By Anna Hanuska
Walking around Purdue’s campus, you’ll see almost everyone wearing Purdue merch–whether that’s a sweatshirt, backpack, or even mask. Purdue students have a lot of pride in their school, creating a strong sense of community. That’s partly because the university is well established (152 years old!), but also because of the competitive athletics. A member of the Big Ten Conference, Purdue’s athletic teams bring together fans and encourage the expression of school spirit.
Purdue’s sense of community is also visible in the success of their Protect Purdue initiative. During the pandemic, they were able to bring back the majority of students, and seemed successful in keeping Covid cases to a minimum. They have posters all over campus reminding students to wear a mask and distance, and use other resources like surveillance testing and now vaccination. When I visited in March, every single not-eating student I saw was correctly wearing a mask, which was not true at several other campuses I visited.
Committed to student success, Purdue has committed to a tuition freeze until the 2022-23 academic year, which will be 10 straight years without a tuition increase. By keeping costs low, Purdue allows students to graduate with less debt, earning them the #4 ranking on CNBC’s list of colleges that pay off the most. Although it’s obviously still out of state, Purdue costs are lower than many other out-of-state schools.
Home to nearly 35,000 undergraduates, Purdue University has a lot to offer. It has over 200 undergraduate majors and more than 900 student organizations, so there is something for everyone both academically and socially. Its location in the remote West Lafayette, Indiana gives it a college town atmosphere. One of their excellent programs is their engineering school, with programs consistently ranking in the top 10 in the country (the graduate engineering school is #4!). In fact, 24 US astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, graduated from Purdue’s engineering program.
Overall, no matter your major, Purdue is a great option! Boiler up!