<p>I'm an intl admitted to several schools (aero eng) but can't actually fly over to visit.</p>
<p>So tell me, what are some great things about studying at Purdue?</p>
<p>Big Ten school (athletics are great), one of the best engineering schools in America,</p>
<p>Honestly, i would just go to the cheapest option if you have a bunch of the same schools, like Purdue and Michigan and Illinois, etc.</p>
<p>ah, you just mentioned the 3 schools i’m deciding on XD</p>
<p>Sitting in the same boat as you theblindsaint, with the exception being that I visited michigan, and I’m visiting illinois this week for SITE. </p>
<p>tell me how they compare after you visit UIUC? pretty please?</p>
<p>My son loves Purdue. Lives near Michigan, visited other colleges in top 10. Purdue feels smaller though is very large. COE feels small in a big campus as Purdue started as an Engineering School, dorms are close by COE which is not sprawled out as other schools where growth has caused need to take buses around town, classes smaller and great Prof and TA’s, engineers are grouped together in dorms and also classes, labs are very nice, overall investment in college is huge and growing, getting tons of grants and building many new buildings for research, seems to be moving up in rankings esp in grad school, seem to really care about students, really down to earth and very nice, not arrogant, campus is gorgeous and looks Ivy League, very clean, country club amenities, not too much partying, quiet and ease of study with balance of friendships, things to do, clubs to join, more reasonable pricing for tuition, room and board, fees as compared to other to 10 engineering schools in US, etc</p>
<p>My wife, three sons (senior, junior, and sophomore), and I visited Purdue, Michigan, and Illinois in early October. We had the same impression as EEdegree . None of us liked Illinois much. The campus was pretty institutional and they weren’t even watering the lawns in the northern part of campus where the engineering buildings are located. Michigan’s engineering college is on North Campus, a separate, non-contiguous area. It is very pretty, but you have to ride a bus to get to main campus where all the action is. As EEdegree says, Purdue is far less sprawling, with the engineering college right in the middle of everything. All the buildings are brick and the new buildings blend in much better with the old ones than at most campuses. It just looks like a nicer place to spend four years than the other Big 10 schools. Purdue is also revamping its undergraduate engineering program to further improve its freshman retention rate, with lot’s of hands-on attention. Purdue claims that 89% of freshman are still in engineering for their sophomore years, a very good number. <a href=“School of Engineering Education - School of Engineering Education - Purdue University”>School of Engineering Education - School of Engineering Education - Purdue University; </p>
<p>My son ended up not even applying to Illinois. He’s been accepted to Michigan and Purdue for aerospace engineering, along with Georgia Tech, Texas, and Texas A&M. </p>
<p>Beaudreau, which school is your son leaning toward? My son also liked Purdue because of the central location of the engineering facilities and the more compact feel compared to OSU and Michigan. The North Campus location at Michigan is a big drawback. We also felt that Purdue had by far the friendliest people we met on campus from students to professors to the cafeteria workers.</p>
<p>Incadinca, if he goes to a Big 10 school it will definitely be Purdue. He wants to study a semester or two in Germany and Purdue has far more opportunities than does Michigan. Purdue’s coop and internship opportunities are also very strong. We also liked Purdue’s freshman support vs. Michigan. We also thought that Purdue student’s were very friendly. Michigan didn’t seem to care too much whether he attended or not (and I’m a Michigan graduate - MBA). Also, Purdue’s new Honors College is modeled after Arizona State’s Barrett Honors College, which is an incredible honors program. Purdue even hired Rhonda Phillips, Barrett’s associate dean, to be the new dean of their new honors college. They are building a new complex with dedicated lab, classroom, social and living spaces for the Honors College by the Fall of 2017. Michigan has nothing like this.</p>
<p>Among the southern schools, he liked A&M best. Given that they automatically award in-state tuition and $10,000 per year scholarships to all NM finalists, this is a big plus for us. A&M was extremely friendly top to bottom and had very cool traditions. Aggie graduates are fiercely loyal to their college - even women wear their class rings for life. A&M’s engineering school is not quite as highly rated as Purdue’s (15 vs. 10 overall, 11 vs. 6 in aerospace engineering), but they are throwing a ton of money at the school and it is moving up every year. It is also in Texas, where there are a ton of aerospace opportunities. And we live in Arizona, so weather is a plus.</p>
<p>Overall, it’s pretty much a tie between Purdue and A&M if we ignore cost. My son did just get a $10,000 year Presidential scholarship from Purdue, so finances are getting closer. We will see how it plays out.</p>
<p>D is a current freshman at Purdue. I find it interesting to hear the comments about Purdue vs. UIUC and Michigan. Like Beaudreau we did not like UIUC. D said it came across as a very large community college. Michigan’s engineering campus being so far away was a turnoff as well. However, the the thing that made her really love Purdue were the students. We walked out of Armstrong Hall obviously looking somewhat befuddled and two young men walked up and asked if they could help us find our way. We visited 12 campuses and I’m sure we had that look at everyone and Purdue was the only place people just walked up and volunteered to help. Purdue is not easy and one must remember that while a 3.0 is sufficient to keep a scholarship the average gpa in the engineering dept. I believe is around a 2.8. Good luck in your decision. D is very happy with hers.</p>
<p>Good to hear your thoughts Beaudreau on Michigan. I too am a Michgan grad (BA) and was having a hard time being objective about Michigan’s pros and cons so it was good to hear you articulate them. The OOS cost for Michigan made it easier for me to push him toward Purdue but I agree with your assessments. S, unfortunately, did not get any scholarships from Purdue so it is hard for us to tip the scales toward it vs. in-state OSU. </p>
<p>lvvcsf, same thing happened to us when visiting Purdue with people randomly stopping to ask us if we needed help when we look like we needed it. That goes a long way in my book in looking for a place for my child to spend four years of his life.</p>
<p>Incadinca (I keep doing Jimmie Durante in my head), Purdue does cost $10,000 per year less than Michigan. If your son is not in a huge hurry, you could consider Purdue’s five-session Co-Op program. It takes an extra year, but he could earn a lot of money toward college and get incredibly valuable work experience and likely a higher starting salary after graduation.</p>
<p><a href=“Office of Professional Practice - Purdue University”>Office of Professional Practice - Purdue University;
<p>D just got a 5 session co-op. She starts in the fall. We/she are excited and slightly anxious. What amazes me the most is how much she has matured and she was mature for her age to begin with.</p>
<p>5 Session co-ops are fantastic maturity boosters and make 18-20 year olds really become adults. </p>
<p>Source: I’m also a 5 term co-op. Already have my 401k started and did taxes by myself this year. I’ve been self-sufficient on every one of my working terms (cooked for myself, cleaned for myself, managed budgets, got a credit card, paid rent, etc.). </p>
<p>Seirsly, do you see any difference in job offers between those that do 5 coops vs. 3?</p>
<p>I’m sorry, I don’t have any experience or information on that, most of my friends are 5-term co-ops, and none of us are close to graduating yet. However, of the co-ops I do know who graduated, most of them did get offers from their co-op companies after their last term. </p>
<p>If you’re talking about job offers for the co-op positions themselves, I do not know, however there are usually different companies looking for different co-ops (for instance, my company’s Chicago office looks for 5- term co-ops, but the Indianapolis only looks for 3-term co-ops).</p>