Purdue University--West Lafayette | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Melissa

Class: Senior
Major: Communications
Gender: F

High School: Merrillville High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The best thing about Purdue is the campus and the pride. The campus is gorgeous. We have two giant fountains on campus, as well as a bell tower in the center. We have old, beautiful buildings as well as new ones being built. There are also lots of fields and places to sit and hang out outside when the weather is nice. Being a native of Indiana, there is a sense of pride going to Purdue. It is where my parents, brothers and other family members have graduated from. If I could change one thing about Purdue, it would be the gym. The co-rec is extremely small considering the amount of people using it. On campus there are 40,000 students. The co-rec has about 15 treadmills to accomodate all of these people. It gets even more jammed in the winter, when the weather drops to the single digits. I evidentually caved and bought a gym membership at a local gym. Purdue is just right. It has enough people to keep the campus diversified, but small enough to still get to know people in your class. My class size is about 25-50 depending on the class. However, I am a communications major. Engineering class have a MUCH different class size. People will usually ask what discipline of engineering I am in when I tell them I go to Purdue. When I tell them I am studying communications, they ask why I didn't go to Northwestern or Ball State. I spend most of my time on campus in the Union. Purdue recently remodeled the Union, so there is a lot more variety in the food court. The restaurants have their own individual seating in their areas, or you can sit in the commons area. It's a great study atmosphere, but don't expect to get a table the week of finals. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana. It is definately not the most exciting town in the world! Aside from eating, there is very, very little to do off campus. The good news is that Indianapolis is an hour south, or you can take a train to Chicago for the weekend. Purdue's administration seems to be doing a good job. The only major complaint I would bring up is the problem with parking. I feel like that is a problem in a lot of campuses though. The biggest recent controversy on campus happened last year. A freshman disappeared on campus for months. Purdue Police searched everywhere for the freshman. When they finally found the body, it was located in the basement of a dormitory. The door was left unlocked to a room full of high voltage equipment. Having left his ID card to enter the dorm in his room, the student tried to sneak back into the dorm. He ended up getting electricuted. Some blame Purdue for leaving the door unlocked and for not hanging a caution sign on the door. Others blame the Purdue Police for taking such a long time to find the body. It was a very sad situation. It made national news. There is a lot of school pride. Our school's claim to fame is that we have the most astronauts graduated from Purdue. We really love our football team through thick and thin. Recently, our basketball team is doing extremely well. There are student fan groups you can stand by during the football and basketball games. Purdue is unusual because it is the last airport Amelia Earhart flew out of before she disappeared. There is an Earhart dormitory named after her. I will always remember doing a "fountain run" or running through the fountains at 2 a.m. when it was 50 degrees out. It is a Boilermaker tradition. The most frequent student complaints are about parking. There is hardly anywhere to park on campus. Parking tickets cost $20.

Academic Life

Most of my professors know my name. I am in communication classes, however, not engineering. My class size is about 20-50 students per class. I know engineering classes are much larger. My favorite and least favorite class was COM 408 Newsmagazine Production. It is a lot of work. You put on a news show every week. During the week, you shoot and edit field productions that will run in the show. Because there were only about 13 people in the class, you become really close to your classmates. The instructor is also really helpful and kind. It is fun because you get to learn a lot about what is happening at Purdue. The class had its high and low moments, but I recommend taking it. The amount students study all depends on their major. I study about 2 hours a day, but again, I am a communications major. My boyfriend is a senior in Mechanical Engineering, and he can spend up to 6 hours studying a day. Class participation is pretty common in my classes. I am in a class now that discusses racial and ethnic diversity issues. Sometimes, the entire period is a political debate about affirmative action or race-sensitive college admission. It depends on how the class is structured. Most students do have intellectual conversations outside of class. There is a lot of discussion about politics. Students are competitive in engineering. In communication classes, the competition is less. Competitiveness increases with seniority. The most unique class I have ever taken is Mass Media Effects Research. The class is taught by a world-famous researcher in this field, Glenn Sparks. We discover how all types of media affect body image, obesity, perspectives, fear and much more. It is really interesting. My major is Communications, however, there are concentrations within this major. Some of these concentrations are organizational communiation, mass media, public relations and a few more. We do not have a journalism major, but those interested in journalism take the mass media concentration. It is good because you learn all parts of the media, but it bad because there is a limited amount of journalism classes offered. I occasionally spend time with my professors outside of class. While in COM 408, all of the class would come down during lunch hour to edit and hang out. So, we would have lunch with our professor and chat, while getting some work done. A few weeks ago, a group of classmates and I went to see one of our professors play in a band. I speak to my journalism professor about my online portfolio and job opportunities. They are always there to speak to you after class if you want. Purdue's academic requirements are fair. I've never had a problem with them. You can retake classes up to 3 times. You also have the option of redlining, or dropping class grades that are not needed by your major. Also, you can take classes Pass/Fail, which means you get credit, but not a grade if you receive 70% or higher. The education in engineering is geared toward gettng a job. They have great co-op opportunities for engineering students, which allows them to work for a semester and then go to school for a semester. For Liberal Arts, it is more for learning or its own sake.

Student Body

My experience with the diversity on campus has been great. There are a lot of diverse students here. I'm not sure if any student would feel out of place at Purdue. A few years ago, I remember there was more emphasis for Purdue to admit African Americans. I think that problem has been solved. There is a great diversity here. Students mostly wear jeans and a sweater or t-shirt. During the winter, most students wear hoodies and sweatpants. Girls always wear Victorias Secret PINK sweatpants tucked into Ugg boots. It's a laid back atmosphere. Different types of students interact all of the time. I don't know why they wouldn't. The four tables of students in the dining hall would be pretty similar. There would be a more guys than girls, of all ethnic groups. I guess that is the only way Purdue is not diverse is in gender. There are a lot more guys than girls here. Most Purdue students are from the Midwest. There are a lot from all parts of Indiana, but also the Chicago suburbs. A lot are from Ohio and Michigan too. There are all types of financial backgrounds. I have an extremely smart friend who is on a full scholarship. I also have friends who come from very wealthy backgrounds. Purdue has a generous financial aid program, which helps to bring in students from all financial backgrounds. Some students are politically aware. Our age group is known for being politically apathetic. However, I feel like we are above that average. A lot of people vote here. It is mostly a conservative campus. All students talk about how much they will earn. Engineers range from $50,000 to $70,000. Communication graduates will make about $25,000-$30,000.