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I am a small town girl and moving away was an exciting, yet scary thought for me. I knew that there was so much I could learn from putting myself in a situation outside of my comfort zone and I was right! Purdue has been the perfect transition for me. It is a slightly larger town and a significantly faster paced world then where I come from and it ended up being perfect for me -- it was the next step for me in gaining independence and becoming career oriented. People always react positively when I tell them I go to Purdue. I am about the graduate at the end of the month (December 18) with a degree in English. Purdue is not known for its liberal art program, but I have received a challenging and rewarding education here. And best of all, I feel that I am apart of a tight-knit family here. I am close with my professors and peers in my major. I have had bigger classes (core/elective classes) where my Professors don't know my name, but once I started really getting into my major (English classes) my teachers really got to know me. I have many Professors who have mentored and seen me through my 4 and 1/2 years here and I will be forever grateful for their support and advice. I feel very blessed to have a number of great friend groups here at Purdue. Purdue has a great freshmen orientation called BGR that really gets you involved on campus and meeting friends right away. I made a lot of friends from this that I am still friends with today! Purdue is located in West Lafayette and it most definitely is a "college town", but just a few miles down the road is Lafayette where a lot of graduate students live. Many people are involved in fraternities and sororities on campus and when you're a freshmen it feel like everyone is, but this is not the case. I was able to find my niche outside of the Greek system. I have friends who are in the sororities, but being in a sorority takes up a lot of your time. It is almost like getting an instant friend group and it's a great way to get involved, but I wouldn't join JUST to make friends. I've found it rewarding to pave my own way! The food is great! Seriously. I lived in the dorms my first year, got an apartment, and then went back to the dorms. And the biggest perk of the dorms is simplicity. You don't have to cook and the food is actually good.

I think the best thing about Purdue is the wide variety of options in both education and recreation. If I was to change anything about Purdue, I would probably just do away with 7:30 am classes. Purdue is about perfect in size. While it is a large campus with a massive student population, the campus has small sections where students from each major actually attend classes. Most everyone I have ever told about Purdue has known exactly what I was talking about. The reaction is usually positive, unless they are supporters of a rival school. Most of my time on campus is spent in the recreational sports complexes. I enjoy the exercise facilities we have available. West Lafayette, home of Purdue, is definitely a college town. I like all the excitement and places to spend time here, but I also like that there are places to get away from it all. In my mind the administration at Purdue is solid. I have only had direct interaction with them once and it was regarding a suggestion I made. They were very helpful and actually pursued my idea. The biggest controversy I have seen recently was the firing of Pablo Malavenda, the former Associate Dean of Students. Malavenda was arrested for shoplifting and this incident outraged students and faculty alike. Purdue is home to very proud fans. It is rare to go anywhere on campus where you do not see people wearing jerseys or other gear to support the Boilermakers. One experience I will always remember was when I first saw the Boilermaker Extra Special driving through campus. The Extra Special is a golf cart sized vehicle that has been mocked up to look like a train. The students go nuts when it is around and it really made me laugh that day. The most frequent student complaint right now ties back into the recreation center I mentioned earlier. After many years, Purdue is finally getting a new one. The renovation has sent most of the equipment to smaller facilities around campus and has made it a bit inconvenient for students to find places to exercise and play sports.

I love Purdue University. There is so much diversity and so many ways to get involved. Purdue is a well known university and is given much respect. When I tell people I go to Purdue, they are really happy for me and know that I'm doing something good with my life. I came from a small town and not many students came to Purdue. Coming to Purdue has been on of the best decisions of my life. I have met so many great people and professors. Not to mention, the athletics here. I love going to football and basketball games with all of my friends! I've even been on TV a couple of times!

The absolute best facet about Purdue is the seemingly boundless opportunities for involvement and experiences. From top tier intercollegiate athletics to over 200 study abroad programs across the globe to leadership positions in over 950+ student organizations, Purdue sets no limits on a student's ability to learn and grow.

I honestly don't know if I could have made a better pick of colleges. My friends are great, the academics are rigorous yet rewarding, our sports events are some of the top events in the country, and I love the fact of being right between Chicago and Indianapolis! I'm involved with a lot of different facets of student life, and I know that Purdue's overall personality enabled this to happen.

This is a beautiful and amazing campus. It's focused on research and academy thus is a good place for those who really want to get themselves into college study. Agriculture, Engineering are the best colleges in this university.

I love Purdue Univeristy, plain and simple. I could NEVER see myself at any other instituition and feel as in touch and connected as I do here. I can't say there is one BEST thing about Purdue but if I had to choose I would say the culture overall is it's greatest asset. Being a large, public university of nearly 40,000 one may think they can get lost in the crowd and become just another number. This is the furthest thing from the truth here at Purdue. The culture is more of that of a very close knit community than a large college campus. Another big perk is the amount of respect you get when you tell someone you attend Purdue, it is a prestigious University and is considered by some to be an Ivy League caliber school of the midwest which I would agree with. At the same time, Purdue also offers ample opportunity to get involved and become more than just a student, you can become a leader. For such a large school, the culture allows for it to seem much smaller than it is and provide for many opportunities for student success inside and outside of the classroom.

Purdue is the perfect size: enough people that there's always something new and interesting going on but not too big that you never feel like you meet anyone. We've got a good reputation - at least academically - but people seem surprised that I like it here. I guess everyone thinks that Purdue isn't any fun but that's simply not true. Though, to be honest, there's really not a whole lot going on around West Lafayette, Indiana. Not much of a college town feel but trust me, you can always find something, especially during weekends and days of sporting events. Tailgating is huge and camping out for basketball tickets and games is standard practice. It's safe to say we're all proud to be Boilermakers and wholeheartedly support our teams, even if football is terrible. The rivalry with Indiana is what you'd expect - intense, fun, and exciting. It won't be making headlines like OSU-Michigan or Auburn-'Bama but it's fun and both sides love it. We've got a lot of sports history and pride so if you don't like football or basketball either learn to love them or miss out on a huge part of the Purdue experience.

Purdue has an excellent academic reputation and good program specializations, including engineering and management. It was not as strong in the liberal arts when I attended; I don't know if that has changed. I do know that having Purdue University on my resume has opened a lot of doors for me. When I lived on the West Coast, I was frequently asked, "Purdue—isn't that an Ivy League school?" I did a lot of partying while in school. Purdue students definitely love to party, starting at 7 a.m. on football Saturdays.

Purdue is the best of both worlds. It is a Big Ten university with big sporting events and about 40,000 students. That being said, 72{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of classes have 28 students or less. The personal attention of small schools with the diversity of a large university. There's ton to do in Lafayette/West Lafayette and on campus as well. There's a show/concert/play almost every weekend, movies right on campus, games, and we even have a bowling alley in our Union. There's a free bus system for students that can take you anywhere in both towns. There are 800 students organizations on campus so you can always find something to join. My favorite experience at Purdue has to be Boiler Gold Rush, the first year orientation program. It's held every year a week before classes. I met some of my closet friends during that week. Now I'm involved as an upperclassman. I was a Team Leader last summer which means I had a group of 10 first year students and I was their leader for the week. The week consists of late nights at the union and co-rec, comedians, campus tours, and of course meeting some of the greatest people ever! I only have two complaints. There are 7:30 am classes and it's cold here. The wind tend to makes it worse than what it is.