Hi all,
My DS is admitted to both PSU main campus and Purdue as undecided major. We are OOS from MA. Cost is not a big concern.
My question is mainly on the campus feel. We have visited Purdue and S really liked the campus. We have not yet visited PSU.
If you have visited both, what is your impression of the PSU in comparison to Purdue’s?
Thank you!
A big difference would be whether he’d rather be on a STEM centric campus or a campus with a variety of colleges and thus a greater variety of student profile.
Another difference would be whether he is admitted to the honors college at either one.
What do you call ‘campus feel’ - what did he like or dislike about the campus?
(Layout, building styles, residence halls, relation to the town, landscaping…?)
Another consideration is whether his intended majors may be competitive admission at each campus, and how competitive if they are.
Both are now in the Big Ten. Purdue is in the Midwest with Indy the closet major city and Chicago in the area. Penn State will be more influenced by the east coast. Indiana is fairly flat but the Lafayette area is hilly- noticeable driving I-65 through the state. Since both schools are public there will be many instate students that influence the culture. I once lived in Indy, know people in Indiana but can only compare it to WI, not PA demographics.
The most important thing will be his probable major choices. Purdue is definitely a STEM campus because of IU in Bloomington, IN.
You do need that trip to Penn State.
Purdue is an hour from Indianapolis and two hours from Chicago. Penn State is 2 1/2 hours from Pittsburgh, 3 hours from Philadelphia, and 4 hours from New York. Because of its comparative isolation, Penn State is by necessity more of a self-contained campus community. That’s not to say that Purdue is lacking in campus culture, but it’s less inward-looking and self-absorbed than Penn State.
Penn State is a football school through and through. Purdue has had mixed results on the gridiron but has a great basketball tradition. Football Saturdays are a sacred tradition at Penn State, central to the school’s identity. Less so at Purdue. Home basketball games are a bigger deal at Purdue, but not as all-consuming as Penn State football.
Purdue is one of the nation’s finest engineering schools, and its prowess in engineering is central to the school’s identity. Penn State is academically renowned for . . . well, nothing in particular, though it’s quite good at many things.
I have a current student at Purdue, but you said you’ve already visited there and liked it. I have visited Penn State this past summer for my younger D. I would say the Penn state campus had more available as far as restaurants. The views are very different in the area as Penn State is up in the mountains and Purdue is out in the corn fields.
The one thing that would definetly set them apart for me as far as for an OOS student is the ease to get to an airport. Purdue has multiple shuttles that pick up right on campus(multiple locations) & will take you to either to Ohare in Chicago or Indianapolis airport. At Penn they have a bus that will take you to Pittsburgh, Philly or Harrisburg but not directly to airport and doesnt pick up on campus, you have to get to Walmart which is cumbersome when you have a suitcase and stuff.
If you have any more Purdue specific questions I’d be happy to try to answer.
I think if you could narrow down major choices it might be easier to decide since they are both great schools. Purdue is a better school for Pharmacy, Agriculture, known for engineering but if you weren’t already admitted to FYE your chances of getting in are slim. Also have great programs in CS and finance.
Like a previous poster mentioned if you are looking for a school with a great football program to cheer on you might be better off at Penn. (however unless your on the team I would hate to see anyone choose a school based solely on that)
Ohh I would also say that we like the dorm choices better at Purdue and definetly seemed like there were more campus dining hall choices at Purdue.
Penn is in Philadelphia.
State College has an airport with direct daily flights to Philadelphia,DC and Chicago. There is an Amtrak station 20 minutes away and a Greyhound station right next to campus. There are several brand new dorms and another under construction, two more being renovated. There are several traditional cafeterias but also several fast-casual/convenience shops and a new kosher/allergy free bistro.
The engineering school just hosted its own internship/job fair. They are finalists for a NASA program regarding Mars flight. The Millenium Science center is brand new and IST has a brand new security-and-hacking major (yes, it has a fancy name that escapes me).
Campus is large, the town is relatively safe, physical plant is up to date and beautiful (but not in the winter!). If you don’t like to walk, Penn State will teach you to like it. There are hundreds of activities and a world class honors college. The WSJ regularly names PSU as a top place to recruit. Elton John will be here in the fall, Lana Del Ray was just here; we’ve heard journalists, diplomats, politicians, and scientists speak (Hans Bethe, Jane Goodall, Bill, Hillary, Obama, even a Trump child)
Greek system is rightly under siege and scrutiny, but most students are busy at HUB latenight, Schreyer events, professional orgs, and/or working (lots of jobs in town). It is a friendly, openminded population of students who have a lot to keep them busy. You should visit, and see for yourself that Penn State is actually quite a bit more than 6 home football games a year.
We moved from Indiana to Pennsylvania 3 and a half years ago. My oldest son is now a college sophomore and has many friends at both. His opinion from friends is that Purdue has a better scholastic energy and State College sounds like a party school. He has spent weekends at both. He goes to UMD and says he thinks he’d like Purdue better and Penn State worse. This is from a Computer Science and applied math double major and I’m sure he was looking at it from that lens.