New Brunswick High School seniors participating in 12th Grade English Program

Program Overview

In order to create a pipeline between our 11th grade Johnson & Johnson Saturday Scholars Academy and the demands of college writing courses, Basic Composition (English 100) was first implemented in the New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology High School in 2003-04. After two years, the New Brunswick Board of Education encouraged the inclusion of the New Brunswick High School students. The seniors accepted into the program take college level English courses taught by professors from the Rutgers University English Department. The students that complete Basic Composition with a C or better receive 3 college credits. Based on the professor's recommendation, certain students will be selected to continue in the spring with Expository Writing (English 101). Upon successful completion of the spring course, students will earn an additional 3 college credits. Fulfillment of these writing requirements ensure that the students will qualify for college-level science courses that have a writing pre-requisite or co-requisite during their first year of college; this prevents students from having to be placed into remedial writing courses which would limit the number of science courses into which students can enroll.

Program Description

Students attend class Saturday mornings from 10am-1pm on the Douglass Campus of Rutgers - New Brunswick for 15 weeks each semester. Students are encouraged to show up early to work on college applications and scholarships with the help of the program coordinator. Students are also offered the opportunity to stay after class to discuss their papers with their professor.

Program Eligibility

New Brunswick rising seniors may be considered for the program based on one of the following:

  1. Successful completion of 11th grade Saturday Scholars.
  2. SAT English teacher recommendation.
  3. Pass the Rutgers Writing Program screening process. 
  4. The nominated students will be asked to complete an application and submit their SAT scores to date. Approximately 20-30 students will be selected to participate.

 

Please visit the Rutgers, New Brunswick Writing Program website

 

For more information, please contact Ms. Shannon Smith, Developmental Specialist for High School Programs, at 848-445-5668 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.