Princeton Review

vipermcg

New Member
I just thought I'd post something I read on princetonreview.com. It gives you what students say about 3 different categories. I would appreciate it if any current students could confirm/deny what they're saying. Thanks

Student Body
There are about 30,000 undergraduates at the main West Lafayette campus of Purdue. With a number like this, it’s not surprising that people seem to “just keep to themselves.” But don’t let big numbers scare you—”there are so many students that it’s easy to make friends and find people with common interests.” Students will admit that their population is not “as diverse as we let on to be.” One black student from Indianapolis writes that she “never felt what it is like to be a minority until I came to Purdue.” But the Purdue stock assures that it’s a “friendly” one. As one new member of campus says, “the students at Purdue are very helpful, and I know if I ever need anything, they will be there.”


Academics
Purdue is a big school, and while it can boast a stock of “great professors,” it still has the expected pitfalls of most institutions of its girth. “Classes should be easier to get into,” grumbles one freshman. Class sizes range from the intimate to the gargantuan, and students who get stuck in the latter wish they had “more time to associate with students one on one.” Many students report that the majority of their intro classes are taught by teaching assistants, and TAs even run several upper-level courses. This can be a particular problem when “teaching assistants suck,” as one sophomore puts it. The less-than-attractive aspects of Purdue’s academics cause some students to think that Purdue “is not what they make it out to be.” But on the flipside, some students say that you can get a terrific education if you simply go after it, like this junior, who wrote, “Even though it is a large size school, I get the help I need.” And a seldom-mentioned perk of Purdue’s academic plan as structured on its physical plant is that “all your classes are within walking distance of each other.”


Campus Life
It shouldn’t be a shock to hear that “football games are a big thing that everyone attends” at Purdue. And it shouldn’t be surprising to be told that Purdue students “like to party!” In fact, you probably won’t be caught off guard by anything that you learn about Purdue’s social life—except, maybe, that some students like to spend their free hours on the campus’s “mud volleyball courts.” Otherwise, many students adhere to a routine that goes something like this: “Go to class, eat some food, play some video games, drink some beer, & sleep.” With a good number of hungry livers on campus, Purdue’s social scene offers plenty of opportunities to go to “fraternities and apartment parties” and drink the night away. But it’s not all fun from a keg; “there are many things to get involved with, like intramural sports, clubs, and exercising.” In regard to life away from campus, students seem to think West Lafayette is an “average” town, with individual opinions ranging from calling it “excellent” to whining that “the town smells.” The campus itself is “beautiful,” and the students who live on it manage to find a “good mixture of school and social life.” There are some, however, who would rather spend their days in bedrooms instead of classrooms. Explains a freshman, “Quite a few people are nymphos!”
 
The student body is fairly diverse. I came from a fairly diverse high school and was surprised to find such a large number of international students - the most international students of any public university (or so they say). Be reminded I was once told that the Lafayette area had the most number of restaurants per capita in the US.. as obviously false as this statistic is, I'd be weary of any statistic about the university.

That being said, I love it here. The academics are GREAT. No complaints from me. I have only ONE big lecture class as a freshman, and NO TA teaching any of my classes. Its like any big university, I guess the luck of the draw. You'll find the same issues anywhere you go.

Drinking.. its everywhere. Even Harvard has drinking "problems" now. The best way to experience the life here is to come visit, have someone show you around. Go to a football game. Check out the airport. Meet some profs.

I'm really glad I chose Purdue. And although I miss the "city life" of DC, its still very managable here (as long as I get to Chicago once a month or so).
laugh.gif


Good luck!
 
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