<p>I’m currently sophomore at Purdue who’s majoring in Chemistry. I’ve took all the Engineering prerequisite courses for freshmen so I’ve got a pretty good idea about how competetive(or not competetive) the engineering curriculum is. As for other majors, I have a lot of friends who are majoring in Hotel Management, Management, Biology, Pre-Pharmacy, and Liberal Arts, so I’m afraid I only have some info which is given from what I’ve heard and not from what I’ve experienced. Just so you know.</p>
<p>Anyways, the point is that Purdue has its ups and downs as it is NOT a very competetive school and its ranking is substantially low.</p>
<p>-Pros-
Pharmacy, Engineering, Landscape, Hotel Management are ranked the nation’s best.
The facilities and dorms aren’t bad. I was actually surprised to see how clean everything was when I first went there. The libraries are nice, restrooms are clean, etc.
Environment there is quite. For those of you who want a school that’s located in a quite plac where there’s nothing to do but study, Purdue’s your answer.</p>
<p>-Cons-
All the other majors I’ve NOT listed above aren’t that well-developed. The S word would fit well in this case. Liberal Arts in this school is just horrible; it’s like a Community College would be better. Contrary to its Hotel field, (regular) management has no future to guarantee as the school really doesn’t train you that well for any prestegious jobs. </p>
<li><p>Curriculum doesn’t allow student to learn like those in a top ranking school. What I mean by this is that unlike private school where in the freshmens are given courses which allow students to obtain a vast knowledge of different fields, Purdue rushes into teaching courses which are only relevant to their field. Purdue’s way of teaching may seem good in letting them graduate early, but it narrows their thinking into mindless technicians. Let’s face it. There’s a reason private schools are better than public schools right? Want a reason? this is just one of’em.</p></li>
<li><p>The “swin or sink” rule. As almost a typical rule, public schools just don’t give enough attention to the students as private schools do. The Professors really don’t care for the students that much, and the internship and research oppurtunities are hard to find. Purdue’s a VERY good example of this. You either swim and actively work your way out, or just mindlessly study and sink.</p></li>
<li><p>There’s absolutely nothing to do in West Lafayette except for a few frat and sor parties. Welcome to the middle of nowhere to all you LA, NY, Chicago or big city residents, cuz I guarantee you that you’ll get bored afte the first semester. When I mean bored, I mean REALLY bored. Unless you’re a game nerd that is.</p></li>
<li><p>The academic level of the students- This even goes for all the typical Asians at Purdue: they’re not that bright. This is pretty much an obvious fact when Purdue has an 80% acceptance rate and doesn’t require an SAT I score. Most people are misconcieved that Purdue’s engineering is competetive since the average graduation duration is 5.5 years, but believe me. I’ve been a private school and Purdue’s engineering is NOT even nearly as hard as that in MIT. Wanna know why they can’t graduate? hmmm</p></li>
</ol>
<p>NOTE: I’ll post a few things about some majors that I know pretty well. First one up is Pharmacy</p>
<p>Pre-Pharmacy: If Purdue has one thing to brag about other than the fact that its engineering isn’t that bad, it’s Pharmacy. Ranked as the Nation’s 4th, Purdue’s Pharmacy is exceptionally competetive unlike other fields in the school. To get you an idea, out of about 1000 applicants, less than 100 get in and I’ve seen A LOT of people with 4.0s and good ECs but failed to get in. Probably because so many Koreans apply for this Pharmacy school but never accept the fact that Purdue’s Pharmacy school screens Non-citizens in the application process. Another reason is that this school doesn’t require you to take the PCAT, which compels many people to apply to this field.</p>
<p>I admit that I'm going to Purdue this fall, and I'm not bright at all.
I'm just happy that there is a "pretty decent" place where people like me, who waste their 4 years of high school, can go to without hearing some bad remarks.
Oh golly, don't even bother to compare Purdue's engineering or its students with MIT's. Eveybody already knows....</p>
<p>Just for you people who expect much from Purdue.</p>
<p>Engineering: Aerospace, Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, etc aren't the nation's best, but in average, they rank from 5th to 20th. Despite the fact that Purdue's funding is low, a lot of its money is invested into almost every engineering field, so researching here isn't that bad either. Then again, as I've said before, compared to Cal tech or MIT students, Purdue engineering doesn't appeal at all. Mostly because of the level of the students and the lenient training which public schools have in common. Also, it's hard to find a genious here whereas those private schools are loaded with'em. Looks like the boilermakers are really hard-headed after all.</p>
<p>Liberal Arts: History, Literature, Language, Political Science, anything that has to do with humanity and social studies here seem to fall apart. Professors are poor, students are worse, and the amount of research done here is like....wait, is there any research done here? Never heard of it. Instead I'd strongly suggest going to Indiana University if you're going to Liberal arts, since Indiana's acceptance rate is about the same as Purdue, yet the entire Liberal Arts field in Indiana isn't that bad compared to this school.</p>
<p>Hotel Management(HTM): To be honest, I don't know why this field is ranked the top in Purdue, more over why this field is preferable over management and accounting. But what I know is that I've never heard or seen anyone who has succeeded in getting a good job after graduating HTM in Purdue. Other than that, I don't a lot about this field.</p>
<p>How does USNews ranking work anyway?
Because it ranks Purdue Engineering higher than say Princeton, but obviously people who go to Princeton are way smarter/diligent/hardworking people, who if they choose Engineering, could be brilliant engineers, but many of them just major in different areas like poli sci or soc. sci. But even the people who major in Engineering in Princeton must be very smart, and obviously intelligence-wise, Princeton Engineering wouldn't be worse than say Stanford, and definitely Purdue.
Anyway, I don't really care that much about those rankings.</p>
<p>I was actually considering applying to Purdue for Engineering, even though I am out-of-state. Right now, my current option in-state is ASU, and even though I dislike going by rankings, Purdue is much higher than ASU. This makes it seem like people who go into engineering at Purdue have better research, internship, and job opportunities compared to ASU. The way the first post was phrased makes it seem like although Purdue is ranked high in the ranking, it actually does not yield in the benefits. Is this true?</p>
<p>I would say Purdue is a decent safe school for those who want to major in engineering. I mean, 80% of acceptance rate? Everyone has a chance to get in.</p>
<p>Thing is, I am looking for a bit more than a "safe" school. I already know that ASU will accept and give me a good scholarship to attend there, but I was considering going to Purdue for the better opportunities, which I assumed through rankings.</p>
<p>I think 80% acceptance rate is for the entire university, not college of engineering.
Meaning that if 100 people apply to Purdue and they admit 80 people, than out of those 80, only say 25 ~ 35 are majoring in engineering. I think</p>
<p>Why do you think there engineering is so bad?</p>
<p>And you can't compare MIT to Purdue. MIT is private and ridiculous. COmparing Purdue and U of I or even a different private college would be a better comparison.</p>
<p>In all reality, anywhere you go you're going to get a good education. You just have to find it. You have to work hard in your classes and actively seek opportunities. You can bash Purdue all you want, but I'm sure there will be people graduating from Purdue that will be more successful than people graduating from say Princeton, etc, etc. </p>
<p>What a one-sided view of Purdue! One would think many of us here are mind-numbingly boring since we are actually happy or at least content. If you are going to spread so much poison, please at least temper it with something positive...clearly a little must exist or you would have transferred at semester. If no one else would take you then stop griping and be grateful that you can earn a respectable degree...there are world-class researchers here, you know!</p>
<p>Oh, and God forbid that we, legal adults, should learn to "swim" by ourselves for once. It's a small wonder the older generations are bewailing their lost youth if this is the prevailing mindset of our generation. Do you honestly think that your future employers are going to spoon-feed or bail you out every time you flub an assignment? In college, you can still fail a test and retain a respectable grade in the end if you work hard and learn from your mistakes...second chances are rare in the real world. Please enlighten me, too, as to what is so terrible about seeking out internship opportunities on your own...it's also highly beneficial to you to <em>gasp</em> create opportunities by networking and branching out. </p>
<p>Let's also not forget that Purdue is a land-grant institution originally founded for the study of agriculture. If you are that bent on having a stellar career in another field, like liberal arts, then go to a school founded for the purpose. The rest of us find the non-technical departments perfectly adequate for the basic level of exposure that we need.</p>
<p>Last thing: since the high acceptance rate seems to be a favorite target, perhaps it will make you happy to know that if Provost Woodson has his way, at some point in the future Purdue will only consider applications from students who have earned an Academic Honors diploma or its equivalent.</p>
<p>I for one am quite happy here and wouldn't even consider attending another school. I am working this summer with a world-renowned oncologist/researcher and have a spot in the vet school with my name on it two years down the road. Yes, Purdue does have its flaws and weaknesses, but so does every institution if you talk to the right people.</p>
<p>I'm going to be attending Purdue this fall and I am very excited! I'm very grateful you stood up for Purdue! It's no fun hearing how "bad" Purdue is before I even get there. Thank you for having a balanced perspective.</p>
<p>Since I'm only a parent of a Purdue student, I wasn't sure if I should respond to this thread, but I found the OP so one-sided, I decided to anyway. I can't believe that anyone who actually attends Purdue can complain that it's boring. My daughter had the opposite problem her first year - there are so many great choices of clubs and activities to be involved with, it was hard for her to choose. Also, I've always found it interesting when people think that colleges have to be near NYC, Chicago or LA to be interesting. How many college kids have the financial resources or time to really enjoy those cities as students?
And re: internship opportunities, my daughter just completed Freshman Engineering, and has a summer internship in Civil Engineering. Most of her freshman friends also have them, including one in Chicago and one in L.A.
If a student chooses to seek out activities and opportunities, Purdue has no shortage of them. If a person needs a lot of direct supervision and hand-holding to become involved with anything, then I would agree that Purdue might not be the best place for them.</p>
<p>I recently graduated from Purdue and can agree with some things that were stated in this forum. First of all, if you want to compare schools, don't compared Purdue with the Ivys. We all know we're not as smart as them and will never be. As for the 80% acceptance rate, Purdue has the easiest application ever. It literally takes 10 minutes to fill out. I think Purdue's philosophy is to give everyone a chance. If you graduate is up to you. When I started my first day in the school of management, the dean told me to look left and look right. And he said, "One of you three will graduate in 4 years." That speaks to a few things. First, lots of people don't belong at Purdue and drop out because they can't hack college. Secondly, lots of people switch majors either because they either can't hack the current major or they find it's not for them. </p>
<p>The next topic is getting jobs. CCO (career center for opportunities) provides lots of resources to help students get internships and full time jobs. Many people do end up getting internships and fulltime jobs at very well known companies. I think CCO is a great resource and after speaking with some friends at many other colleges, I think job placement is one thing Purdue is pretty good at.</p>
<p>As for things to do, I totally disagree that West Lafayette has nothing to do. I think that depends on what you like to do. For me personally, I had lots of fun and enjoyed my time at college and now that I'm working I miss it terribly. It's all about what you want to do and how willing you are to go out and take initiative.</p>
<p>But all in all, Purdue has lots of dumb people who don't make it but the ones who do make it do fine when they graduate. Our engineering school is highly competitive (I know many people who have failed out). Many other majors are competitive too. But if you want a good GPA, you have to work for it. The whole point of college is to learn to live on your own and be responsible. Many people aren't ready for that and those are the people who fail out.</p>
<p>I have a question. i want to go into aerospace eng and Purdue is my realistic top school because it is only 1 state away and i will probably get the most money from them.
on the other hand, i have a 4.2 gpa and my scores are good. am i aiming too low?
i'm looking at UMich, UIUC and GaTech as well, but it don't think they will give me as much money.</p>
<p>----also, whoever said Princeton is better engineering than Purdue is completely wrong. USNWR does not rank based on quality of students, it ranks on quality of program. Purdue > Princeton and most other ivies in engineering.</p>
<p>Honestly, I don't think it matters THAT much what college you go to if it's a top college for your major. You have to look at your case based on what's important to you whether it be environment, money, quality of the school etc and judge your choice that way. And btw, I think Princeton overall is more prestigious then Purdue. And I really don't think USNWR is the best way to rank colleges if you ever look at how they rank them. I think the best way to rank colleges is to look at median salaries of graduates, job placement rates, etc and not class sizes and whatever else USNWR uses.</p>