Purdue University-Main Campus Top Questions

Have an open mind when going to school, experience as much as you can, take advantage of the student organizations, cultures and career centers. Don't be afraid to use the Professors, Counselors and faculty, they work for you. Take acedemics seriously, no one will learn it for you. But have fun too.

To the college seeking students and parents, my advise is to do plenty of research and apply to many schools. Taking campus visits is probably one of the most important things you can do to see if the college is right for you. Be sure to ask random students waking around any questions you might have because the admissions staff just tells you a formulated answer to recruit you. Just because an university is highly ranked does not mean it is the best. What you must do is find the college that is best for you. Look at all of them: private, public, close, and far away. Most of all once you arrive on your first day of college, make new friends--friend for life. They are your key to a successful experience. Remember, these four years will be the best times of your life: a chance to grow as a person, make memories, and prepare for your future.

It is not the college that determines your success, but the individual. Everything that one does, contributes to that person's future. If a person attends an esteemed college, yet does poor , he or she will not succeed. However, if one attends an average college and does well, he or she will achieve success. If you want to make a difference in your life, work hard for it during college. Prove to yourself what you truly are made of.

The best advice I could give to future college students comes from my experience of going down that road myself. It all starts in high school. If you know what you want to study in college, take courses that will better prepare you for that field of study. If you don't know what you want to study, that's ok! Either way, you can prepare in high school by taking advance courses and college credit courses. Even one extra college-credit course could save you lots of time and hardache later. Get started early with the application process. Find out what kind of prerequisites the school you are considering requires. Do your homework on possible schools and make plans to visit campus (with your parents!). This is one of the most helpful things when it comes to choosing the right school for you. Meet with the advisors, talk with students, sit in on a class, and try some of the local food. As you do so, ask yourself if this is where you would like to spend the next 4+ years of your life. Remember that you are, in a sense, choosing your next 'home'.

The greatest bit of advice I can offer is the following: if your child is mature and has a great passion for the multiple disciplines of engineering offered by Purdue, then Purdue is a great school. Let your children in general explore their surroundings and give them the freedom they desire as soon as they are accepted into a school. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!! My parents, under the advice of my older sister, turned a blind eye to many things I was doing in my senior year of high school. Some of these activities were things that fraternity boys would do. Even though this may seem horrible, their concessions in this field prepared me to deal with peer pressure and fraternity situations. IF I DID NOT HAVE EXPERIENCE AND THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES FROM BEFORE ATTENDING COLLEGE, I WOULD MOST LIKELY HAVE ENDED UP IN LOTS OF TROUBLE AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER DURING MY COLLEGE YEARS.

Visit the college you are leaning towards. When you visit do more than just the tours. Spend a day in the classroom. Talk with students on campus. See what they're involved in, their likes and dislikes. Visit around town on a weekend when students are least stressed and see what there is to do around campus. You are choosing this college and you are paying for this colege. Make sure this is really where you want to be.

visit your campus beforehand, talk to the people there about their experiences. make sure you're going to school for the right reasons, and know how to focus without letting social life (partying!) suck you in.

Take a look at several different types of schools and of different sizes. Don't pick a school based on who else is going there.

You really need to visit the campus to get a feel for the school, each campus is different and different kinds of people will like different types of campuses. Other than that, look into any extracurricular programs that you or your child may want to participate in (Sports, ROTC, Theatre etc.). Also look at the quality of the academic school that you are interested in (US News and World Report is a good source for that). And last but not least, look at the cost of the school, in-state is a lot cheaper generally, but there are plenty of scholarships available for out of state at most schools, both for academics and other merits.

The advice I would give to students searching for the right college would be to decide what type of environment you would enjoy more. Maybe a community college would be best so you could commute and still live at home. Or a private college because the class sizes are generally smaller. Or maybe you like the idea of being in a large school with a big campus and a lot of people. Also, you want to look at your choices available. If activities or classes are not available that you enjoy, you may not want to choose that particular college. And finally, be open minded. Every college is different and you have to let yourself have fun and enjoy the experience while still putting time toward your studies. Learn to balance your priorities. Parents, the best advice I can give you is to take your child to different universities to show them their options and do not pressure them into a choice because it is your favorite or because you liked it when you were a student. Help them, but do not make the decision for them. This process should be fun, not stressful.