Raritan Valley Community College — Attraction in Branchburg Township

I find it hard to believe that this is the #1 community college in New Jersey. In the year that I’ve attended this school both in person and online, everything was a nightmare. Registering for classes and enrolling was a constant tug-of-war and miscommunication happened ALL. THE. TIME. I’ve never seen a messier administration. There was such a huge shortage of advisors and counselors to the point where trying to make or even keep appointments have been a hassle. Every time I turned around my counselor has had to bail. However, this is NOT her fault whatsoever-this is a staffing issue. She was an amazing counselor and I truly felt bad that she was basically the only one running the counseling department at one point.

The social life here was also practically nonexistent. I did make SOME lasting friendships here, but everyone else was just stone cold and closed off for no reason and quite rude, especially on RVConnect, Raritan Valley’s social media platform. There was also little to no information on how or where to sign up for clubs. Even the Discord servers for a lot of clubs were half dead.

Campus safety was very flawed; their infrastructure has been falling apart all around. The parking lots are atrocious along with actually being able to find parking. They have so many useless signs that basically warn you that if you park there, your car will get towed. These spots aren’t even handicap spots yet they read ridiculous phrases, like “Spot Worth A Lot!” Or “Reserved Parking,” with no clarification on what these signs mean. Not to mention, the parking lots are so run down that I am certain that they have contributed to all four of my tires needing replacement.

There is also barely any heat, cooling, or proper ventilation throughout the school. My allergies were unbearable whenever I was trying to sit through my classes, and I almost passed out several times along with having from tremors due to how unbearably hot some parts of the school get, including the security office. I suffer from several health issues which cause me to have these episodes, especially in the heat.

The outside tiles that connect the cafeteria to the library are dangerously loose. Prior to needing a cane, I almost tripped on them plenty of times and the school has not done anything to fix them, despite numerous students having the same complaints. This isn’t safe for any of the students, but especially students who need to use mobility aids and/or suffer from chronic illnesses like myself.

I did have some incredible professors that I will dearly miss, but the rest were horrible. Some courses only have one professor, and that professor could make that course as difficult to pass as possible. This does a disservice to students trying to graduate and who genuinely work hard to get good grades. I ended up having to drop classes altogether due to this problem along with my health issues getting worse, of which the school has given me a hard time about. I was offered no compassion, resources, or solutions in return. For a school that’s highly preachy about diversity, equity, and inclusion, I find it interesting that they would turn a blind eye to a student in need of extra support and assistance. This was not the first time this has happened, either.

As a result of all of these issues, I decided to switch schools and I couldn’t be happier. The school I’m in now has more efficient programs than Raritan’s and I have been treated with more dignity. Raritan really needs to start listening to their students more if they want to live up to the title of being the #1 community college...

Think carefully before choosing to enroll here! The reason why this college is so cheap is because its value and the quality of the people working there are equally poor. The staff and administration are unprofessional, dismissive, and fail to provide real support or respect to their students.

This school discriminates against students and has caused me and others immense harm.

I was discriminated against because of my mental health disability, along with some of my friends from RVCC who experienced similar treatment. I repeatedly asked for accommodations that I am legally entitled to, but my requests were ignored. Staff were consistently rude, dismissive, and showed no willingness to help.

Jason Fredericks, the Dean of Student Affairs, treated me with shocking disrespect and bias. I believe his actions were discriminatory and targeted, and he played a direct role in ensuring I failed classes that I was previously passing and forcing me to lose my credits and start over from scratch.

I was expelled solely because of my mental health challenges, despite doing well academically. I had to transfer to another college, paying much more money, and to make matters worse, most of my credits were rejected. Out of 10 classes I had passed, only 1 was accepted at my new school, even though it was the same major.

I was enrolled in ENG 111 with an A average before RVCC failed me. Now, despite my hard work, other schools placed me in ESL-level courses, which are non-credit and cost extra money. I’m forced to take 4 additional classes (5 credits each) that don’t even count toward my degree and costing me more time and money on top of everything I’ve already lost.

This experience has been nothing short of torture. Simply because I have a mental health disability, I was expelled, lost my credits, and am now stuck retaking the same courses and wasting years of progress.

No student should ever be treated this way!

I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy!

I sincerely hope justice is served one day and that people who discriminate against students, like Jason Fredericks and others, are held accountable.

I trust that God will remove His blessings from these people and karma will bring them the consequences they deserve!

At this school, students are treated as if they are nothing. If anyone makes an accusation against you, the entire administration will turn against you without even hearing your side.

I hope my sincere review helps you make a more thoughtful decision before...

I wish I could give this "school" a zero star rating. Years ago when I attended as a theatre major I was rudely told by a member of their staff that as an actor I'd be waiting tables most of my life. If that's the case, why bother attending college if I'm merely gonna be a waiter. Then after an incident where I was physically accosted in the parking lot, security laughed at me & said he couldn't do anything because there weren't any witnesses & he went back to flirting with some girl. Even though it was most obvious I didn't inflict the injuries on myself. I went to Barbara Luby (I hope I spelled her name right as this was many years back) who was extremely condescending & scoffed at me, she also mentioned I was on "academic probation" which was news to me as I was never informed of such thing prior to re-enrollment. In fact, the day I had re-enrolled there was yet another joyous occasion, especially when one of the staff blatantly refused to help me & shouted "Does HE look well to you!?" at another staff member about me. I wasn't sick,didn't even have allergies & I certainly wasn't some drug addicted tweaker. For whatever reason her attitude was clear she didn't want to deal with me. I waited years to mention anything about this school or my experiences mainly out of fear or backlash. It wasn't until the advent of Google reviews, leaving the area & attending better schools that I knew my concerns were valid. Other people who had similar bad experiences at RVCC weren't afraid to speak up. For odd reasons unbeknownst to me, this school kept trying to put me in remedial classes, yet every where else I applied balked at that notion,said I was highly intelligent & allowed me to start taking REAL classes right away. For anyone who had a wonderful experience here, I'm truly happy for you as an education & higher learning is something wonderful & shouldn't be taken for granted. However,for those who were marginalized,patronized & otherwise degraded (such as myself) by this institution my heart goes out to you as much as my brain...