Purdue University-Main Campus Top Questions

The best part about Purdue is the people; it is a very friendly, welcoming university. The faculty and staff are more than willing to go out of their way to help students succeed. Also, when admitted to Purdue, you are accepted directly to the program/major you are interested in, so when you arrive on campus you already have a "home" - a small school at a large university. It helps make Purdue feel smaller and helps you build a network faster. My favorite things about Purdue are: 1. The people 2. Athletics 3. Study abroad opportunities My least favorite things about Purdue are: 1. The lack of integration among electronic resources 2. The location - although it is great that most everything in West Lafayette revolves around Purdue, I sometimes wish there was more to do off of campus (more culture, etc.) 3. The weather - 80s and sunny everyday would be MUCH better :)

The most important thing to know about Purdue is the size. We have almost 40,000 students here, which may seem like a lot of people. But once you get here, it does not seem like that many. You don't really realize how many people you pass by each day. And with so much diveristy on campus, it's easy to get plugged in, which makes Purdue seem smaller.

I love Purdue's size. At 40,000 students, it's a bustling place. At the same time, there are so many student organizations and other ways to get involved around campus, and that fact makes Purdue feel quite small. Getting involved in campus, building a multitude of relationships, and a nurturing a love for walking will make Purdue feel like a small campus with huge opportunities.

The best thing about Purdue is its traditions. From football and breakfast club, to Grand Prix and fountain runs....there are just certain things that will always belong to Purdue and it's students. I would certainly change those 7:30am lectures if possible, what a difference having an 8:30am class can make! When you attend a Big 10 school expect a lot of students with a lot of spirit. This is what makes Purdue so great. You are in West Lafayette, IN and you are meeting people from all over the world, literally! You notice there are majors you have never heard of, organizations you didn't know you could join and that every person talks a little differently (Chicago, East Coast, Europe, West Coast). Purdue is not a walk in the park. It is fun, but you will have to work hard and study to grab your 4-yr degree from this institution. The career advisors are very encouraging and the administration is generally accessible. Purdue's campus is a walking campus. There are not a lot of bikes and there is not point in trying to park near campus. That said you will find little spots that are great to spend some time relaxing or studying on campus. I always found my self focused deep in the stacks of the HSEE library and relaxing near the bell tower benches. The main complaint from students is there is not enough activity in West Lafayette. The city is working hard to bring in more stores, cafes, and bars for students.

About Engineering at Purdue: the biggest problem is that the admission requirements are lax compared the reputation that Purdue would like to maintain. Consequently, after you arrive you are subjected to a number of "weed-out" classes meant to separate the people who should be there and from those who shouldn't. That selection should have been determined by the application process, which sadly when I attended was little more than a request for SAT scores and a high school transcript. No recommendation letters or even a personal statement was required. I found these weed-out classes excessively competitive and stressful. These classes were not geared toward learning and exploration.

Purdue University has a really good name in the state of Indiana. More importantly it has an excellent name outside of the Midwest. When some of my relatives heard I was attending Purdue, they were really impressed. On the East and West coasts apparently Purdue is thought of as an Ivy League school. As far as getting value from your degree, you can't beat that kind of reputation from a state funded university. I also frequently see Purdue in the national news (sports, Rube Goldberg contest, research projects, etc). This again just adds value to my degree.

One great thing about Purdue is that there are so many clubs/organizations, etc for students to get involved in. You can get involved in anything you want, and there are tons of opportunities for leadership. Another great thing is that the town Purdue is in, West Lafayette, IN, is built around the camus. Therefore, there are lots of restaurants and things to do. One other great thing about Purdue is the Greek Life. Being Greek is big at Purdue. A lot of people "rush" sororities and fraternities, and there are coutnless Greek houses on campus. Purdue has the 2nd largest Greek community in the nation. Bad things...Purdue is not very safe. There are always attempted abductions, rapes, assults, robberies, etc in the paper and on the news daily (even stabbings, shootings, etc). The police spend most of their time giving traffic violations, instead of taking care of important things. The facutly at Purdue, at least in my experience, are not very helpful. I am in pharmacy, and the faculty seems more interested in failing students than helping them to pass.

The best thing about Purdue is the student oriented system. Everything is according to the students. All the professors and TA's are really nice. They pay attention to you and you feel yourself important. The other best thing would be that there are many international people at Purdue. If you are an international you really don't feel weird since many people around you are just the same with you. Purdue has a very large campus, but it is slightly full of buildings. Purdue is not as popular as Berkeley here in Turkey. But the professors or the people who have an idea about Purdue says that it should be really nice to have been there. Since I didn't have a car and I lived at Hawkins Hall I was always on campus. I think there is a lot of school pride that makes students not to be aware of the other good colleges or successful people. The most frequent student complaints should be the weather. It is so cold that you really do not want to leave home.

It's a big school with something for EVERYBODY. If you want to do something, you can probably do it here. You won't have any trouble making some great friends, getting a great education, and completely changing your life, if you put yourself out there and try new things. Purdue is a lot of fun, but it is very easy to let the homework and classes get really overwhelming and a lot of times its unavoidable. Life gets tough sometimes with all the work, more or less depending on your major. But there are definitely ways to escape and enjoy life at Purdue too. It is what you make it...

the size of the campus grounds seems small, but its pretty good, i don't like how there are frats and sorts in the middle of campus, kinda separates the campus, the village area, chauncy hill, is kinda small, the lafayette mall is really far away