't much of a language barrier when studying in an English speaking country. People are very friendly and understanding, and Swedish people have an overall good reputation. Generally, people were surprised over how well I could speak the language.  

Rutgers everyday life 

Registration 

You need to be registered as a student to get your RU Express and to get access to the Wi-Fi system. You can access RU wireless directly upon arrival but it will stop working after 2 weeks if you’re not registered. You will get more information about this during J-1 Orientation. 

 Wi-Fi, gym and bus system 

 … Is all free! 

Phone

Buying groceries 

Getting good quality groceries to a fair price can be a bit tricky without a car. If you are lucky, your roommate will have one and you can go shopping together. 

Bravo is located close to College Av. campus, but have a very limited selection. I preferred the Stop&Shop in Highland Park. To get there, take the 810 bus from the train station and get of at 4th Av. The bus costs 1,5 dollars that you have to pay in cash. 

Rutgers arrange a bus trip to Bed Bath and Beyond the first day, which is a good opportunity to get necessary supplies for the kitchen etc. 

Water 

You can drink the tap water, my recommendation however is to buy a filter system can for approximately 24 dollar. This removes the taste of chlorine and saves you the trouble of carrying heavy water buckets from the store. 

Bus system 

Everybody at Rutgers develop a love-hate relationship to the bus system. It is free and takes you all around campus, but it can be a little bit tricky to get a hang of. The bus routes goes in loops and there is no map that locates the bus stops. If you want to try to crack the code before arriving, you can have a look here. You can also download an app for your smartphone to see when the next bus is arriving at your stop; just search for Rutgers in App Store. 

Bike 

Rutgers have a biking programme where you may rent a bike during the semester for only 24 dollars. A great way to get around when the weather gets warmer! Walking around There are sidewalks on all the campuses but it is really hard to walk between campuses. Take the bus! 

Cinema at Livingston 

There is a cinema for students on Livingston campus. The tickets are cheaper than a regular cinema and you purchase them online. 

Running and Working out 

 There is an ecological preserve close to Livingston campus (2 km from Silvers Apartments) with trails in the woods. A lot of maps are put up along the tracks, so there is no risk of getting lost. There is no light or maintenance of the tracks, so make sure to run during the day and when the weather is nice. There is also a track down by the river with stations for various exercises. 

The gym is free but very crowded, especially in the beginning of the semester. If you live at Silvers Apartments, Sonny Werblin Recreation Centre is just 10 min walk away where the Olympic swimming pool also is located. 

New York 

The Big Apple is just a one-hour train ride away with NJ Transit. If you buy a return ticket it’s a little bit cheaper (24 dollar) compared to one way (13 dollar). Enjoy! 

My personal favourites in New York

•  Dough – Best doughnuts in the world! 14 W 19th Street  
• Ellis Island – Take the boat from Battery Park, see Statue of Liberty and get some of your Swedish history at the museum of emigration  
• Smorgasburg – Food market in Williamsburg, only open at Saturdays. Outside, so therefore recommended when the weather is warmer.

Last but not least… 

Have fun! This will without a doubt be one of the best experiences of you life, both professionally and personally. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Good luck!    

 Sara Torstensson 

 Email: sara.torstensson@stud.ki.se