By: Nolan, Delaney, Maya, and Shiv
Although the week started off rainy and bleak, the MFS Foxes brought the sunshine to the campus of Rowan University. Meeting up in Ms. Slocum’s room to prepare for the day, we discussed plans for our campus visit and learned about different aspects of Rowan, ranging from the academic programs offered to the university’s history. It surprised us to learn that the university’s student population had grown from 236 students when Rowan was founded (as Glassboro State College) to over 19,600 students today!
After preparing questions for the Rowan University admissions team, we boarded the bus at around 9 a.m. and headed over to Rowan. Students on the bus chatted and played games like UNO, excited for the visit.
Once we arrived at the Rowan University Welcome Center, we headed inside quickly to get out of the rain. Inside, we were greeted by an admissions officer, who gave us a brief information session on Rowan. While very informative, several Foxes commented that the session felt more like the sharing of facts that could just be found through online searches instead of an in-person session.
Despite the dreary weather, we put up our hoodies and continued our visit with a campus tour. Our tour guide led us through many essential Rowan places, starting with their lively college town. The college town was filled with a bunch of good eats like LaScala’s, Playa Bowls, Kung Fu Tea, and more. As we walked through the college town to get to our next stop; we noticed tons of people on bikes, scooters, and skateboards. We noted that this is a very active campus.
For our second stop, we got to take a peek into a freshman dorm. While in there we noted how roomy the dorm was which contrasted with the narrowness of the hallway. As a group we were also impressed with the fact that freshmen were provided with a microwave and refrigerator. After touring the dorms, we walked to the student center, which had many different sports gear and a gym. Lastly, we went to the study center where we were able to see students doing schoolwork, studying, and just taking a break. In spite of the dreary energy that we fit from the weather and from our tour guide, we all got pretty good insight on college life at Rowan University.
After our informative tour across campus, the MFS Foxes stopped at the Rowan Dining Hall. While there we saw multiple food options including pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and salads. After enjoying the buffet style lunch, some foxes decided to try out the ice cream bar which was a delicious way to end our Rowan experience.
After returning back to MFS, some Foxes noted the absence of healthier options in the dining hall. Some said that they “wish it had a larger variety of options for people that don’t want pizza everyday” especially after being told about the many options in the dining hall; we felt it fell flat. We also noted the gloominess in the dining hall, with some saying they didn’t hear any laughter from students. After eating lunch, we headed back to the Welcome Center, where we took a group photo and said goodbye to our tour guide and the Rowan admissions team.
When we returned to MFS, our group debriefed the day and reflected on the various parts of the trip. We also talked about some pros and cons of Rowan.
Some pros
Several Foxes shared were that the food was good, professors had required office hours, roommate groupings could be chosen by similar majors, and certain parts of the campus were brand new.
Some cons
There weren’t many nutritious food options, the campus wasn’t maintained well, the dorms smelled, and the residence buildings were really small.
After discussing our thoughts, the group played a fun game of mafia to close out the day. Overall, the general consensus was that while the academic programs offered at Rowan are expansive and the facilities are mostly well-maintained, many Foxes were concerned about general student life and community building at Rowan because of the lack of energy, spirit, and interactions between students on campus, especially on such a gloomy day. However, we look forward to a sunny day at Thomas Jefferson University on Tuesday!
