<p>how do u guys like it there?
do u wish u had gone elsewhere, and what are the pro's and con's of Purdue.</p>
<p>it would be helpful to many if we had a Purdue review by actual students.</p>
<p>well i’m just finishing up my first year here so i’ll tell you about it.</p>
<p>i’m out-of-state so it’s a big change. no car, different people, weird weather, etc. i feel isolated sometimes because i can’t just go to the store if i need to, i have to wait for the bus, which takes forever, or convince someone to drive me. it’s like you have all this freedom, yet you don’t. you’ll come to realize that people who are instate go home A LOT and if you’re out-of-state, it’s almost impossible to go home that often, unless you have a car or something. </p>
<p>i honestly wish i could change where purdue is located because i absolutely hate indiana; i hate the corn fields and i hate the atmosphere here. there is very little to do in west lafayette and the mall here is crap. i wish purdue was in a little bit bigger city, but oh well. but i do like purdue as a school for the most part. a lot of people think the campus is ugly, but i still have yet to see why. i think it’s nice and it’s one of the reasons i liked to purdue when i first visited. and spring is by far the prettiest time on campus. but sometimes you’ll walk outside and it smells absolutely disgusting because of the nearby factories; still not sure exactly where the smell is coming from but it’s really bad some days.</p>
<p>greek life is a big part of purdue, but you will come to realize that “being greek” isn’t everything and it’s not necessary to join a sorority/fraternity to enjoy life at purdue…it just seems that way at first. you can still go to frats even if you’re a GDI. most people go to parties, and drink, a lot, and your liver will probably start hating you. mine probably does. and BGR week was crazy (not necessary BGR itself, just that week). </p>
<p>living in the dorms was probably be the weirdest experience, at least from a girls perspective. it seemed a lot like summer camp at first, but then you realize you have to live here all year. people are friends one day then hate each other the next, but you have to remember that you LIVE with these people, you can’t escape them. it forces you to deal with people in a different way and you’ll quickly learn to just get over stuff, because it’s easier that way. it’s a lot to get used to. and you don’t HAVE to be friends with the people on your floor. people think that you automatically should, but it’s better to have friends in the dorm and friends outside of the dorm. people also try to make it like high school, but it’s just never going to be like that. you may not have a distinct group of friends like in high school, and there’s nothing wrong with that either. and university residences say you can’t change rooms if you don’t like your roommate, but they’re lying. i got randomly paired, it was not fun and she was crazy so i switched. your sleeping habits will most definitely change too. my roommate never went to class because she couldn’t wake up, ever, and she usually slept until like 5 pm…missing every class.</p>
<p>i really liked most of my class this year, except math. the tests were awful even if you studied a lot, they always threw in something you had no idea how to solve. and the exams are only 15 questions, which sucked. and i found that i hate tuesday/thursday classes because they’re long and usually boring classes. making the perfect schedule is also essential. classes haven’t really been challenging so far, but i’m assuming they will be next year. and purdue’s campus may seem huge, but it’s really not. it’s a square, and squares are simple to figure out. most of your classes will be in the same lecture halls or buildings and in the same general area your first year. and the professors are there to help. ask them questions, go up and talk to them after class, especially if you’re in a giant lecture hall. not all my classes were big either. 100-level classes are usually big, like psych 120 and sociology 100 with 400+ students in the room, but my math and english classes were only 20ish students and then my other classes were 100ish students.</p>
<p>overall, i wish purdue was closer to home and i wish i had a car but it’s too far to drive. part of me wishes i stayed instate, but i don’t know. freshman year will probably be the most reckless time of your life, seriously, but it’s fun. and people do weird things on campus, but you’ll get used to it. don’t expect anything but try everything.</p>
<p>The smell during the spring comes from the Wabash, not the factories. Also, there are trees with the white flowers that smell like $*@#. :)</p>
<p>ohh, that makes a lot of sense because the wabash is quite murky…</p>
<p>Hmm, I really wish we didn’t have those smelly trees. Oh well, at least they only smell for a few days and then it’s done.</p>
<p>“”“”“”“except math. the tests were awful even if you studied a lot, they always threw in something you had no idea how to solve. and the exams are only 15 questions, which sucked. “””“”“”“” I know of 25+ stories like this in the past two years from students and parents of students. How the #$%!#$ does Purdue or any other school justify this crap. What the #$%^ are the citizens of Indiana paying the salary of Tim Sands for continuing this crime? How does this teach anything? The only purpose is to maintain a reputation as a tough program. Why isn’t it a straight up approach. Plunk down a slab of paper at the beginning of the semester and announce “this is what you need to know, those who do will recieve a good grade, and those who don’t won’t”. Money - that’s why - re-enrollments, lost scholarships and a tough rep for recruitment. but it has NOTHING to do with learning. Hey, if you’re a freak with a 2400 SAT come to Purdue to buy a degree with a reputation, but you’ll not learn anything.</p>
<p>Actually, that was my only class where i felt jipped. However, considering the MASS amounts of students who take MA 153, it is understandable why there was a disconnect between students and instructors. The real problem was the tests; there were simply not enough questions so there was no “buffer”. Other than that, I have learned A LOT in my first year at Purdue so saying I’m “buying my degree” is probably something you shouldn’t be claiming or saying on a Purdue message board. I’m not sure if you’re a student/alumnus/parent/whatever, but you’re wasting your breath.</p>
<p>Welcome to college. Chances are, someone got a perfect on those “impossible” math tests. Don’t get me wrong, I always failed them, but there has to be a way to distinguish an A from a B from a C etc. Unlike high school, you have to actually try for a B, and work VERY hard for an A. I thought it was BS at first as well, but you get used to it. The stuff they put on there is usually in the book somewhere, but never on the homework. It teaches you to learn a concept and apply it, not just memorize how to do a problem on you had on your homework. It isn’t a straight up approach because that’s just not how life works. The only job I can think of where they tell you “this is what you need to do” is a job flippin’ burgers at McDonald’s. Real employers want you to figure things out on your own.</p>
<p>^^ why wouldn’t you memorize the concept from the first place? i think its stupid to just memorize how to do problems…you’re not learning anything then thats why people forget how to do stuff. like i can understand that its easier to just memorize the steps but then like posted above you’re gonna get screwed on a test, fortunately my math teacher made sure we knew the concept so i thank him for teaching me that doing that is important.</p>