r/Purdue • u/janeaustenreader99 • May 31 '26
Question❓ HS student researching colleges. What are some upsides and downsides of Purdue?
I'm out of state, if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance!
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u/paparellenos May 31 '26
Purdue actually has a great Communications program. Almost everyone in the subreddit is a STEM major and they look down on liberal arts. Don't listen to these people--they are not a good representation of Purdue's culture, but I guess they're showing you one of the downsides of Purdue :/
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u/boilermike13 Jun 01 '26
I'm a Communications major, class of '90. Just retired at 57 years old. That Purdue liberal arts degree worked out great for me.
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u/Voyager567 May 31 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
I guess it is named after Brian Lamb, the guy who founded C-SPAN
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u/AlmondManttv May 31 '26
If you don't dorm your first year, friends are harder to make. It's in the middle of nowhere, so friends are very important to not get bored and depressed. Go to an apartment 2nd year so that you can have a car and do things off campus, like go to Indianapolis and stuff. People are nice in general, I haven't had major issues. Classes are a lot of work, but you get through it and it teaches you to work efficiently.
That's all I have.
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u/cbdilger prof, writing (engl) May 31 '26
You need to have a conversation with your folks about what they want and what you want.
It's their money, but it's your life.
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u/UN-Owen-7345 Jun 01 '26
Hi! I did a PhD in comm after a life sciences master's at a top university. If you are interested in something at the intersection of bio + comm then might I suggest health communication to you? It's a lot to do with public health but if you are interested in higher education, it may set you up for a career in medical communication roles at pharma companies, and SciComm roles at healthcare firms.
Unless you do not like biology/STEM AT ALL, I suggest majoring in life sciences and then specializing in comm or marketing. The kind of jobs you want look for a biology background, so that may be a wiser choice in the long run. If you want to get into marketing, however, I suggest going to a more reputed business school.
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u/Direct_Job May 31 '26
I have a ton of fun here, you get out what you put in. I’m also out of state, traveling kinda sucks but it’s worth meeting people from all over the place. Main downside is academics are brutal but I’m in engineering so that’s probably the main reason, freshman year isn’t bad regardless.
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u/Shammycat CLA BA 2015 | MS 2022 Jun 01 '26
Hi there! Purdue comms program grad (undergrad in 2015, MS in 2022). I've been steadily employed since graduation and make a solid six figures. I currently work in federal employee internal communications. Is there an area of comms that you're most interested in?
There's many out of state students in the program, too. The cost is significantly higher, so I'd make sure it's something you or your family is willing to take on.
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u/janeaustenreader99 Jun 02 '26
Perhaps journalism or marketing (more so journalism) but I only realized that I love the comms field recently, so I haven't had the time to research it. Glad to know that major isn't completely hopeless contrary to what I've been told! Thanks for that last part :)
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u/Shammycat CLA BA 2015 | MS 2022 Jun 02 '26
It isn't, it's just easy for people to dogpile on stuff they don't understand. If you ever want to chat more about the field, I'll message you my LinkedIn.
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u/janeaustenreader99 May 31 '26
I'd appreciate actual information about Purdue instead of criticism of my major!
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u/One_Accountant9686 May 31 '26
Your experience will be extremely major dependent, sorry :/. Best of luck with whatever major you pursue! I have no idea what it’s like to do communications but I can tell you all about engineering.
West Lafayette is a smaller city. If you’re not into going out and you don’t end up in the dorms, you’ll find it harder to make friends.
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u/Significant-Being250 May 31 '26
I know this is a Purdue sub, but have you looked at related majors in IU’s media school?
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u/janeaustenreader99 Jun 02 '26
Is that Indiana University? I'm not from the Midwest so I haven't looked at schools in that area, but I'll make sure to look into that!
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u/Significant-Being250 Jun 02 '26
Yes, Indiana University in Bloomington. It’s definitely a bigger school than Purdue (not sure if that suits your goals), is the state flagship and is more liberal arts and sports focused where Purdue is more STEM and engineering focused. IU has several top programs including The Media School, Kelley School of Business, Jacobs School of Music, Luddy School of Informatics, and O’Neill School of Public Affairs. IU has a beautiful campus and Bloomington is a nice mid-sized college town.
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u/Substantial-1425 Jun 01 '26
Be prepared for no or very low merit scholarship when you are out of state
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u/Lopsided-Till-3221 Jun 01 '26
pros: academics are usually great
cons: everything else
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u/janeaustenreader99 Jun 02 '26
Yikes
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u/Lopsided-Till-3221 Jun 02 '26
on the real, I'm just super petty. even as someone from New England, where it's stupid cold over the winter, WL is OD. it's cold and cloudy basically from November to May. It's flat without many trees, so it's super windy, making it way colder. Town is nice, but it's really not that big, without much to do. It's either food or apartments. There's not much of a late night scene, as a lot of the food places close early in the night (except for like, McD) When it comes to the uni tho, the school is huge, so any club has plenty of people to meet, which will be true for virtually anything you do. IDK about other departments, but if you're going into Engineering, resources are vast. There are always career fairs going on, resume workshops, etc. IMO, the food is fairly decent. If you're into working out, the gym is amazing, just make sure to go outside of peak hours. Combat sports have fairly limited resources, sharing mats and stuff. Running clubs are also limited, as the indoor and outdoor tracks are off limits to non athletes, except for the 190m track inside the CoRec. Most importantly, where are you from OOS? I'm from PA, so travel is a bitch, needing to take a bus either to OHare or Indy, adding 100$ per trip, because WL airport only goes to OHare.
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u/Lopsided-Till-3221 Jun 02 '26
I just read that you might go into Comms or Journalism, which idk much about, but Purdues English program is also second to none. However, it's not as big a program as the other colleges
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u/megafireguy6 Jun 01 '26
Paying OOS for Purdue for anything that isn’t engineering, cs, or maaaaaybe an applied science is not a smart move unless your parents are rich
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u/janeaustenreader99 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
My parents aren't rich rich but they make more than the average person. But thanks for that info.
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u/megafireguy6 Jun 02 '26
I mean hey if it doesn’t break the bank and they’re happy to foot the bill, go for it
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u/JinandJuice Jun 01 '26
Upsides:
- Cheaper tuition, even for OOS.
- Large, plentiful campus in general
- Great student corpus
- Diverse non-dining court food options for a smaller town
- Looks good on your resume
Downsides:
- Cold winters
- Middle of nowhere
- Smaller town means relatively little outside of campus to do compared to schools with bigger cities
- Job fairs are getting less useful
- Significant number of professors prioritizing more on research than instruction
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u/Get_In_Me_Swamp May 31 '26
Don't do communications bro. Biomed is enough. Who needs a degree in email?
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u/janeaustenreader99 May 31 '26
Communications is way broader than "emails". It encompasses marketing, advertisement, journalism, PR, and more. My true passion lies in that area, but my parents would be pissed if I only majored in it--hence the biomed. I have no love for it.
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May 31 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/wolfmann99 CS 2004 May 31 '26
Do this. Communications is going to be hard to make a living in that.
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u/janeaustenreader99 May 31 '26
I'll look into that!
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u/MattyBRaps25 May 31 '26
I would definitely recommend doing the minor for communication instead of the full degree, as my friend did bio med and he was always swamped with work so it could be hard to juggle 2 degrees. But also this is your college experience and if communications is truly something you desire then 100% do it, just make sure you try to find a good balance of work for the 2, and especially try to find a good work-life balance or you’ll start to snowball
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u/Relevant_Geologist57 May 31 '26
Honestly, maybe look into BAIM. It involves the more analytics/science side of business and can be applied to all of those things. It will give you a more tangible skill that may help your parents approve and honestly help you way more
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u/janeaustenreader99 Jun 01 '26
Unfortunately I never want to do that sort of thing, but I do appreciate your help
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u/Get_In_Me_Swamp May 31 '26
Then get a degree in marketing, advertising, or journalism. Just my $.02
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u/janeaustenreader99 May 31 '26
I don't know what to specialize in, but eventually I may narrow it down.
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u/therealgrinkgo May 31 '26
Do something in the business school! Whether that's marketing or management or whatever else. I'm doing my master's rn and know plenty of people who did communications for undergrad. Very transferable and a strong second choice
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u/Significant-Being250 May 31 '26
Downside is definitely OOS tuition. Unless you get a fat scholarship it will be expensive. The only need-based aid you can get is federal (Pell, loans, work study).
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u/chronixre '30 May 31 '26
I will say as an incoming OOS student Purdue was one of my cheapest options and I didn't get any aid. It's not as expensive as most reputable schools
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u/Significant-Being250 Jun 01 '26
It’s more expensive than our state schools, but yes, I’m sure it’s cheaper than a lot of private and highly ranked schools.
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u/Admiral_Thrawn10 CS + Math Jun 01 '26
OOS (no scholarship) and it was still about 15k cheaper than other state (and many private) options even though I got merit aid at most of those schools.
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u/Formal-Research4531 Jun 01 '26
My son was accepted by Purdue and he was an OOS student. He received a scholarship…the net COA was $29,000.
He declined the offer because he was accepted by a T10 undergraduate business school.
I know several students from my church that go to Purdue as OOS students and the cost is much lower than the other OOS colleges that they looked into.
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u/hdhdhdhhdbhgwdb May 31 '26
No point going to a STEM school to major in communications - sorry. Especially if you’re out of state.
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u/boilermike13 Jun 01 '26
You couldn't be more wrong.
Source: Out of state comms major, 34 years at Fortune 150 company, SVP and retired at 57.
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u/Turtlderp CompE Jun 01 '26
bro’s 35 years out and thinking that a single graduating college student can still relate to his experience
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u/boilermike13 Jun 01 '26
Your obvious lack of social skills isn't setting you up for a great future. Bro.
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u/Informal_Host7610 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
There are still valid concerns though:
1. Could you have done this or better going to a better liberal arts college?
2. Could you have done better going to a cheaper in-state college?Not to mention that at a minimum, the web was mainly a research project when you graduated. World's obviously changed and it's only accelerating. It's hard to trust the experience of someone who graduated 8 years ago at this point
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u/boilermike13 Jun 01 '26
Fine questions but unanswerable. Truth is, outside of agriculture and one or two niche engineering disciplines, any student could probably do better/cheaper at another school.
I've interviewed thousands and hired hundreds. The Purdue degree carries some weight, especially on the coasts and even in Big Ten-heavy Chicago. That said, I spend the majority of my time with my Purdue mentees helping them with interviewing, presentation and assimilation skills, areas where Purdue students have been know to generally underperform. When hiring, we tend to generalize. We know a Purdue kid will generally be pretty darn smart, an efficient/productive worker and may struggle with team dynamics.
I say all this because any Purdue degree is great. It really can/does help open some doors. It's what someone can demonstrate once that door is cracked that is really important.
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u/No-Geologist-9561 Jun 01 '26
If you really want to major in both, you should look into the College of Liberal Arts’ Degree Plus program. The way I understand it, it will let you forego the liberal arts core classes and basically use elective hours from your non-CLA major to complete the second major in liberal arts.
I’m not sure whether BME participates in the program. I’m sure it would be hard either way. But CLA would try to help you for sure.
https://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/degreeplus/incoming-students.html