Purdue University Admissions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Purdue University
1

Hi, this is a bit early to be posting this, but next year I’ll be applying to Purdue to attend the Fall 2019 term. I want to apply to be a First Year Engineering student, and essentially enter the Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering degree program.

I’ll be applying as an international student (from the UK), and after a visit to the campus in West Lafayatte last month, I’ve found this is my dream school. I just love the campus setting, and its program fits perfectly for my career plans. I’m just worried that I won’t get in after hearing how competitive their Engineering program can be.

When I apply I’ll have three AS Levels in the bag,

Biology: C
Chemistry:B
Math: B

(these are predicted as I am currently taking these),

and assuming I have a 1300 on the SAT (this is also predicted because after 3 practise tests, I mostly score around this area).

This is not to mention the 10 GCSEs I have from secondary school (which are OKAY, but after emailing someone from Purdue, my GCSEs meet their academic requirements).

So I know no one here on this forum can give me a certain judgement, because none of us here works for Purdue’s admissions office; but for those of you who have experience with the admissions industry and know how it works, could you maybe predict what chance of admission I’d have with these predicted stats?

Here are the GCSEs if they provide a better insight:

English Language: B
English Literature: A
Science (Core): B
Science (Additional): A
Religious Studies: B
Film Studies: B
History: C
Statistics: C
Math: C
Information Technology: C

I was told by the Purdue staff that I emailed that the Math and Stats scores were obviously less competitive for Engineering, but that can be made up if I have a decent score on AS Math (because the AS/A-Level curriculum are MUCH more rigorous than GCSE).

I also have a BTEC Level 3 90-credit Diploma in Information Technology that I previously completed at Sixth Form school (this was before I started my current AS-levels).

Also, I heard of a route that an Purdue Engineering hopeful could take: if one doesn’t think they’d stand a chance at getting admitted right into FYE, then they could apply for Exploratory Studies (which is quite easy to get into), and whilst completing courses that satisfy FYE, declare the desired major after the first year and enter the engineering program I want, given that I have completed the FYE courses, completed at least 30 credit hours and have a GPA of at least 3.7/

Sorry for dragging on, and thanks!

P.S. In terms of extra-curriculars, I haven’t been able to do much, except for something I only have the opportunity to do now. At my current Sixth Form school, there’s this awesome little place called the FabLab, where students can 3D print anything.There’s a relatively small robot club going on there, and I’m in the process of starting a project for that club, to enter us into an international annual competition. I doubt we’ll win as we’re a small group, but the reason I’m only joining this one EC now is that I only recently had an epiphany to get off my butt and do something truly great with my life. I want to fight for my dream, and I’ll do whatever it takes.

2

???

3

I’m afraid that I can’t give too much insight into your admissions chances as the product of the British educational system; but I can give you some links (and you may be aware of them already) that can provide some data for you – how you interpret the data is of course up to you.

First, the Data Digest, here, https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/ , provides interactive information under the heading “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations” that can be modified based on your College (“Engineering”), student level (“Undergraduate”), and residency (“Foreign”). The “New First-Time Beginner Profile” may also have some useful information.

Second, the Common Data Set, which has a link here, https://www.purdue.edu/oirae/resources.html , tells you under Part C7 what admissions factors Purdue considers as “very important,” “important,” “considered,” and “not considered”. To the extent that you can influence any of the relevant factors at this point (such as (re)taking the SAT or ACT after a test preparation course), I don’t know.

In terms of getting admitted to Exploratory Studies and later transferring to the COE, my first thought is that if this is a really easy way to get a back-door entrance into COE, then more people would have done it (i.e., it’s too good to be true). But I confess ignorance on that point. You may want to speak to someone at COE to find out whether you have to formally apply to COE from Exploratory Studies (I confess ignorance on that point as well), and, if so, what the success rates are for those transfer applications.

Have you considered applying to other universities in the U.S. to study Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering? I think that Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (i.e., Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, the University of Colorado in Boulder, and the University of Maryland in College Park are well-regarded in that area; and you may have a better chance of admission to one of those schools, as a back-up plan.

Good luck!

4

My father lives in Indiana so I’m going to live with him, so there’s no way I could afford to pay for room and board by going somewhere else.

I’ll obviously go for IUPUI as a backup, but Purdue is my dream school and I want to go for that. They do have a 55% acceptance rate. That’s more than half of applicants. Surely it’s do-able. It’s not like applying to an ivy league surely.

Thanks for the info!

5

Also U of Maryland has a 45 percent acceptance rate …i think I’d stand a better chance at Purdue :confused:

6

@VIPERastronaut: Regarding Post #3, if you go into the Purdue Data Digest and look under “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations,” and use the parameters of foreign, undergraduate applicants to COE (which is how you would be applying, if I understand your original post), the recent acceptance rates have been as follows: Fall 2014, 29.2%; Fall 2015, 30.4%; Fall 2016, 29.3%; Fall 2017, 23.5%. A bit lower than the 55% acceptance rate you mention, which is the approximate acceptance rate for U.S. citizens who do not live in Indiana.

If you can apply as a resident based on your father living in Indiana, then your chances are much better.

7

Thanks for showing me this page!

My dad is sponsoring me for residency as I’ll be moving to the US to live with him and my stepmom, but I don’t think I can classify as a resident without a green card. That’s going to take two years or more to come through.

8

So does that mean Purdue uses a completely seperate admissions pool and process for internationals?

9

I also heard something that worries me. It’s regarding their rolling admissions policy. Apparently they review and accept applications as they come in, rather than collecting a huge pile and reviewing them all.

Because of this, spots can fill quick, especially for my major, so even if I’m more qualified than people that have already been accepted,I’ll get rejected or waitlisted. Is this true? This worried me because my teachers will only give out reccomendations in December.

Finally, (sorry to bombard you with so many questions), I noticed on the data digest that the number of matrics is a small amount compared to the total amount admitted.

What happens with all those spaces that were never marticulated?

10

The spaces that are never matriculated are not re-used elsewhere. The goal of Admissions in general is to reach a target enrollment. They admit students anticipating that only a third or so will accept their offers (% yield).

Purdue switched to EA this year. Application deadline is 11/1 with notification to all EA on 1/15.

11

So if one is serious about getting a spot, they better accept their offer in a heartbeat.

12

What do you mean @VIPERastronaut ? There is no rush to accept the offer made by a university. Most give students time till 1 May to decide whether to enroll or not, even if you applied EA.
What @Banker1 is saying is that Purdue no longer has rolling admission. Meaning they take all EA applicants who submitted before 11/1 and evaluate them as 1 pool to send notices out before 1/15.

13

“So does that mean Purdue uses a completely seperate admissions pool and process for internationals?”
Not necessarily, it only means that they report stats differently. Most schools, even public institutions, want to build a well rounded, diverse student body. They want international students, especially those that can contribute in unique ways to the college experience of other students (and let’s be honest, to pay more tuition also).
Purdue being a public state university though has a mandate to be there for Indiana residents first and foremost.

14

The offer of Admission is good until decision day May 1. Admitted students may sign their Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) / pay their non-refundable deposit before then. But they won’t lose their admission offer if they sign by that deadline. Sometimes Admissions teams reach more than their target enrollment and sometimes less depending on the yield.

15

@WilliamNYC
Do you think the country you’re from has any impact on admissions? I noticed from the data digest page that the majority of internationals are from China and India.