<p>^You apply to as many schools that you want for engineering, no matter where you’re from…</p>
<p>^ I know but americandream said, “If you live in Texas why didn’t your son apply to Texas Tech for engineering?” I was just saying that UTexas-Austin is better than Texas Tech for Engineering in general.</p>
<p>UT- Austin has the program that my son wants, but he is not thrilled about staying in TX (we’re not really from here) and because of the stupid top 10% rule in TX, the chances of him actually being admitted to UT were slim to none. Also, UT is not cheap. The difference between UT (in state for engineering) and PSU (OOS) is just a little over $10,000. Yes, a good bit of money, but not enough to make that big of a difference for us. (Oh - and he hates the UT band uniforms! 
)</p>
<p>TX A&M has a great engineering program (and is a bit cheaper than UT, but to be in the band you must be in the Corps of Cadets and he wasn’t interested.</p>
<p>Damn - he just got accepted to the College of Engr at Univ Ill - Urbana Champaign! Now we need to go back and re-think a few things! Just when I thought we were set…</p>
<p>Why can’t this process be as easy as it was when I was young???</p>
<p>Hey, I just went there Mon. Feb 22 and had a few things to say…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>As a lifetime Hoosier (from IN), I always thought that IU and Purdue were essentially same-level schools. But from my visits to both universities over the weekend, I would conclude: not so. Purdue seemed to house a very focused, mature, and accepting student body - a noticeable contrast from IU’s artsy and socially inclined students. Though I saw who many would consider nerds (well it is an engineering school…), the students were unpretentious, probably because they were so lost in thought. Some (like my dad’s girlfriend) can’t stand the contemplative silence that settles over the whole campus, and that’s understandable. But if you think you even loosely fit the definition of a serious person, please, VISIT! I went into my visits with a bias towards IU, but left Lafayette with a clear distinction of the better fit for me. (I won’t lie though, IU’s got some good looking women.)</p></li>
<li><p>I kind of know what’s up when it comes to college admissions. I’m still awaiting decision letters from Duke, WUSTL, and UPenn among others, but my SAT scores and class standings have necessarily made me aware of my options for the next four years of education. Because Purdue is a state school, I went in with the assumption that their academics are sub-par. And while I still felt above average when the tour guides divulged their college activity and achievements, Purdue, as a large school, has the resources to offer me whatever opportunities I want. For example, students in the College of Science (where I would go) emphasized the vacancies in profs’ research projects; a few were granted REU’s at places like Vanderbilt and Stanford; and Eli Lilly kept coming up when we talked about internships. Plus, I guess Purdue recently set up this honors college called UHP/Lyceum (akin to IU’s Hutton Honors College) that concentrates all the academically-geared kids like myself. It’s nice to be wanted :), but apart from that, the Lyceum community offers both academic and social networking type things.</p></li>
<li><p>In the essence of time, I’m just gonna throw out some dry facts:</p></li>
<li><p>food is fabulous (all-you-can-eat layout)</p></li>
<li><p>campus is very modern and clean, or at least what I saw of it</p></li>
<li><p>campus is compact, but not to the point of claustrophobia (one of Purdue’s big claims to fame)</p></li>
<li><p>What I didn’t like:</p></li>
<li><p>I’m supposedly in the top 1% at Purdue since I was invited to join the UHP, but applicants to Duke with almost identical stats to mine got turned down ED (easier to get in than RD). I would dig the special treatment in Lyceum, but really, that cross-statistic doesn’t bode well for Purdue’s academic standards. In fact, I doubt I’ll even get accepted anywhere outside of IN besides WUSTL.</p></li>
<li><p>all the dorm rooms I saw in Cary had big screen TVs; isn’t college all about being active and on-the-go? …hope my roommate doesn’t lug in his 46" LG…</p></li>
</ol>
<p>A lot of people are active and on-the-go. Can’t blame them if they want to enjoy their gaming session or movie time on a 46’’ LG. Purdue students are very techy imo since they are also #1 or #2 for most piracy downloads. Take advantage of Dtella, it’s a p2p software available to students who are ON-CAMPUS. Downloading a movie from another student can take literally five minutes. You however need to have 10 GB of files/softwares/movies/etc shared if you want to download from others.</p>
<p>Well, I have an unusual question considering the main focus of Purdue being what it is. My son is in a very competitive private high school in No. California and has always dreamed of being in the film industry. He spent a summer at USC and was a production asst. on a feature film this past summer. He has a learning dis. that keeps him from performing to his capabilities on standardized tests so they are mid range.
He has been accepted to Purdue and a few other great national universities, but we are still waiting to hear from the colleges known for their film schools. His chances are slim because of his scores and the competitiveness of these schools - although he’s been locally recognized for his visionary talents.
Long story to ask you what you know about Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts, Film & Theatre Production. We will visit the school next month to see for ourselves, but I would appreciate your knowledgeable opinion.
The posts I’ve been reading have been thoughtful and frank and I would value your comments.</p>
<p>As an aside, we’ve been privileged in being able to support his studies, so he will do well on his own. He self-advocates and is a favorite at his school with excellent EC. You would never know he has any learning issues by talking to him - he’s definitely mainstream.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I’m going to be joining Purdue’s for Me on April 5!
I’m so excited! I’ve read all your comments and I thank you for your info.
I’m from California so going out of state is a big decision for me and my family.
Hope everything works out.</p>
<p>My sone just got back from Purdue and was very impressed. Reading htis thread has been very helpful. We are looking at UT Austin (in state) and Purdue - tough choice for us. Can any of you give me an idea how the undergraduate labs are at Purdue and what % of engineering students are in the coop program? Thanks</p>
<p>I was really upset that I missed it, but I was accepted late. I at least still got a tour in. Boiler Up.</p>