Purdue University-Main Campus Top Questions

Purdue was definately the right choice for me. I dragged my feet and felt so much pressure to go there since both of my parents, and almost all of my aunts attended Purdue. But once I got there I fell in love with the campus. It the most gorgeous campus! Everyone there is pretty friendly. The first day of classes I got lost, (twice!) and I asked some random person on the sidewalk where to find the class I was headed for. They actually took my right to the door and told me where to find my class. I was so grateful! Our administration is VERY helpful. They don't want you to fail and love when you ask questions. We have a GREAT sledding hill, and snowball fights break out all over campus. We also have carnivals in the spring! We have a bowling alley, pool hall, and an arcade in the Union! We also have a movie shown the last Friday of every month for only $2!

- Purdue carries a ton of weight in the professional world. - The academic plan of study is poor for some majors. You take a lot of classes you don't need, and have professors backing them and the liklihood you will fail is pretty high, or receive a grade that will hurt you GPA. - Beyond Purdue itself, there is very little to do around campus. VERY LITTLE. I'm not someone who is a loner by any means, I'm extremely with a lot outside of school, and frankly beyond west lafayette, there isn't a whole lot in that town. -

The best thing about Purdue: the people. We are nice! Our school has 38,000 students and has all of the opportunities of a big campus, but we feel like a small school. Our academic campus is really well contained and pedestrian friendly and most classes are less than 30 people. We have large lectures too, which is nice. Most people think it's a really big deal that I go to Purdue, when I tell them they all seem impressed. Purdue is set in the town of West Lafayette, and really West Lafayette = Purdue. We are such a college town, everyone you pass on the street is either a student, a professor, or visiting a student. You don't even have to show bus drivers your school ID to ride for free or show the Starbucks people to get coffee without tax. People just know you are a student, it's really nice.The biggest controversy this year was the Student Government elections, there was alot of shadyness going on because the old government supported the Student Activity Fee and wanted it to pass but one running mate didn't want it and campaigned against it and ended up getting kicked out of the race somehow...it was drama.

Purdue may be a Big Ten school; but I still have a sense of knowing everyone! Not literally, but you get to know people in your classes, in your residence hall, that you happen to meet at the library, etc. I don't feel Purdue is too big at all; and I'm glad I am constantly able to meet new people and share new ideas and experiences. I am not part of the Greek system, and that's fine. I have friends both in and out of the Greek system, it's not a requirement to having a fulfilling college experience at Purdue to be Greek. Our mascot is a bit odd...but that makes it that much cooler to say I'm a Boilermaker. One of my biggest complaints is the computer labs/set-up of computer services at Purdue. We are about to undergo a big overhaul and it's really a mess. You would think that with our computer sciences department being so prestigious we would have a better handle on our campus technology! Hopefully that will get ironed out a little more in the next year or so...but we'll see.

I went to a very small high school, so coming to such a large university was a big change for me. I was very intimidated at first, especially since English isn't my first language, but the people here are very friendly, and I soon became accustomed to campus life. Though West Lafayette isn't the biggest town, there are still plenty of things to do here. There is a wide variety of places to eat, and a mall close by. Chicago and Indianapolis are within reasonable driving distance, too, so students at Purdue have the benefit of both cities! My friends and I often drive to Chicago for concerts.

The best thing about Purdue is that there are so many options for anyone to pursue, and so many young people grouped into one area. It's the type of experience that's always taken for granted by students. They will never again find a place like this in their lives where everyone has so much opportunity and common interests. One thing I'd change would be the way parking is controlled. I once got out of a class and went straight to my car, but it had already been towed away because it was a basketball game night. They only put a couple small pink signs around the lot to notify people of it. No one arrived for the game by 5, yet that's when they towed my car, and my class got out at 5:20. I like the size of the school. It's pretty large and still growing every year. The only complaint I would have about that is the year-round construction going on in a new area each year. Most people around the state actually don't think it's a very big deal to have an engineering degree from Purdue, but anywhere else in the country I've been surprised to find that everyone seems to think very highly of the university. On campus, I'd say I spend most of my time in the Union if not in class. I used to spend most of my time in Grissom, but now the Armstrong building is the new Aeronautics building, and I have no more classes to attend there. The Union has been redone recently. I like the new look, and there are a lot more choices for places to eat. Based on the fact that this town wouldn't exist w/o Purdue, I'd say it's a college town. There's not much to do outside of campus in West Lafayette, but Lafayette is obviously really close, so there's slightly more to do there. My approval of Purdue's administration varies with the different departments, but overall I like how things are done here. Biggest controversy lately? Not really sure, sorry. There's a lot of school pride. If you come here, you're gonna bleed black & gold for life. BOILER UP! There are often rumors about huge experiments done underground here. I'd say that's pretty weird. The funny thing is that those kinds of experiments are done everyday at Purdue's labs which I'd say are some of the best in the world. People come here for the opportunity to work on some of the most recent, top-of-the-line engineering projects in the world. A lot of the students really don't understand that you can't find that kind of stuff anywhere else. I'll always remember seeing a guy (who we now call Schnoz) run into the fountain w/o seeing the giant metal column. He hit it so hard that he broke his nose, haha. Most frequent complaint? Probably parking, but I don't really know to be honest.

The one thing I would change is that our intramural facilities are old, and too small for the large campus at Purdue. Purdue is a large school, and one should expect a large school atmosphere when coming to school here. When I tell people that I go to Purdue they say one of two things. 1. "Purdue, where is that? Is that Ivy League?" 2. "Purdue, so you're an engineer?" I spend most of my time, when awake, on campus; studying or class. West Lafayette is a college town, for the most part. The Purdue administration tries to screw over every student, so be ready for that. There has been a lot of school pride, espicially lately with our basketball team doing really well. The unusual thing about Purdue is every building on campus is brick because it was in John Purdue's Will. I'll remember the entire trip through college. I've seen a shirt that said "College, a 4 year party with a $100,000 cover charge." Make sure college is enjoyed as long as your work gets done too. The most frequent complaints are about the co-rec.

*Best thing=BREAKFAST CLUB! *I would change 7:30 am classes *I'd say the school is large, but large enough that I don't run into a lot of people that went to my high school...many of them tend to stick around town and go to Purdue, not that that's a bad thing though because I did it too! *Reactions=International people really think it's cool and think Purdue is Ivy League because it doesn't have a state name in it, but all my relatives are from Wisconsin so there's a big rivalry with Big Ten sports between my family. *I spend a lot of time in computer labs and the Union *West Lafayette is definitely a college town. Growing up here my entire life, I've seen how dead the town is without the students here. *Purdue's administration does a great job with Purdue and we have a female president for the first time ever! *Most recent controversy=our men's basketball team lost to IU and lost their lead in the Big Ten *There is a LOT of school pride, esp. on football game days when you meet all the alumni who are wearing their alma mater's colors with pride *Some of the myths are weird, like "If you walk underneath the bell tower you will not graduate in 4 years" *I'll always remember the Purdue-Wisconsin football game in 2004 when Kyle Orton fumbled the ball and Wisconsin beat us with seconds to go...we had family come down for the game and they were soooo happy in all their Wisconsin gear, they still talk about it to this day *Complaints=I guess a lot of people complain about the cold or how the sidewalks are always icy and gross in the winter time

The best thing about Purdue is the tradition. Football is huge here. Alumni travel from all over the country to come back for the games. It really instills a sense of pride in your school and education. When looking at numbers alone, Purdue seems huge. Yet, once you get here and get into a routine you start to see the same people everyday walking to class, the same people are involved in the same things as you, and the campus just seems a lot smaller and like a community. When I tell people that I go to Purdue, they always seem impressed. For some reason, since Purdue's name doesn't include the state name, peopel from other parts of the nation think it's private or ivy league. I spend most of my time in my dorm room or hanging out with friends at their apartments or frats. West Lafayette, and Lafayette, are definitely "college towns." During football season every little restaurant has signs out cheering on Purdue. A lot of the activities around the area are geared towards college students. Chauncey Hill is your typical college food and bars place. I think that Purdue's administration is pretty good considering how many students attend. The biggest recent controversy on campus has been whether or not we should have a student activities fee, or what they call the Boiler Advancement Program. We are one of the only schools in the nation without it. It would cost each student $20 a year and it would fund major student organizations on campus. One experience I will always remember is Boiler Gold Rush. BGR is the freshmen orientation program. It is great and I highly recommend everyone doing it. I did it my freshmen year and met some of my best friends that week. I was also a team leader for BGR my sopomore year and had a blast helping new students. It really helps you get acquainted with the campus and feel more comfortable.

The best thing about Purdue is Breakfast Club. On the days of home football games and Grand Prix, bars open at 7am and you come dressed in a costume for cheap drinks. Most times you end up being too drunk for the actual game.