Purdue vibe?

[Anonymous]

I had thought that Purdue would be a pretty fun place to go to school. Yes, an isolated college town, but a big college town with lots of school spirit. My kid heard that it's not so fun and not a lot to do. Any first hand experiences?

[Anonymous]

Purdue grad as is my spouse, we had a ton of fun, too much. The campus is huge so really something for everyone. Lots of school spirit, football and basketball are a blast, big Greek system, but also tons of clubs and activities if not their thing. It’s only gotten better as far as conveniences and restaurants and campus is very well maintained. We’re still tight with college friends and all very successful in their fields.

[Anonymous]

Im a Purdue alum. 90s grad so it's been a while. I enjoyed it overall. School is much bigger than when I was there, but even then it wasn't boring. It big enough that entertainers would some and perform on campus (saw David Copperfield, for example). There are tons of clubs and activities - and students It's really hard to be bored at a school that size

Now that said, I was an engineering major. And I had many a salty weekend trudging to the computer lab (I know) passing by students having too much fun for my taste. So if DC is planning on engineering, know that its a bit of a grind - but that will be true anywhere worth its salt. So there will be times when its not 'fun'

I would say its a typical experience of any large research university aside from one that may be more integrated into a fairly large city (like Ohio State, for example) where there may be more city amenities nearby.

[Anonymous]

Have you toured? My kid did not like the vibe at all compared to other schools on his list when we visited.

[Anonymous]

My son is there (junior), he loves it. Into a lot of clubs and activities. There is also greek life if that is your thing and a good sports culture. However, it is largely a stem university so it's skews more brainy than some.

[Anonymous]

I work at Purdue and know a lot of students and Purdue alums. It’s a fun campus and there is always something going on. It is stem oriented but has a strong arts side too. They are doing some amazing research there.

It has its own airport now but that’s a work in progress. The adjacent town is small and doesn’t add anything to the experience. It’s all about the university.

[Anonymous]

Going to Indiana for college sounds miserable, but I'm biased having gone in New York.

[Anonymous]

Two nieces and a nephew went there. All very successful. They liked it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Going to Indiana for college sounds miserable, but I'm biased having gone in New York.

It really wasn’t and I live in London now so know city life. Getting there was annoying, but life on campus which is where most spend most of their time regardless of where it is was wonderful. It was like a nice diverse hive buzzing with activity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Going to Indiana for college sounds miserable, but I'm biased having gone in New York.

NP. Going to New York (I assume you mean NYC?) for college sounds miserable to me! Different strokes, etc.

[Anonymous]

DC is a sophomore and loves it. Engineering is difficult, but students really work together to help each other. It’s midwestern nice.

The campus is fun like any other large campus with a strong sports program. Engineering leans more studious. Rest of the school has an ample social culture.

DC said the vibe isn’t as liberal as other campuses we toured. We visited DC last spring and the Gaza protests were about 25 people with three small tents. DC likes this aspect as DC isn’t political.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work at Purdue and know a lot of students and Purdue alums. It’s a fun campus and there is always something going on. It is stem oriented but has a strong arts side too. They are doing some amazing research there.

It has its own airport now but that’s a work in progress. The adjacent town is small and doesn’t add anything to the experience. It’s all about the university.

New poster here.
My son is a student at Purdue and hasn't tried that airport yet (I think it only has flight to O'Hare currently?) but getting to the Indianapolis airport has been very easy. There are two shuttle companies (Reindeer Shuttle, and Lafayette Limo) and they have multiple shuttles each day (at least, they have during the major breaks like Thanksgiving and winter.)
Amtrak also has a station right across the river in Lafayette that runs the Cardinal line (Chicago to New York, going through Cincinnati, West Virginia, and DC)

[Anonymous]

DS was accepted two years ago into engineering and turned it down. There is no real college town feel. It is in the middle of farm country / nowhere. Takes forever to reach from the Indianapolis airport. You’re better off going to Ohio State, UT Austin, or Berkeley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted two years ago into engineering and turned it down. There is no real college town feel. It is in the middle of farm country / nowhere. Takes forever to reach from the Indianapolis airport. You’re better off going to Ohio State, UT Austin, or Berkeley.

I used to ride the Lafayette Limo to the airport in Indy. It’s only an hour. It a big deal and you only do it a few times a year. Takes that long to get to an airport in a big city and you have to do the driving. .

To a comment above. It does (did, and in my day lean STEM) culturally. So if a non-STEM major that may be a turn-off vs a school that may be a bit more balanced in the vibe.

As for better off at another school. Nobody can tell you that. That’s a personal decision. For example, I like the Bay Area, but after watching some vids and reading about Berkeley, I don’t get the appeal these days unless you’re in-state. But to each their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted two years ago into engineering and turned it down. There is no real college town feel. It is in the middle of farm country / nowhere. Takes forever to reach from the Indianapolis airport. You’re better off going to Ohio State, UT Austin, or Berkeley.

What criteria of "college town feel" do you think West Lafayette lacks?