Purdue University-Main Campus Top Questions

The ivy-covered red brick, and other aging architecture give Purdue a lovely backdrop, set in a location much greener than many dense, urban college towns. The university defines West Lafayette, and instills it with (often dubious) character. It is a huge, sprawling campus where parking is often infeasible, and we get about most often on foot, bicycle, or bus. The departments vary considerably in size, and behave territorially. Students must be resourceful and assertive in order to satisfy their needs. Outsiders tend to perceive Purdue as either an engineering institution or an American football team. Truth be known, it is also hundreds of other intriguing things, but they are not readily advertised. I spend most of my time in libraries, laboratories, my office, my apartment, or beneath a shade tree, when the weather permits. The university administration typically conducts its business behind closed doors in a majestic stone-pillared palace, and largely ignores external influence. This has led to some disheartening incidents. For example, one of the largest and most active labor groups worked for years to negotiate the enforcement of a university ban on sweatshop production of university apparel. In what seemed an ethically straightforward matter (not to mention an easy public-relations opportunity), the administration actually opposed the reforms, and contracts with slave labor even to this day. Purdue's police were stationed in that stone building, and various other public locations, where they arrested many students for persisting in the matter. This year's new president offers some new hope. Time will tell what develops. In the community as a whole, there is a tremendous sense of loyalty to the university, frequently bordering on bigotry. Associations with the school are seen intermingled with associations of nation, race, academic discipline, economic caste, and religion. People take great pride in Purdue, to the exclusion of what they personally consider incompatible with its values. You must decide for yourself what to make of that.

I spend most of my time at the Union. While I am very involved with the Purdue Student Union Board (PSUB), I'm pretty sure I would spend most of my time there anyway. There is a lot of seating ranging from normal tables to comfy couches. People study and sleep there the entire day. Almost every week there is a really cool PSUB events going on, so people can relax and have fun at the same time in the Union or around it. There is also an array of awesome restaurants and venues in the ground floor, and every place looks very chic. It is, to me, the center of campus and the place where you first come as a freshman. It will be a place you will always end up at somehow, and it will always be inviting.

Purdue is the ideal size for college! Although it may be overwhelming and seem large at first it only gets smaller as the years go on. It is a place that one can evolve and grow as an individual all four years. The best thing about Purdue is the extreme spirit. As one can expect sports revolve around our football and basketball teams. We play in a a very competitive league (the big ten) providing excellent entertainment. Purdue is the typical college town. It has a Walmart, target, any fast food one can think of, but the local pubs and bars run the show. It isn't uncommon to hear about a "bar crawl". In addition Greek life is huge. It creates a mini community at Purdue. Many would explain our campus as Greeks vs. GDI's (Gosh Darn Independents ... to say it nicely). The most recent controversy was B.A.P. vs. no B.A.P. and our student government presidential elections. B.A.P. stands for boiler advancement program which would increase tuition but provide more money to student organizations. The student president election was also controversial. It is very popular and campaigns are taken very seriously. The last debate was Barrack vs. Hillary. One can often find politics being discussed sparked by the many political speakers brought to Purdue.

Sports are great! go to them. Good way to meet people. Also play intramurals.

Purdue has some great resources but what really nice is that if you can't find what you're looking for it's easy to get out. Money might be an issue, but there's a shuttle that runs to indianapolis airport and from there you can get to where ever you need. I'm more of a city person so I like to travel to places like New York and Boston (for some reason I haven't made it to Chicago yet). From my experience, having a car on campus would be a major plus.

Purdue is a great place to go because as a student, you allowed to develop into who you want to be. There are so many opportunities to develop yourself both academically and socially. Purdue also has such a great number of studies that if you decide against what your first thoughts were, there are many more that might catch your fancy. Lastly, having an education from Purdue University is highly sought after. Many schools have top ranking programs in the nation.

Our school is huge, but its amazing how in the 4 years I've been here how many people you see over and over again that you kinda know but aren't even friends with. One thing I would change about this school is I would create a Full fledged med school, you can take your undergrad and first 3 years of med school here but you have to finish somewhere else. Also you can take pre law here and there is an over abundance of law classes, yet you have to get a law degree somewhere else. This year I have spent most of my time in the Union, it is the best place to meet with friends and study. However, there are so many hidden places that are better to study in if you really need to get work done. My favorite is the 3rd floor of Krannert, but they are remodeling it this summer and will be amazing next year. If you're over 21 the friday's special at Harry's is a must. It is a super huge burger, pound of fries, and soft drink with free refills for 6 bucks. Our last President built more buildings on campus then all the other presidents combined, he also raised a billion dollars and has done a lot for this community. Our current President is France Cordova. She is the first woman president of our campus and 11th overall. She is most famous for being the youngest, and first woman to serve as Chief Scientist at NASA, she also is an accomplished astrophysicist. She has made a commitment at Purdue to focus on campus improvement; such as student satisfaction and beautification. Macky our basketball arena is undergoing a 100 million dollar renovation that includes a student athlete resource center donated by alumni Drew Brees. Another Alumnus Neil Armstrong recently donated the new engineering building compete with a statue of young Neil outside. Our baseball stadium is being relocated and upgraded on McCormick Road where a new sports complex is developing away from the campus sprawl. In the baseball diamond's spot will reside part of our new recreational sports center and new dorms. The new rec center will be complete with leisure pool and 3 story rock climbing wall. Parking is the largest complaint but it pays for the campus and really shouldn't be a big issue. Our mascot is really the Boilermaker Special (a train) instead of Purdue Pete which is commonly thought of as our mascot. Purdue Pete was created by University bookstore in 1954 as a advertising gimmick and was adopted shortly thereafter by the university. Less commonly explored by students is Lafayette downtown. Lafayette downtown is full of amazing bars, restaurants and live music but since its a long walk from Campus most students stick to Chauncey which is the bar scene on campus. Campus House Christian Church is located on the main road on campus and the building is shaped like a mushroom. This church is the most contempory available and is packed by college students every sunday at each of the Church's 5 services. It is tradition not to walk under the bell tower until you graduate because everytime you do you add a year to your education. Also Purdue used to have an annual bonfire to burn an effigy of an IU cheerleader but that was banned in the 80's due to the sexism. Our two biggest events are grand prix week and breakfast club. Grand Prix is a go cart race, but is really designed as a week to get blitzed. Breakfast club is a tradition where everyone gets dressed up in the crazyiest costumes and gets to the bars before 7am of football saturdays and grand prix saturday and drinks until they are led to the football game. Each year at least one student takes on the role of the Pope and is a crowd favorite. Also, tons of Popes make it out to the Purdue vs Notre Dame game to prove their undying love for Purdue. Wolf park is 20 min north of campus and is the second largest wolf inclosure in America and is a great date spot on friday when they let the wolves attack a buffalo. Seriously. Also the Wabash Heritage Trail is a great place to hike. The trail ends at a war memorial for the soldiers and Indians that died at the battle of Tippecanoe. The ravines is the best value for golf, but Ackerman Hills is the closest and is where the Purdue team plays. It is also home of the 2008 NCAA golf championship. Frank Loyd Wright built a home here and it is the host of live music in the summer.

The best thing about Purdue is that it is a Big Ten school. When you graduate from Purdue you can be almost guarenteed to get a great job, regardless of your major of study. One thing I'd change about Purdue are the people. I know it sounds broad but generally as a student population the people at Purdue just aren't friendly. I transferred from another college in Indiana where everyone was nice to everyone, says hello, and holds the door open for the person behind them every time. At Purdue you will get none of that. Everyone only cares about themselves and their group of friends. The school is TOO BIG. It is so hard to meet people unless you are a greek. And the greek community is outrageous here. If you're not greek, you're in the minority. I spend most of my time on campus outside. I love the grounds. There are two fountains on campus that are absolutely beautiful and are so nice to sit by and socialize or study. It is so nice to walk to class during the spring and fall, very beautiful. The best thing about being a Purdue is the all-famous "Den Pop". A local store near campus called the Den sells fountain sodas for way cheap. There is usually a line going out the door during finals week for students looking for a caffeine fix. Purdue's administration is acceptable. I like the new President, France Cordova. She seems to have the students interests in mind with a lot of the changes she has been making (new website, new and easier ways to register for classes, etc). The salaries the administration makes are completely out of control but I guess that is the same at every university. Another great thing about Purdue is the Purdue student newspaper (independent) called the Exponent. Everyone and I mean everyone reads this paper on a daily basis. The writers are decent and stories for the most part unbiased. I especially like reading the letters to the editor. There are some seriously heated debates in this section, sometimes the debates go on for weeks. The biggest recent controversy on campus was the Wade Steffey case. Wade Steffey, a Purdue Freshman, went missing one friday night. The police and community searched for Wade for weeks (including Purdue staff) and finally his body was found on campus. The body was found in a dorm electrical room that was supposed to be off-limits to everyone except maintenance. There are locks on the doors and small signs that say "keep out". Obviously someone (a Purdue staffer) did not lock the door as they are supposed to and Wade ended up losing his life. It's not talked about too much about how Purdue screwed up and that bothers me. Also, when Wade went missing I didn't see a comradere I would expect from a student body. Sure, people volunteered to help look, but not near as many that should have. I didn't 'feel the love' as you should during a tragedy. Like I said, in general Purdue students only care about themselves. As far as school pride, there's only really a feeling of pride during the football season. Other than that, school pride goes only as far as wearing your Purdue tee to class. The most unusual thing about Purdue is the foreign population, it's one of the biggest in the nation. Purdue educates a lot of Asians and Indians. When you come to Purdue you don't expect that. Also another unusual thing about Purdue is the smell. The city of West Lafayette and Lafayette smell awful almost 24/7. There are several factories in the area that create seriously foul smells that can almost knock you over. Most of the time it doesn't reach campus but it's there as soon as you step outside of campus. It is the worst in the summer! One last unusual thing about Purdue is the roads. We go to a school full of engineers but the roads around campus and West Lafayette were put together with no sense. Most of the roads are one-ways and it takes forever to get anywhere.

Best thing about Purdue: large amount of classes cover a lot of interests One thing I'd change: Staff can be very rude, it feels like they don't care about you and sometimes it feels like the office staff completely hates their jobs Fairly large campus How do people react when I tell them I go to Purdue: So you study engineering? or Wow! Where do I spend most of my time on campus: libraries or the Union most people know of Purdue because it is part of the Big Ten School Pride?- There is a mix between hard core school spirit to people who are only attending Purdue because of the university's name on a resume Anything unusual about Purdue?- tons and tons of squirrels all over campus One experience I'll always remember- Freshman year going to all of the football games, they are the greatest with the student season tickets, it makes it affordable and the environment of the student section is amazing Most frequent student complaints- among myself and friends, lack of university care. I really feel like I'm just a number to the university staff a lot. This doesn't count for my counselor or some of the professors, but it really does for housing staff and anyone in financial aid or dealing with the bursar's office

Purdue is a great place to meet new people. I didn't know a single person coming to school and I now have a large group of friends that I love hanging out with and partying with. The social scene is so much fun. Almost all of the big parties are fraternity parties which can get pretty out of hand. Sorority girls are a lot of fun to party with. They're always outgoing and ready to have a good time. Academically, Purdue is one of the best in the nation. The engineering program pushes students to learn and creates a fun and interactive environment.