Getting To Know: Purdue University-Again
Purdue University has become an increasingly popular choice among college-bound students, especially when their interests lie in the sciences or engineering. Purdue has grown fast for a state university. In 2015 the university had just under 30,000 undergrads. Today, it has over 44,000 with over half from outside Indiana. I’m going to update you about Purdue as well as reaquaint you with its unique features. I’ve updated my Purdue Pinterest page and invite you to read on!
Purdue can rightfully be called the science and technological university of the Big Ten.
Seventy-seven percent of Purdue undergrads in West Lafayette and Indianapolis are enrolled in schools for agriculture, engineering, engineering technology, science, health care and pharmacy. Only ten percent study in the business school. For comparison I looked at the University of Maryland-College Park, like Purdue a popular choice among New Jersey’s college-bound-students. There 51 percent are enrolled in similar programs with about the same percentage studying business,
One important tip in considering Purdue. Look at potential majors across multiple schools as well as Exploratory Studies, if you apply undecided. For example, in comparing majors, Purdue has Game Development within the Polytechnic Institute. Other disciplines within Computer Science are based there as well as in the College of Science. Purdue’s undergraduate schools vary in selectivity. So, having a second-choice major within a less selective school might be a wise option. It might affect whether you get in or you don’t.
Across all schools Purdue is not ultra selective.
In 2015 over 45,000 prospective students applied to Purdue and nearly 27,000 (59 percent) were accepted. In 2024 approximately 78,500 applied and about half got in. Purdue had room to welcome more students, but acceptance rates by school varied considerably. The same was true for the middle 50 percent of SAT scores by school. Purdue looks at test scores more than most other public universities.
Those who come to Purdue usually stay and finish.
Freshman retention first topped 90 percent in 2010 and is now at 93 percent. The four-year graduation rate has risen from 46 percent to 67 percent. It helps that Purdue’s tuition and fee charges are the second-lowest in the Big Ten after Nebraska, and that the university promises to hold tuition at the freshman year rate for four years Two-thirds of the Class of 2024 graduated debt free, according to the university’s most recent Common Data Set. However, among those who borrowed, the average borrower owed over $30,000. The maximum they could have borrowed over four years through the Federal Student Loan Program was $27,000.
It also helps that Purdue has learning communities within each undergraduate college. These got a long way to help make a very large school seem much smaller. Purdue also has a very comprehensive honors college. The honors college has over 2,700 students, over twice the number at Penn State-University Park, which also has over 40,000 undergrads.
Covering approximately 2,500 acres, the Purdue campus includes its own airport, the first on a U.S. college campus as well as the second-busiest in the state of Indiana.
Easily walkable, the academic campus, divided by West State Street is easily split between science and engineering buildings to the north, agriculture, business and veterinary medicine to the south. Residence halls, apartments, co-op houses and Greek houses are primarily northwest of the academic buildings. Ross-Ade Stadium, where Purdue plays football, and the Mackey Arena, which hosts indoor sports and concerts are at the northernmost edge.
Public spaces in all Purdue buildings are spotless as are the campus grounds.
Pedestrians would be embarrassed to drop cigarette butts or food wrappers here. There is genuine respect for history and property. And while Purdue is not noted as a performing arts school, the university’s Elliott Hall of Music seats 6,000 spectators while Stewart Hall has three campus theaters, one, the Loeb Playhouse, has more than 1,000 seats. These facilities as well as Mackey Arena, are large enough to accommodate any speaker, performer or concert act that could want to come to campus. One rare amenity: Purdue has two golf courses.
Take a few short steps from Neil Armstrong’s statue and you can plant your feet in his bootprints. The landscaping here is impressive; at many points on a tour you will not realize that you are walking by large science labs that had been constructed before World War II.
Starting with the Boiler Gold Rush, aka first-year student orientation, students become quickly acclimated to Purdue traditions.
Purdue is one of the few universities that has neither a human nor animal mascot. The “Boilermaker Special,” a five-ton replica of a 19th century locomotive, is not only the largest mascot on a college campus; it also celebrates the excellence of the engineering programs. The Reamer Club, a student organization, is responsible for the maintenance of the Special. Reamers also appear at sports events to provide fans with directions and assistance. They wear hats covered with buttons of all things Purdue. “Purdue Pete,” a cartoon character resembling a boiler operator, leads cheers. April is a fun time to be on campus for Springfest, Gala Week and the Grand Prix, a 50 mile go-kart race run by student teams who also raise money for scholarships.
West Lafayette and nearby Lafayette collectively have just under 100,000 residents, excluding Purdue students.
While the university is the major source of culture and entertainment, the downtown business community hosts several festivals each year. Downtown West Lafayette, being closer to campus, has more of a college-oriented retail mix including the Triple XXX, a drive-in featuring the Duane Purvis burger, an award-winning hamburger topped with peanut butter and Harry’s Chocolate Shop, a bar that fronted as a chocolate shop during Prohibition.
About two hours south of Chicago and one hour north of Indianapolis, Purdue is in a good location for students who would like to work in either city, or alumni who want to come back to relive their fun. For those students who acquire the right credentials and want to stick around, Lafayette hosts major manufacturing operations for Alcoa, Caterpillar and Subaru as well as several start-ups that have licensed technologies developed at Purdue. The university also has a research park on the southwestern edge of campus. Overall, Purdue is a pleasant campus in a relatively pleasant place. The area is more immune to recession than most in the Midwest due to the presence of the university as well as its access to the larger cities.
Purdue is really a basketball school.
The Boilermakers men’s basketball team has won 37 Big Ten championships in the regular season or through tournament play. No school has won more at the conference level. However, it took over four decades for them to return to the Final Four last season. According to the NCAA the Boilermakers ranked 13th in home attendance per game in 2023-24, when they won the Big Ten title, averaging nearly 15,000 fans per game.
Although the football Boilermakers have not won the Big Ten title since 2000, Purdue has notoriety as the Cradle of Quarterbacks. Three Boilermakers, Len Dawson, Bob Griese and Drew Brees after Super Bowls since leaving campus. Seventeen Purdue quarterbacks have played in the NFL. Dawson’s college position coach, Hank Stram, also graduated from Purdue. He and Dawson won three titles in the former American Football League. While the Boilermakers made the Big Ten playoff as Western Division champions in 2022, they lost that game to Michigan, then they later lost the Citrus Bowl to LSU. The past two seasons have been less successful though the Boilermakers have averaged over 55,000 fans per game for the past five seasons.
Purdue students have the option of purchasing tickets for the revenue sports: football, men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball and wrestling individually or as a package called a Boarding Pass for all four. They may also purchase memberships in spirit groups that support each sport. In total the Biolermakers compete in 18 D-1 varsity scholarship sports. Online marketing for Lafayette and West Lafayette comes under the Wed address HomeOfPurdue.com.
Conclusions
Purdue gets on many lists for the academics as well as its outreach within the neighboring states, California, and New Jersey. Its brand recognition is among the strongest of any state university. Purdue students can get an education and outcomes at least equal to those of a more selective school when they find ways to make the big school experience smaller and more personal.
The Report Card for Purdue University
- Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: A/A
- Freshman Retention: A
- Costs:B+
- Comforts: A
- Community: A
- Curriculum: A
- Connections: A
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