Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a college counselor in the DC area and I think Purdue is incredibly underrated by families in DC. It has an excellent national reputation. I have a close friend who graduated about 7 years ago and her experience was really fantastic. She had a lot of fun, landed a great job upon graduation, and was very happy with her choice - this is someone from the east coast who was in a field that was about as non-science-y as you can get.

I will say, if your child is not into Greek Life, that does seem to drive the social scene and so it may not be the right school for someone who is opposed. I did not get the sense that it was overwhelming or that there were any issues with it (no hazing, etc) but just that most students did affiliate with a greek organization and that is how they made friends and found their niche. It also seems like many of the jobs are regional and the alums end up in Chicago, so that is something to consider too for anyone looking to go down a corporate track.

Thanks for your input. Very helpful. What is your theory on why Purdue might not currently have cachet with the DC crowd? Do you think that may change soon?

I'm not the PP you quoted, but am also a college counselor and my experience has been that many students miss out on great college options because their parents simply won't consider any schools that aren't on the east coast . . .or maybe, if they're really adventurous they'll look at west coast schools, but flyover country and the south . . . fuhgeddaboudit. It's surprising how provincial and narrow-minded people can be, even when it's not in their children's best interests.

Interesting. So what are some other colleges you see as overlooked due to their existence in flyover country? I don't doubt you. I just want more ideas for my DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a college counselor in the DC area and I think Purdue is incredibly underrated by families in DC. It has an excellent national reputation. I have a close friend who graduated about 7 years ago and her experience was really fantastic. She had a lot of fun, landed a great job upon graduation, and was very happy with her choice - this is someone from the east coast who was in a field that was about as non-science-y as you can get.

I will say, if your child is not into Greek Life, that does seem to drive the social scene and so it may not be the right school for someone who is opposed. I did not get the sense that it was overwhelming or that there were any issues with it (no hazing, etc) but just that most students did affiliate with a greek organization and that is how they made friends and found their niche. It also seems like many of the jobs are regional and the alums end up in Chicago, so that is something to consider too for anyone looking to go down a corporate track.

Thanks for your input. Very helpful. What is your theory on why Purdue might not currently have cachet with the DC crowd? Do you think that may change soon?

I'm not the PP you quoted, but am also a college counselor and my experience has been that many students miss out on great college options because their parents simply won't consider any schools that aren't on the east coast . . .or maybe, if they're really adventurous they'll look at west coast schools, but flyover country and the south . . . fuhgeddaboudit. It's surprising how provincial and narrow-minded people can be, even when it's not in their children's best interests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a college counselor in the DC area and I think Purdue is incredibly underrated by families in DC. It has an excellent national reputation. I have a close friend who graduated about 7 years ago and her experience was really fantastic. She had a lot of fun, landed a great job upon graduation, and was very happy with her choice - this is someone from the east coast who was in a field that was about as non-science-y as you can get.

I will say, if your child is not into Greek Life, that does seem to drive the social scene and so it may not be the right school for someone who is opposed. I did not get the sense that it was overwhelming or that there were any issues with it (no hazing, etc) but just that most students did affiliate with a greek organization and that is how they made friends and found their niche. It also seems like many of the jobs are regional and the alums end up in Chicago, so that is something to consider too for anyone looking to go down a corporate track.

Thanks for your input. Very helpful. What is your theory on why Purdue might not currently have cachet with the DC crowd? Do you think that may change soon?

Anonymous wrote:haha - I was just going to reply with DH's (very positive) experience, but he is both an engineer and a mid-Westerner. So never mind.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an international student at Purdue when Drew Brees was QB. Loved my 4 years at Purdue. I come from a big city (population density 17K people/square mile) and I loved the pace of life there. It's considered rude to honk your horn unless in an emergency (I learned the hard way!) People are friendly and you'll find a lot of cars parked at Walmart with their windows down (a shock to me when I arrived). I miss living in an area when 60 miles of travel meant 60 minutes of driving.

I could have wrote this post myself[i]. I was also an international student at Purdue when Drew Brees was QB. I was a CPT major. Love love love Purdue. Great campus, small town feel. I have always felt safe. Close to Indy and Chicago. My friends and I would often go to Chicago to get ethnic foods. I came out of CPT and got a job with one of the Big 4 consulting firm.

Aagh. Further confirmation that Purdue may be best for engineers?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an international student at Purdue when Drew Brees was QB. Loved my 4 years at Purdue. I come from a big city (population density 17K people/square mile) and I loved the pace of life there. It's considered rude to honk your horn unless in an emergency (I learned the hard way!) People are friendly and you'll find a lot of cars parked at Walmart with their windows down (a shock to me when I arrived). I miss living in an area when 60 miles of travel meant 60 minutes of driving.

I could have wrote this post myself[i]. I was also an international student at Purdue when Drew Brees was QB. I was a CPT major. Love love love Purdue. Great campus, small town feel. I have always felt safe. Close to Indy and Chicago. My friends and I would often go to Chicago to get ethnic foods. I came out of CPT and got a job with one of the Big 4 consulting firm.

Anonymous wrote:I was an international student at Purdue when Drew Brees was QB. Loved my 4 years at Purdue. I come from a big city (population density 17K people/square mile) and I loved the pace of life there. It's considered rude to honk your horn unless in an emergency (I learned the hard way!) People are friendly and you'll find a lot of cars parked at Walmart with their windows down (a shock to me when I arrived). I miss living in an area when 60 miles of travel meant 60 minutes of driving.

Anonymous wrote:I was an international student at Purdue when Drew Brees was QB. Loved my 4 years at Purdue. I come from a big city (population density 17K people/square mile) and I loved the pace of life there. It's considered rude to honk your horn unless in an emergency (I learned the hard way!) People are friendly and you'll find a lot of cars parked at Walmart with their windows down (a shock to me when I arrived). I miss living in an area when 60 miles of travel meant 60 minutes of driving.