Hi guys! I just finished my first semester of first year engineering at Purdue. In my time here I have learned a lot about classes and social life. Feel free to comment on this thread if you have questions about classes or anything, and I will try to be transparent as possible.
Thank you. I’m sure once admission admission decisions come out questions will abound. My son applied to Purdue Engineering in September and visited campus this summer. Purdue is one of his top choices.
Wishing the best on his decision!
How challenging have you found FYE?
1 Like
It’s definitely very challenging. My friends that tried and studied relentlessly were the ones that did well in their classes. I’ve known people who are more than capable of doing well in the program that failed classes because they didn’t prioritize studying enough. I find myself studying around 5ish hours a day outside of class dissecting the material to try to make sure that I’m well enough prepared for the exams. Another thing that is common is this conception that Purdue math, primarily calculus is brutal at Purdue. I can attest that this is 100% accurate. The math here is very challenging and the school makes sure that you know the concepts thoroughly.
2 Likes
Does Purdue have EE CS dual major and difficulty level?
1 Like
I’m not positive about the double major, but that would be very difficult as I don’t think they share as many credits as you think.
Thanks for the feedback! I also noticed they introduced the AI major recently and that comparatively is only offered at CMU currently.
1 Like
Thank you for the feedback. I’ll have more questions after admissions decisions are released if my son is admitted.
1 Like
what are his stats
It would be an odd choice, given the Computer Engineering degree under Electric and Computer Engineering is pretty much that.
You could dual/double major by meeting the degree requirements of both. But external transfer into CS is very challenging. The process, both ways, is defined at Dual Degree Policy - College of Science - Purdue University
My kids were/are Engineering and CS majors. Meeting both sets of graduation requirements would require additional time or a significant number of AP credits. Just a straight Engineering degree in four years is close to requiring a summer course or two with no AP/DE credits.
1 Like
Yeah, you’re definitely right, I chose to transfer in 0 credits from high school and now I have to take a lot Haha.
1 Like
How are you enjoying it thus far? The amount work seems daunting- e.g. do you ever have days when you think ‘why am I working this hard? I just want to enjoy my time in college’?
Do you or other students find it difficult to meet the 3.2 college GPA needed to be able to choose a specific engineering major non-competitively?
Where would you place typical FYE peer behavior on the collaborative-to-competitive continuum?
1 Like
My son is a Purdue sophomore. He completed FYE last year and T2M’d into Chemical Engineering. The ease of getting your first choice engineering is very much dependent on the specific engineering major you want. For example, he loves ChemE and it was his first choice. He finished FYE with a 3.8 GPA - but laughed and said so few want to be ChemE majors that he really could have gotten in with a 2.0. According to him, AAE is the hardest to get into (naturally - Purdue is so known for AAE) and students wanting that major really need the 3.2 to get in. He feels that most students do get their first choice even with a GPA below 3.2 and really just those doing poorly get shut out (with AAE again being the exception). And if the student is doing that poorly, they probably wont survive the engineering curriculum.
As for ease of getting a good GPA - Purdue isnt easy. He definitely studies, turns in all assignments, participates in study groups, and goes to most all classes and recitations, but he also plays soccer/goes to the gym, goes to eat and hang out with friends, and finds time to relax, top. He is not stressed nor giving up his personal life and has maintained his high GPA but he does work for it.
He says that he feels the environment is very collaborative and students help other students. Could be that he just got lucky with his friends/classmates but they all seem to help each other through the work.
We are out of state knew very little about the school when he decided to go - and now we could not love it more. He is happy, other students are really kind, tuition is doable (even out of state), career fairs are crazy well attended by all engineering companies, he has great opportunities and a great education. Love Purdue (Boiler Up!).
4 Likes
I would say that while there is a competitive nature, we all want what’s best for each other. It can just be hard sometimes to find the balance between these things with averages on exams and how those relate to curves and such. With all of that being said, I would definitely say that it is more of a collaborative environment and most people are willing to help, myself included, if someone just asks.
1 Like
I will say that while a 3.2 GPA doesn’t look hard on paper, a 3.2 at Purdue is much different than a 3.2 at another college, especially in engineering. I have friends that are able to get a 3.2 with ease, friends that have to absolutely grind for a 2.5 and friends that find it easy to attain a 4.0. It’s all relative.
1 Like
Thus far, I have very much enjoyed my time at Purdue. There are some days where I’m not doing very much at all and other days where I have so much homework that I feel like it’s crazy. The amount of work can definitely be overwhelming at times, but it’s all about spacing it out and making sure that you don’t procrastinate. I personally do have days like that sometimes, but most days aren’t like that. My time at Purdue so far has been a blast and I really recommend it!
1 Like
Anyone know my decisions come out for early action?