***Purdue University: Class of 2023 Discussion/Decision Thread***

Congrats to all who were accepted! I have a DS in computer science at Purdue, a junior now. He was in honors as well. Happy to answer any questions! (also have DS2 at Iowa State, DS3 and DS4 up and coming…)

@s16s18s21s25 Thank you. My DS got into CS. We are OOS and I was wondering if companies outside of Indiana attend the career fairs?

Also, he didn’t apply for Honors and we were wondering if there is an opportunity to apply after starting at Purdue and whether it is worthwhile to pursue it. Thank you.

Honors changed after DS went–he didn’t apply for it, it was offered. I think now there is a separate application. DS is no longer in honors–GPA has to be 3.5 to say and he has been at about a 3.0 for a while. He lived in the honors dorm for 2 years, which was great, pretty close to all classes. He has a single in First Street Towers this year and really likes it.

Career fairs include companies form all over, although there are a lot of midwestern/IN employers there. YOu can see the lists of companies , I think, if you search Purdue Industrial Roundtable. CS has a separate career fair as part of that, I think. DS, hwo is not exactly a go-getter, has not really used any of what appear to be really good career services there, only went to one, his sophomore fall. It was hot,. lines were long, complain, complain. He wants to return to TN, so he got an internship at Deloitte last summer which went really well. Glassdoor.com and others have listings for CS summer internships so that is an option as well.

Accepted!
Gender: Female
Decision Plan: Early Action
Weighted GPA: 3.917
SAT: 1490 [ERW: 690 M: 800]
In-State or Out-of-State? OOS (California)
Major: Horticulture

Got packet in the mail today – more booklets than the other two I have received so far! I’m in Washington State.

Hi everyone, so I was thrilled when I found out I got accepted into Purdue, but just learned that I didn’t get into my first choice major of Professional Flight from the polytechnic institute, and instead, was placed into my second choice of Aeronautical Engineering. Naturally, I was really bummed out. I didn’t expect the Flight program to be that competitive or desired. Is there anything I can do? I’ve had my sights set on the professional flight program for a while now. Should I just enroll in Aeronautical Engineering and try to transfer even though there is no guarantee? Or should I just go into the flight program at Ohio State since I got accepted there. It is my dream to be a pilot, but Purdue is my first choice and rn I’m torn. Please, any advice is appreciated. Thanks all.

@lovepurdue

California here. Yes, I have experience with coding.

@Hello1938 In my opinion, you should go with areospace engineering. If you do not want to do flight forever, then you can switch to making airplanes and such. Plus you’ll learn all about aviation and how planes work, which could be useful in becoming a pilot as well as marketable.

You can do flight lessons outside of school.

OSU has an awesome aviation school (I’ve visited and heard a lot about it) but I personally think that areospace engineering is better - not to mention Purdue has awesome resources in areospace engineering (top 10 engineering in the country) and Purdue is your top choice.

@s16s18s21s25 What’s it like for an out of stater when you first start at Purdue? Do kids who come from the same Indiana high schools tend to stick together?

@citymama 9 - that wasn’t my dd’s experience. All three of her roommates are instate and while they had friends from home, they fully embraced my daughter. If anything, she felt it was a positive as it expanded her social circle.

That said, a lot of students go home for long weekends. I would say nearly 1/2. That was a surprise to my daughter and I think she felt a bit lonely on labor day weekend. Now her own circle is big enough that it doesn’t matter.

@momofsenior1 Thank you. That’s good to know.

@Hello1938 I agree with the other guy, you should just stick with FYE and go into aerospace engineering. It’s a more valuable degree so you’ll have really good career prospects if you retire from flying or decide it’s not for you. It’s related to what I presume you enjoy and you could always take flight training outside of your studies. Purdue is really strong for aerospace engineering (~5th in the country) so it’s definitely worth it given the chance. I’m curious though, were you admitted to aerospace engineering technology? They don’t normally admit directly to aerospace engineering and instead just send students to FYE. If it’s technology, I would weight the value of the engineering technology degree over the aviation degree less because the technology degree isn’t ABET certified like a normal engineering degree (i.e you would be an engineering technician/technologist rather than an engineer and the pay is typically less).

@Watrs my son got admitted to Purdue to COE - hence FYE but keep hearing conflicting info that many do get into the major of their choice due to heavy competition and unable to maintain GPA etc. My son is interested in CS. Will he get a direct admit to CS and is it too late to change the major? Can anyone confirm that there is no need of a general FYE if choosing CS. Thanks

@ppxyz123 - Courses are dependent if you are doing CS through the College of Science or CSE through COE. CS in COE are still part of the FYE program. I believe he still would need to go through the standard transition to major that all FYEs complete.

I will PM you.

@Watrs I’m actually a girl, it’s okay though, not too many go into engineering haha.

@Hello1938 If it is a technology degree (ie it states “aerospace engineering technology” instead of “aerospace engineering”) it’s not straight up engineering, but a different program. Technology degrees mostly focus on practical and not theoretical stuff, so it’s mostly plane fixes and stuff. You would probably want to head to tOSU if that’s the case. Like I said, I’ve been to OSU’s flight aviation area and follow their stuff frequently. But I recognize the Purdue does in fact have much better engineering than OSU, and it’s your top choice. Plus you could switch to making planes instead of flying them after you’re done flying!

@hello1938 We are in same boat. Accepted into second choice instead of prof flight. Not sure what to do. DS accepted at tOSU, Western Michigan and Embry Riddle, all of which have excellent programs. Have you contacted anyone about possible waitlist or transfer? I think that’s our next step. And we were pretty surpised at the competitive level for prof flight. Expected that from FYE not polytech.

@citymama9 DS didn’t say anything about it. There are a ton of kids from OOS (and other countries) so I didn’t see it as an issue.

@equationlover @Watrs Yeah sorry guys, I should’ve clarified more. I got into my second choice major of Aeronautic Engineering Tech from the Polytech Institute, instead of my first choice of Prof Flight

@swimmommy yeah I haven’t contacted the school yet, do they want you to call or email? I think I’d prefer to email, if that’s possible. I’m hoping some spots will free up cause others may decide not to go to Purdue. I’m also waiting to hear back from UND (which I hear has another one of the nation’s best flight programs) ERAU, and Kent. Then consider If I will choose Purdue, OSU, or the others.