Purdue University - Main Campus Reviews

  • 213 Reviews
  • West Lafayette (IN)
  • Annual Tuition: $28,794
92% of 213 students said this degree improved their career prospects
94% of 213 students said they would recommend this school to others
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Student & Graduate Reviews

Ashley Kissick
  • Reviewed: 12/9/2014
  • Degree: Biology
"There is little career support if you want a career outside of academia. The rigor of courses and Ph.D. requirements could also be greater. Purdue is a very safe campus and offers a friendly atmosphere for students. Student diversity is also high, especially in my lab, which I appreciate. The West Lafayette/Lafayette area is also safe and has a rather low cost of living, but the biggest downfall is that it is difficult to get around town due to layout. Financial aid is great; students are highly supported."
Kevin Xu
  • Reviewed: 12/9/2014
  • Degree: Physics
"life is boring here. people are friendly. The program is ok according to your department."
Kenan Turkmeneli
  • Reviewed: 12/9/2014
  • Degree: Physics
"Department Head cares a lot about graduate students. Its sure that they want to best for us. Research quality could be a bit higher."
Harshad Sahasrabudhe
  • Reviewed: 12/9/2014
  • Degree: Physics
"The Physics department at Purdue doesn't have a lot of good faculty. Only some are leading in their research areas. The department only hires a few faculty per year. The department hasn't had a proper head for a while. On the other hand, the engineering departments at Purdue are among the best in the world. It is fairly easy to start working with a professor in the engineering departments once you get in the Physics program."
Megan Brunn
  • Reviewed: 12/4/2014
  • Degree: Veterinary Science
"Pros: - affordable tuition. I'm going to graduate from both undergrad and graduate school with likely less than 50k in debt, and that is with 0 help from my parents. - well known name. I have traveled all around the U.S. and parts of europe and people always respond to the Purdue name with respect and awe even. The name is definitely an advantage. - the vet program is also well known for practice ready vets - affordable living. Not the cheapest by any means, but if you want to be cheap you can find cheap places. Cons: - the surrounding area isn't all that nice. Indy or Chicago are far enough away that if you have to be in a big city, not the place for you. - winter sucks"
Shalyse Tindell
  • Reviewed: 11/13/2014
  • Degree: Animal Science
"Great career support, growing in the area of connection with other graduate students, little ethnic diversity"
Syed Hassan
  • Reviewed: 11/7/2014
  • Degree: Aerospace Engineering
"Purdue was an amazing program. It was extremely competitive and the academic courses were very challenging. They expect alot out of you. It is a lot of work but if you survive and complete your education, the job opportunity are endless. As a matter of fact, companies come to campus to recruit you. I got a job offer before I even graduated!."
Jessica Fawley
  • Reviewed: 11/4/2014
  • Degree: Communications
"There are serious political problems in the department, which were not apparent when I visited. Professors frequently come and leave (I've already seen seven leave and three or four come, in just two years), and graduate students are too often left with an absent advisor. Faculty support of MA students is atrocious. The education and training we receive is negligible. PhD students receive some better support and a clearer education. Most of the success MA students gain is self-guided and gained through taking advantage of networks or the high academic reputation of this department, which, by itself, can help you get jobs or into PhD programs. For those who never find themselves on the radar of capricious, nasty professors in the department, they seem to do fine, but it's increasingly apparent that that's luck of the draw. Many of my colleagues are unaware that they shouldn't be as miserable as they are, which is a strange phenomena here. Graduate school is always hard, but in any program worth your commitment, you have support, guidance, and security. The teaching load is heavy, pay is low, and the cost of living is too high to afford without roommates or student loans. Graduate students regularly teach three classes in a semester to try to make ends meet. To make matters worse, the rules for teaching are extremely precise, and your funding is not secure. There is a "three-strikes-you're-out" policy, which allows strikes as trivial as missing an office hour because you got pulled away to count against you for the entire time you are here as a graduate student. Strikes do not go away, and the department does not follow its own procedures while taking away a student's funding. If you have any special needs as a graduate student, don't expect the kind of accommodations undergraduates at Purdue have. The university has done nothing to accommodate those I know who have special medical or psychological needs despite their every attempt, and is even currently forcing one graduate student out because she's too sick to hold regular office hours. This is a terrible place. Don't be fooled by how nice the other graduate students are. It's the politics that will dictate your happiness and whether you are allowed to graduate. Most of us in my cohort agree that we would not have come here if we knew it would be like this. So, take one of your other offers, and run for the hills."
Megan Brunn
  • Reviewed: 10/13/2014
  • Degree: Veterinary Science
"cons: it gets really cold pros: we get teaching dogs the first year and take a hands on husbandry course the first year, family feel."
David Wintczak
  • Reviewed: 9/22/2014
  • Degree: Pharmacy
"This school is one of the top pharmacy schools in the nation with a very strong network of alumni, but with that comes a very demanding curriculum."
Brad Thada
  • Reviewed: 9/3/2014
  • Degree: Agriculture
"It is mostly supported and is thus a great value. I like that I can go from BS to PhD in 4 years since I took 3 years off from school."
Raiyan Latif
  • Reviewed: 8/27/2014
  • Degree: Computer Science
"Strong program, rigorous education quality, high quality resources available for students to work with on their research and coursework. Downside is many students without any funding and high tuition costs."
Mehul Desai
  • Reviewed: 8/26/2014
  • Degree: Pharmacy
"It is an overall cost effective program. However, for an individual who has already completed a bachelor's the quality of the program is lower than it would be for an undergraduate."
Robert Bahler
  • Reviewed: 8/25/2014
  • Degree: Business
"Purdue is a widely recognized and respected name, and our professors were very experienced in their fields before ever becoming academics"
Ryan Wasielewki
  • Reviewed: 8/20/2014
  • Degree: Mechanical Engineering
"I believe that Purdue's Graduate program in Mechanical Engineering is very competitive and on a whole a great program. Personally I have found to not like certain aspects, but you can find things wrong with any program."
Rachel Sauter
  • Reviewed: 8/10/2014
  • Degree: Liberal Studies
"I enjoyed my time at Purdue, mostly because the Linguistics program is composed of truly excellent faculty and there are always opportunities to gain experience through internships and research projects. I also think that majoring in an interdisciplinary field (Linguistics involves taking classes in speech science, English, foreign language, etc.) was a great way to incorporate a wider variety of classes and get a feel for different subjects. Purdue as a whole can be difficult to navigate; it is a really big school and most of the funding/effort goes to programs like engineering, but in spite of this the liberal arts school is top notch and offers a great education!"
ES
  • Reviewed: 8/6/2014
  • Degree: Child Development
"Being a non-traditional student, I thought I would have a hard time fitting in or even keeping up with the course load at a major university. I was warmly welcomed into Purdue by faculty and fellow students immediately. The classes were tough, but not impossible. Professors challenged you to think and not just memorize a bunch of facts to be regurgitated later then promptly forgotten; I use some of the key elements learned in numerous psych classes in my current job. Purdue has helped me meet the first step in my academic career, my bachelor's degree, and has prepared me for the next steps, graduate school."
SCB
  • Reviewed: 8/6/2014
  • Degree: Engineering
"I am completing a dual degree through Purdue and Indiana University for a Masters in Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration. My engineering undergraduate degree led me into the world of manufacturing learning about lean and Six Sigma methodologies. The program I was accepted into was distance learning and was perfect for my busy work schedule having to travel on a moments notice. I was able to take the lectures with me and watch them from home, at lunch if in the office, or from my hotel room if I was travelling. Interacting with the professors was never a problem. They are all very responsive to email and are aware of their distance learning students and will accommodate them in however fairly they can. I highly recommend a distance learning degree program. It has enabled me to land my dream job working as a Business Process Improvement Managers, where I get to be a part of all the departments in my company and work as a consultant to each to try and develop and improve difficult or problematic processes."
Ji Ae Lee
  • Reviewed: 7/14/2014
  • Degree: Pharmacy
"Pros: Purdue University is internationally recognized in pharmacy education and has a number of distinguished faculties. From my college experience at Purdue, I can define Purdue as willingness. Purdue professors are willing to communicate and interact with their students as well as help and inspire students to learn more about class materials. They challenge students, but at the same time make them to be interested in class materials. Cons: Purdue University is suburban setting, which can make students from big cities to struggle adjusting campus lives. However, they will find everything that they need, since the campus itself is a small city."
Ji Ae Lee
  • Reviewed: 7/12/2014
  • Degree: Pharmacy
"Pros: Purdue University is internationally recognized in pharmacy education and has a number of distinguished faculties. From my college experience at Purdue, I can define Purdue as willingness. Purdue professors are willing to communicate and interact with their students as well as help and inspire students to learn more about class materials. They challenge students, but at the same time make them to be interested in class materials. Cons: The location of the university is suburban setting. Students from big cities will struggle a little to adjust campus lives, but they will find everything that they need, since the campus itself is a small city."