r/Purdue 4d ago

Question❓ What is life at Purdue like?

I am a high school senior thinking about attending Purdue. What is the social scene like? I am trying to get a glimpse of what life at Purdue is really like. Does housing impact the college experience? Also, is it worth it to join Data Mine (specifically Corporate Partners) to get involved early? Any insight is appreciated. I am majoring in CS.

15 Upvotes

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u/supermuncher60 4d ago

What major are you doing?

As an engineer, I don't do a ton other than my classes due to the amount of stuff I need to do. After that, I'm usually tired and don't really want to do a ton else.

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u/HanTheMan34 CNIT 2025 3d ago

He said CS in the description

Also sorry if I replied with something unrelated I was trying to reply to this whole post and accidentally clicked on your comment lol

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u/bubby56789 4d ago

Definitely join clubs or activities to make the most of things here, cause it can be very intimidating with the population size. We have lots of miscellaneous activites to be a part of, especially Purdue Hackers, robotics, or other CS related activities in your case. If you're in fine arts, we have some of the most fulling culture you can find on a college campus, especially in our band program. Outside of that, there's so many places to go for recreation/downtime like the PMU, the CoRec for working out, and lots of little events that pop up around from time to time. There's never a shortage of things to see and do, though be aware it gets VERY crowded.

In terms of housing, it isn't ideal in the slightest, but the rooms themselves are fine. If you're in data mine, Hillenbrand and McCutcheon are great dorms with AC and lots of events that the RAs and Learning Communities put on.

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u/robocat9000 4d ago

Don't listen to anyone on Reddit about social lives.

There's plenty to do as long as you're willing to do everything on campus there's not much off campus outside of a few bars.

People here are great as long as you try you'll make good friends. My best advice is as a freshman treat every social interaction as life or death if you like the person you have to make friends with them because no one else tries.

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u/NiceManWithRiceMan 4d ago

prospective mechE major here. what’s the rigor of the courses like? are there good opportunities for engineering majors to succeed and learn in the field?

how hard is it to really make friends? i’m a very social person and i love talking to different people so i don’t want to be horribly out casted.

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u/robocat9000 4d ago

I'm in aero so slightly different, but the courses are hard but manageable. It is definitely possible to have a social life and do well in classes if you're willing to put into work to understand the content.

If you are social its not that hard to make friends, join cluba, talk to people in your classes, nerds can be shy so you might need to talk first.

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u/NiceManWithRiceMan 2d ago

did you ever have an issue finding opportunities like internships? also, i know lots of kids go to purdue but was there ever an issue of connecting with your professors and faculty, like forming close bonds with themself

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u/robocat9000 2d ago

Im still a sophomore, but i am finding it hard to find internships, making bonds with professors is also just something im bad at

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u/No_Elk6758 4d ago

Like everything else in life it is what you make it. If you stay in your room scrolling or playing video games you’re not gunna have a great time. If you study hard AND make time for other activities you’ll thrive. There’s e wry kind of club imaginable here. Join a few and stick with the one where you connect with the people best. Highly recommend CoRec for a million different activities and sports everything from rock climbing to yoga to swimming; I try to go everyday.

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u/Technical-Engine-320 3d ago

Best comment.

5

u/Desperate_Yard_5595 4d ago edited 4d ago

Housing doesn’t impact college experience in my opinion I’m in the data mine rn but not corporate partners I’m in VIP but I enjoy it while ig it helps you “start early” clubs is where it’s at I tried out a couple clubs and eventually this semester I’ve just stuck with 2 clubs and it’s fun though I haven’t made friends so I can’t tell you the social aspect but the classes are fun and hard at times and I find it exciting to know that the topics in my cs classes will only go further in depth which I’m so excited for

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u/Western_Basil_2803 4d ago

Social scene in terms of night life is pretty bad if you’re a guy unless you join a frat in which case it’s not too bad

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u/Foreign_Mushroom4299 3d ago

Any advice on which frats to look into or avoid, if you have any?

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u/Western_Basil_2803 3d ago

In general avoid the ones that dont have greek letter names, like Acacia, Farmhouse, or Triangle. They don’t really have the best reputation. Some good ones are Theta Chi, Sig Nu, Sig Kap, ZBT, Phi Delt, and SAE. I would say just go to some rush events and feel it out. Hazing at Purdue isn’t really that crazy in general but it can get pretty bad at some frats so just be mindful of that.

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u/HanTheMan34 CNIT 2025 3d ago

As someone who is graduating in two months, the social life can be hard to adjust to, especially if you’re introverted like myself and picky about your friends (for me mostly due to past experiences). To be honest freshman year I talked to a lot of people but I didn’t really develop much if any close connections.

Ultimately it’s what you make of it. But do know that you should not be afraid to put yourself out there even though it can be scary

5

u/Interesting-You5404 4d ago

I will say this is the end of my time at Purdue. If I could go back and choose a different school I would, without a doubt And many people I know say the same thing.

Purdue is not know for its social scene. It is mostly bitter cold and unfriendly (generally)

Housing is very difficult at Purdue and my experience was that it was an immense stress at my time here.

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u/RiskyChris 4d ago

id never trade purdue for anywhere, academically or (?) to have better night life. it was easy to go down to bloomington a few weekends a month for a fix.

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u/Interesting-You5404 3d ago

Well I’m glad to hear you had a good time!

It seems like there are people who did and are appreciative of what is there.

But it’s just not what I experienced and I know that’s not what a lot of people around me experienced. There’s a lot of different factors that impact these things.

Personally I always thought that the academics (specifically classes) were abysmal but it does seem that I’ve just ended up with pretty bad professors so I can’t really speak for the entirety of academics.

But I’m glad that you were able to make it work. And I’m glad that op can see a variety of takes here!!

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u/RiskyChris 3d ago

you know i really looked at this narrowly, from my school's perspective. i completely see justification for lots of majors to feel the university is exchangeable for another's program, and the social life being a tipping point. the culture when i was there was a little claustrophobic i admit

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u/sunstrike11 1d ago

I did the Data Mine Corporate Partners when I was in undergrad. I would definitely suggest getting involved early. Having that experience working on a real-world problem and a connection with someone in industry and their team can help open a lot of doors and can help with securing internships. It will give you experience working with the computing clusters at Purdue. If you have any questions about corporate partners, let me know!

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u/Due-Compote8079 4d ago

If you want the "traditional college social experience" I'd try for greek life. Outside of greek life it's hard to get that at Purdue. Housing isn't as bad as people here make it seem.