<p>I know when I was looking for a university that would fit my needs and goals, I had a hard time finding the information that I needed to make my decision. Now, after being in college for a while I can offer what I have found at Purdue. Hope this will help someone...</p>
<p>Aside from the fact that I have a bias towards Purdue, I would like to offer as honest an insight about the school of engineering as I can. As an engineering student at Purdue I am thoroughly convinced that the program here is one of the best. Although some classes in the first year of engineering will be large, there is ample access to both professors and grad TAs who can direct you as you need. All of my classes are very hard, bar none. If you plan to earn As and Bs you will not have much of a life outside of school unless you are greatly above average in intellect. As far as how Purdue compares to other top programs, I cant say, as I havent gone to any of them. With all of the rankings out there, it is hard to know what matters and how accurate they are etc. However, I will say that with the exception of schools such as MIT or Berkeley, Purdue enjoys a better reputation than most. While I realize that UIUC and the like are solid programs, most people outside of the Midwest and/or the engineering field will probably not recognize this fact. On the contrary, Purdue is a famous name around the world, this will come of greater importance as you progress through life and find that the name is really what you are banking on when choosing a college, as the level of education probably varies only slightly among top programs. Engineers are heavily recruited from Purdue in all industries, with job fairs attracting hundreds of international companies. Purdue also has the largest population of international students in the country, as they come from Asia and India for the engineering program. I will say that the weather in West Lafayette, IN could be better, as I am from FL. As a testament to what I have said, anyone that I talk to in FL has heard of Purdue and its engineering program, it serves a point that the school carries such a reputation. I have read other posts on here about the quality of students at Purdue, and I am sure that MIT will have better, but let me assure you that those who cant hack it wont be in the engineering program long. I believe there is something like a 50% drop rate from beginning to the end of sophomore year. There is a higher acceptance rate than at other top programs, but I believe that this can be attributed mostly to the location and the size of the school - meaning that demand is not as great as supply in this case. All in all, I have found my experience here to greatly exceed my expectations. I know that I will have one of the best jobs in the country when I graduate, and I will also have a great shot at getting into a top MBA program, as many undergraduate engineers go off to MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, etc. I will always be proud that I went to Purdue and I will forever be in debt for the opportunities that have materialized while here. I would highly recommend Purdue to any individual who desires a great challenge and a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>Most engineers that I have worked with who graduated from Purdue are egotistical fools. They would rather pin their degree to their sleeves than to actually prove how good of an engineer they are, and I haven't really been impressed with their performance. Proof is in the pudding, at least for me. I live in the midwest, by the way. I would rather have an engineer from Rose Hullman, Michigan State, or University of Cincinnati any day, because they will work harder to prove themselves as engineers. Again, this only "most" engineers from Purdue. I have met one who actually wanted to prove themselves. Purdue may have a great program, but I wonder how much of it is taken away by the students.</p>
<p>Also, Carnegie Melon produces some awesome engineers, who, surprisingly, are very humble.</p>
<p>Purdue was always known for its engineering program. I live in Illinois and have always heard good things about its school. Then again, people from Illinois that go to Purdue for engineering are those who couldn't get into UIUC engineering. Either school you go to though, you're coming out of a reputable engineering school. I believe Purdue is ranked
9th according to US News.</p>
<p>I once interned with a Purdue engineer. Definitely not the sharpest tack in the box. On a side note, I find it mildly amusing that you chose to open a new thread for the sole purpose of writing almost half a page to boast about your school. Purdue sucks.</p>
<p>I could write three pages boasting about Purdue lol... I am sick of reading all the negative stuff on this site about the school, I would be hard pressed to believe that even half of it is true. So you interned with one person from Purdue, let me assure you that I could find hundreds who are far smarter than you</p>
<p>i think its funny when people say "well i once knew a guy and he was from [school] and he was terrible, so [school] must be terrible."
yeah... that makes a lot of sense. maybe the best engineers from purdue are working in better, more prestigious companies than you are so you just dont see them...</p>
<p>also, as i have said before, i am sick of public engineering schools not getting respect on this forum. UMich, Purdue, and UIUC are better than the ivies. they are better than most of the schools that you guys tend to mention. but to you people, a public school that is not so selective on the whole (their engineering programs tend to be much harder to get into than other majors) is worthless.</p>
<p>have fun with your warped, elitist views while i'm your boss.</p>
<p>I concur with ExploreCY. Yeah I don't understand the negativity towards Purdue. I've met people who went on through the program and are leading wonderful engineering careers. I see that it's ranked as one of the tops in the country therefore they have to be one of the best.</p>
<p>There's no negativity towards Purdue. There's negativity towards those who feel it necessary to come on and try and talk the school up. It's that mentality that bugs people.</p>
<p>I think there are plenty of schools that can give you a really good/great engineering education, with hands on experience under the wing on a seasoned engineering professor (not an intern). Both private and public. I really do not believe that a prestigous school will give you a prestigous education.</p>
<p>My design manager went to Purdue. One of the smartest, most thorough engineers I've ever met. My uncle went to Purdue, owns his own company now. Is doing quite well. Another of my colleagues went to Purdue. It's a good school.</p>
<p>As with all solid schools, there are better grads and worse grads. I've met people from mediocre programs who were some of the best engineers I've ever encountered. I've met people from mediocre programs who were some of the <em>worst</em> engineers I've ever encountered. I've met people from some very highly-ranked programs who may have known their stuff, but were so inept in terms of interacting with other people that it was a pain in the rear to work with them. I've also met people from the highest-ranked programs who I decided I didn't want to work with anymore because I felt that they were so overconfident in their designs that they were a danger to society.</p>
<p>(But yeah, Purdue folks, probably best to just show up and refute Purdue negativity on a case-by-case basis. Creating a new thread to extoll the virtues of your program smacks slightly of ******baggery.)</p>
<p>Edit: Awwwww, really?? That gets censored?? Maaaan...</p>
<p>I can understand the turnoff from the thread, but a little promotion doesnt hurt anyone. Maybe some high school kid is getting ready to decide where to go to school, I want some positive representation of the school on here, and if I take a little slack for being egotistical, so be it. Perhaps for me, it has been a great accomplishment in my life to even get here, and so I wanted to voice that. It is amazing to see the reaction of people when you show that you are proud of something, its like theyre immediately ready to try to knock you down. A great realization in life comes when you can accept that people all overcome different obstacles to get to where they are, and after years of hard work it is good to show that you are proud of what you have done. For me this is the case, and for all of those who are turned off by the thread, perhaps I will create more of similar nature. I do think it is slightly amusing to see the reactions, and even more amusing that working engineers are still worried about a undergrad chat forum lol </p>
<p>A Quote</p>
<p>"Know that your most worthy efforts will be scorned by your peers, for it is they who suffer most when you excel. If your actions and ambitions do not threaten them, you are simply striving toward the insignificant."</p>
<p>I think anybody pursuing an engineering degree knows or should know that Purdue is one of the best engineering schools in the nation. With that said, I also notice that there is something about Purdue that turns people off. I don't know if it's the people, location, or what but it seems Purdue is not doing something right to attract more students. Anyways, I found your post to be helpful since I'm applying to Purdue this fall. </p>
<p>Can you talk about the people over there? Any girls? clubs? what to do for fun? You mentioned the classes are super hard, does that mean no social life? what dorms do you recommend for oss? thanks</p>
<p>"I do think it is slightly amusing to see the reactions, and even more amusing that working engineers are still worried about a undergrad chat forum lol…"</p>
<p>And when undergraduates (and their parents) want the perspective and experience of those who are practicing engineers, they are supposed to get that information from other undergraduates???</p>
<p>Thanks to all those out there who take the time to help us with our questions.</p>
<p>Can you talk about the people over there? Any girls? clubs? what to do for fun? You mentioned the classes are super hard, does that mean no social life? what dorms do you recommend for oss? thanks</p>
<p>Zac, the people I have met have been great, in fact it was one of the first things I noticed when I came here. As compared to FL, the attitudes of people are just more friendly in IN it seems like. It is easy to make friends, as I am sure it is the case at most large schools, and there is a lot of camaraderie between students. With that said, during class you will be competing against each other, although they have placed a straight grade scale in a few first year classes. As far as a social life, it probably depends on your level of ambition and your goals, if you want to have a high GPA e.g. 3.5+ you will probably not have much of a social life, but then again Im sure that some people can manage it. If you are satisfied with a 2-3.0 GPA you will have time for more obviously. It seems to me that there is quite a bit of grade deflation though and so it is a lot of work to do well. There is a fairly large Greek following and if you get into that there will be plenty of socializing. I will not go so far to say that there are a lot of girls here, especially in engineering. If you chose another major it would probably be different, but as compared to the schools in FL the girl situation is not great no matter what your major is. There are tons of bars/clubs, not like big city clubs, but they are fun. Overall I would say that you can have a pretty well rounded college experience here, but you may want to get other opinions on this stuff, as I pretty much came here to do school work etc. and so I would not be the person to give you great advice on the social aspects.</p>
<p>One of my daughter's friends went to Purdue a few years ago. As she was considering an engineering major, she asked him about his experience there. He told her it was a good school as far as academics go, but the social life left something to be desired--something about the location of the school was involved as I remember. He was thinking about transferring, but it had more to do with the program he wanted (biomedical, maybe?).</p>