<p>First, I've been accepted to five schools - Purdue, Virginia Tech, Clemson, NC State, and USC(arolina), so Purdue is the best engineering school I've been accepted to. I think I want to major in aeronautical engineering. I was wait listed at Michigan. I just visited Purdue today for the first time (extremely late considering the May 1 deadline). I was somewhat disappointed. I was hoping I would love the school and my decision would be an easy one. I loved the facilities and the one professor I met, but I'm worried about fitting into Purdue engineering. I'm trying not to sound like a conceited jerk when I say this, but the majority of the engineering students seemed geeky. I was a two-sport athlete in high school, and the only geeky thing about me is that I plan on being an engineer. I know I will be able to find people like me at a school as big as Purdue, but what will my experience be like within engineering? It sounded from the information session and tour today like I will be spending a lot of time with the other aerospace engineers. I was wondering if anyone had feedback for me. How much time will I really be spending with other engineers? Will the majority be geeks, or was my perception of the school distorted today? I realize how easy it is to get an inaccurate impression of a school in one day. That's why I'm asking. Thanks.</p>
<p>Hey!
I got a completely different feel of the campus when I went there in late March. (BTW I am going to Purdue) Anyways, I thought the campus ‘energy’ was great, there were clubs scattered about campus (including the gymnastics club raising money for cancer research, doing flips for donations), there was chalk all over the sidewalks giving information about things around campus, and there were so many kids wearing Purdue clothes! I got an oppurtunity to sit-in on a freshman engineering class and was very surprised to see who was in it. The class was very large, so I think I got a good feel for the kind of kids in the engineering program. There was every kind of person in the class! There were really normal girls (I am a girl btw so I payed attention to this), there were your average athletic guys, there were kids from India and other international students, there were nerdy kids, there was everyone! The class was really full and there was only one open seat from someone who was out, and a guy who had seen me before and knew that I was just visiting waved me to come over and sit with them. That kid was really nice and normal and so were his friends, then there was this guy telling me about his club sport team I was sitting next to, and then there were some arrogent nerdy people who thought they were the ***** because their parents were engineers and they got scholarships to go to Purdue. But, in all, I was surprised that most of the kids were normal, there were definitely a lot more (normal) girls than at other engineering schools I have visited, and I thought there was not really a stereotype you could place on the kids that I saw in that class. At a school with 32,000 undergrads and the most popular program being engineering, not EVERYONE is going to be nerdy. Engineering is going to be a difficult major but there are a lot of difficult majors, and generally, college is hard. Not only nerdy kids pursue it, and I definitely saw that when I visited Purdue. Since I am a girl, it was refreshing to see that my tour guide was a girl that day, too. She was normal, talkative, and very outgoing… not much of a ‘nerd’ if you ask me. And, the kids who came to speak at the information session about their internships were not nerdy, either. I absolutely LOVE the school, the traditions, the band, EVERYTHING about it, so I have a lot of good to say. I have not visited UMich, Georgia Tech, or the other schools you looked at (I was looking at samller schools in the Northeast), so I cannot speak for those, but I am sure they have a mix of students in their programs as well. What is important is that you find a school that makes you happy and makes you as enthusiastic about it that I am! If you love big schools, school spirit, a great reputation, great food, great experiences, etc. I am sure you will love Purdue, but if it doesn’t make you happy, you won’t be successful. I think all of your schools are great in engineering, but Purdue has a fantastic program for aerospace! (hello… Neil Armstrong…) I hope that you find that school that makes you happy! All I can tell you is that Purdue definitely has its spectrum of engineering students! Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>^Oh- by the way, I am a 3 sport athlete in high school and would not consider myself a nerd (I was voted one of my class’s most spirited superlatives and am a captain of 3 sports this year) to make me a better source haha</p>
<p>CalcPhysicsCS -</p>
<p>My son will be attending Purdue this fall as a freshman in engineering (aerospace). He is a 2 varsity sport athlete, goalkeeper on soccer team and outfielder/pitcher on baseball team. You certainly will find all types of kids at Purdue, but you will find kids very similar to yourself, being athletic. Go to the better engineering school.</p>
<p>goingtocollegeee: Thanks for the informative response. I didn’t get the chance to sit in on a class, but I did walk by one honors engineering class, and it did seem like there was a large variety of people from what little I saw. I didn’t see any of the energy or spirit you were talking about, but I’m sure that’s because it’s “dead week” at Purdue. </p>
<p>Ohiodad4: Thanks for your input, too. It’s reassuring to hear that there are other guys at Purdue who are athletes, since that’s such a huge part of who I am.</p>
<p>You both really put me at ease with the idea of going to Purdue. I was afraid I would go there simply because of their prestigious engineering college and end up hating it because I couldn’t make any friends.</p>
<p>if you’re an outgoing person as you seem to imply, you’ll make friends anywhere; and at large schools, there are people of all persuasions and inclinations. one thing you do want to make sure is that you can “stand” the curricular rigor. other than that, you should be fine.</p>
<p>just thought I would add to the discussion. My son is a three sport athlete but main focus was football and basketball. He was being recruited by the ivies until a back injury stalled his sr. year football season. He is excited to be part of intramural teams and looking to join a fraternity if he finds one that fits him.</p>
<p>I have spoken to an alum that knows several current students at Purdue right now. There are lots of frat houses that focus on grades and are very involved in sports.</p>
<p>In the end my son chose Purdue over another school because he knew the engineering would be so strong on his resume and when he begins looking for a job.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Son is also going to Purdue. He was also quite an athlete (football–captain and recruited at a few schools–but he decided not to pursue football anymore–it takes quite a commitment). I am an alum at Purdue with several relatives as well. CrusaderMom raised a great point to keep in mind. If you have any interest at all in Fraternities, join one that is into sports. Many participate and it can get quite competitive but alot of fun in a variety of sports. Many of my brothers were engineers - not everyone though–and we had no shortage of playing and competing in many club sports and related activities. By the way, it is also quite acceptable to make friends with a couple of geeky or nerdy types who are engineers. You will find that you like them–and they are great study partners for doing projects and study groups on problem sets. You can really have the best of all that a school has to offer like Purdue. And by the way, this concept is common at many schools today. So, don’t think that you must be exclusive to one type of group of students–expand your thinking and you will be surprised. Good luck.</p>