is purdue a good school for engineering?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Purdue University
21

<p>"BearCub... who cares about if its respected in Indonesia? what do they know about American engineering schools? what do you even know about the Indonesian engineering hiring practices?"</p>

<p>Well, do you know anything about the Indonesian engineering hiring practices?
Btw, I know the OP is an Indonesian, and therefore it MATTERS if it's respected in his/her country! But I'm agree with you though about Purdue being a good engineering school. However, you have to see it from an international student's point of view too. I mean, I've seen people (Americans) who rejected Harvard for a state school. But this isn't the case for international students...our parents and employers don't really care about the schools being ranked highly in one area. They only care about the overall rank and yes, they would hire a Harvard engineer instead of a UC Berkeley's one simply because it's more prestigious overall.</p>

22

<p>ok lets not get off the topic here...
purdue engineering is one of the best engineering programs in the world. Although it itself is not selective, because the rigor of its program, Purdue engineering will only churn out only the best. (I know a lot of purdue students including engineers who are currently stressing over its difficulty) This is why Purdue is known for its engineering. As for its engineering program compared to umich and UIUC and wisconsin, I believe that overall academia-wise, it follows the rest, but engineering wise, it can easily compete with all three. Remember that which ever one you go to, if you succeed as an engineering student, hundreds of engineering firms will be happy to hire you, regardless of which of these four you attended.</p>

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<p>BearCub, I don't know about the hiring practices in Indonesia, but I am familar with those in several countries in Asia and Europe, and Purdue is definitely recognized and respected in their Engineering circles, both academic and professional. Obviously, Harvard is Harvard (and it is also quite good in Engineering, contrary to what peoplemay think) and some Engineering programs (like Cal, MIT and Stanford) are more highly regarded, but Purdue is up there. In terms of Engineering, it is comparable to the likes of Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, GT, Northwestern, UIUC, UT-Austin, Wisconsin etc..., stronger than some and not quite as strong as others, but always in the same ballpark.</p>

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<p>S has been accepted to UMich and prefers Purdue hands down. Purdue has better merit (it exists) aid for OOS students. Michigan is great at everything. Purdue is great at Engineering. It's international reputation is extremely high.</p>

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<p>Couple of school names popped out, so I will address one by one, in terms of the recognition as an engineering school among the big companies (mainly at Intel, IBM, AMD…). UIUC and UM are on par with Purdue. GT is a great school but has not established the name nationwide. Worldwide, no one knows it. VT vs Purdue, are you kidding?
As a couple of people mentioned before, Purdue has very strong recognition in developed countries in Europe and Asia. (Sorry, Indonesia is not one of them, obviously). Then I would ask the following question.
If UIUC and UM are as good as Purdue in terms of the recognition and education, why should you choose Purdue over UIUC? Can’t find an answer.
UIUC has something Purdue does not. More female students due to their diverse majors being offered. Enjoying your life is as important as finding a great job after school. But, UIUC does not stand behind of Purdue even in that aspect. So, think hard before you decide based on only one thing.</p>

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<p>My advice to you all is to VISIT the prospects. I assure you that you will see and feel the difference. DO NOT base all judgements on the USNEWS ratings. It is a very personal decision. My engineering son visited many of the above mentioned campuses and U of Michigan stood out among the contenders due to a variety of reasons including the campus life as a whole which should equally be a part of the educational experience.<br>
He also wanted to be among other students that were highly academically motivated and Purdue’s lower admittance standards (outside of engineering) troubled him. He spent a week this summer at the STEP program for engineers and was highly unimpressed and very dissappointed by the overall quality of the program compared to others he experienced. On paper Purdue stood out…but up close and personal it was off the list. Again go judge for yourselves…one size does not fit all. Everyone’s needs and opinions are different and only YOUR impression is the one that matters the most.</p>

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<p>I wonder if many OOS folks rationalize Purdue’s worth due to the merit $$ they will receive compared to U MI or UIUC. Purdue gives automatic $10,000 to students that get above a 31 I think on the ACT. $$$ does factor into many of the choices we are making these days…so let’s all now admit that it is in the end likely the bigger bang for the buck that puts Purdue to the top of the list. Bottom line: U MI and UIUC are much more expensive and we are all questioning the value?</p>

28

<p>The quality of Purdue’s engieering program, especially AAE, is what makes it competitive with the engineering programs at Illinois and Michigan. Purdue is also very aggressive when it comes to merit aid to OOS students, thus eliminating, or greatly minimizing, the OOS tuition differential as a criterion in making the final decision as to where to attend. The cost criterion may be the primary consideration for many people, and, given the economy, cost is THE primary consideration for more and more people, all other factors considered roughly equal.</p>

<p>Having said that, Purdue’s reputation in engineering is not based on its merit aid package. It stands on its own. I’m pretty sure that’s not what you were saying littlefalls, but I wanted to make that clear. I also agree that a personal visit to all admitted schools is critical, and every admitted student who can swing it both financially and timewise should consider doing so.</p>

<p>As you say, your son had a bad experience at the STEP program this last summer. On the original thread in which you brought that up, other posters stated that their experiences had differed from those of your son, so that is once again why a personal visit is very important. Just as the USNWR rankings need to be taken with a grain of salt, so do anecdotal statements from people on CC.</p>

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<p>Balthezar: Just curious have you and your s visited Purdue yet?</p>

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<p>^No. We’re headed out there for the College of Engineering “Purdue’s for Me” for admitted students on March 1st. I’ll let you know how it goes, but it’s articles like this which pique my interest.</p>

<p>[Purdue’s</a> next step | jconline.com | Journal and Courier](<a href=“http://www.jconline.com/article/20071030/NEWS0501/107150012/0/NEWS0501]Purdue’s”>http://www.jconline.com/article/20071030/NEWS0501/107150012/0/NEWS0501)</p>

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<p>Sounds like a truly stellar program for Aerospace. Hope your trip goes well and that it will feel right.</p>

32

<p>Well, I’ll let you know how it goes…we’re headed to Michigan on the 15th, and Notre Dame on the 4th-5th.</p>

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<p>Hi Everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know from my own personal experience of what a great college PURDUE truly is. I am from the state of New York and it seems like people here think Purdue is an Ivy League school. Its a great well round school from Engineering to Agriculture to even Aeronautics. The first and last man to step on the moon- PURDUE graduates. Neil Armstrong even has a building dedicated to him on campus. Purdue has its own Boeing 737 and a Boeing 727 parked at its own PURDUE UNIVERSITY AIRPORT. How many people can say their college has its fleet of Boeings let a lone its own airport? Purdue agriculture is also second to none. There is no other school that has contributed to the world of agronomy and soil science than PURDUE. Companies like Monsanto, Dupont, and even Syngenta are run by PURDUE graduates. </p>

<p>PURDUE is very well respected and when you walk out with a PURDUE clothing on, people will comment you on how good of a school PURDUE is. Trust me i know. I wear PURDUE everywhere and i get common responses from random people like " WOW! you go to PURDUE? thats a great school", and " PURDUE, thats an IVY LEAGUE school, right?". and “PURDUE, your must be smart?”…</p>

<p>Point being, PURDUE has a great reputation, and is seem as a IVY LEAGUE status by many. If you go to PURDUE, it be the best decision you make, i know i did when i chose to go there. PURDUE’s one of the best and i am well respected when i mention that i went to that great school.</p>

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<p>Hi Everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know from my own personal experience of what a great college PURDUE truly is. I am from the state of New York and it seems like people here think Purdue is an Ivy League school. Its a great well round school from Engineering to Agriculture to even Aeronautics. The first and last man to step on the moon- PURDUE graduates. Neil Armstrong even has a building dedicated to him on campus. Purdue has its own Boeing 737 and a Boeing 727 parked at its own PURDUE UNIVERSITY AIRPORT. How many people can say their college has its fleet of Boeings let a lone its own airport? Purdue agriculture is also second to none. There is no other school that has contributed to the world of agronomy and soil science than PURDUE. Companies like Monsanto, Dupont, and even Syngenta are run by PURDUE graduates. </p>

<p>PURDUE is very well respected and when you walk out with a PURDUE clothing on, people will comment you on how good of a school PURDUE is. Trust me i know. I wear PURDUE everywhere and i get common responses from random people like " WOW! you go to PURDUE? thats a great school", and " PURDUE, thats an IVY LEAGUE school, right?". and “PURDUE, your must be smart?”…</p>

<p>Point being, PURDUE has a great reputation, and is seem as a IVY LEAGUE status by many. If you go to PURDUE, it be the best decision you make, i know i did when i chose to go there. PURDUE’s one of the best and i am well respected when i mention that i went to that great school.</p>

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<p>CORRECTION: My SAT scores were 1460 and that’s darn good. The schools i got into were Cornell, Purdue, and NYU. Not for a minute do i regret that decision. In no way is PURDUe inferior to any IVY LEAGUE school. In face, i live in New York and a lot of people mistake PURDUE for an IVY LEAGUE school. So if you have perfect SAT scores, and a great high school GPA, consider PURDUE. Its selection process is just as competitive as any other college. SAT or ACT’s are require for admission to Purdue, so i am not sure where you got those facts from and far as essay’s go- Purdue selection process is unique on its own. After all, the first and the last man to step on the moon got into Purdue without writing a essay, and so did the pilot of the airbus that landed in the Hudson River. Purdue breeds excellence and is one of the best colleges on the face of Earth. A Purdue graduate can land a space shuttle on the moon to an Airbus on the Hudson River.</p>

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<p>I went to Purdue for undergrad in electrical engineering and then to grad school at Wisconsin for the same major. I found the city life, the quality of education, students, college ambiance to be much much better than Purdue… Wisconsin is just a great fun school to go to… The atmosphere/crowd is awesome and the people are really friendly, it’s just magical… I really loved going there. As far as academics go, I think they’re very comparable. Purdue will accept a lot of Undergrad/Grad students. For Undergrad, only the guys who can manage the stress and competition will get out, the rest either change major or drop out. So it appears that the drop out rate is high and the classes are really big, full of students Vs. Wisconsin. For Grad, they do accept some really good students but I’ve seen some of my friends who were just ok and they still got in. I went to Wisconsin by choice, I just wanted a different experience and for my speciality within EE, Wisconsin for top 3 in the country, alongside UC-Berkeley and Stanford so it was an easy choice for me.</p>

<p>Also, Wisconsin has much better reputation as a brand, at least from what I’ve seen so far. Everyone I meet knows about Wisconsin, but not many know about Purdue. </p>

<p>Finally, I think that Wisconsin is a much selective school. I don’t know much about rankings and I tend to believe they’re biased and don’t truly reflect the Schools programs. You’ll know what I’m saying when you consider graduate school. Because in the end, if you’re considering a MS/PhD the most important thing that matters is whether your School is famous and has the best faculty for what you want to specialize in. </p>

<p>Wisconsin’s Engineering classes are much smaller than that of Purdue. For Undergrads, they’re pretty selective and don’t accept anyone so the dropout rate is not high. For Grads, they’re exclusive. They typically accept very few students and some programs are top notch, like Chem Engineering, Nuclear and Power Systems and computer architecture (in EE/CS). I know for a fact that Wisc is considered almost Ivy League, along with UC-Berkeley of all the public Universities.</p>

<p>Overall, they’re really close as far as academic goes, but considering everything else, in my opinion Wisconsin is much better. I got a lot of calls for interviews from Wisconsin Vs. Purdue and ended up getting a job in a great company.</p>

<p>After all this, doing a BS from Purdue and MS from Wisconsin and after 2 years of work experience, I am now convinced that going to top schools is just so over hyped. Going to a top school will only get you more interviews and increase your chances of getting a job, but in the end you have to work hard, there’s no escape.</p>

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<p>I have a son now doing engineering at Purdue, and I have been debating whether to send my second child over. We are from overseas, so value for money is important, and your testimony has totally blown my mind. If Purdue has great kids like you, I am sure It wouuld be the right college for any engineer-wannabe</p>

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<p>Stop talking about this drop out/major switch rate for engineering! You are making me so nervous!</p>

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<p>Hmm, people need to calm down on the entire drop out rate and take it into perspective. Most students who do drop out do it because

  1. They weren’t really into engineering that much anyway, just thought it’d be cool
  2. They weren’t really interested in putting the effort required
  3. They would go party on weekends when they had 3 midterms the next week</p>

<p>So basically, if you’re willing to put in the time, study smart and effectively and you have your priorities straight, you’ll be fine. I’m not saying you need to pull all-nighters (because you don’t) or never ever go out (because you don’t), but be smart about the decisions and choices you make.</p>

40

<p>Also, I just want to point out something else: I have noticed a significant increase in the number of female students in the past three years. There weren’t that many female students my freshman year, especially in engineering. But as a physics teaching assistant, I can definitely see the increase in the number of female (engineering) students.</p>

<p>I feel a lot of it might have to do with the Society of Women in Engineering. They weren’t doing much before, but in the past two years they’ve become much more active, especially in recruiting female high school students</p>