Purdue University-Main Campus Top Questions

Nerdy, but fun.

We like to joke around and have fun before class begins, pay attention during class, and have plans afterwards.

I feel Purdue has a good diversity of race and religion, or at least the facilities are there for people of different race and religion to have a community. Purdue doesn't attract as many minorities as other schools, but it seems that every culture imaginable has a cultural center for their students.

There is a very diverse student body, as well as diverese faculty. It is nice to have a diverse population; however, it is not helpful to have professors who barely speak English. Purdue students come from all over the country and around the world; yet, the majority come from the state of Indiana, where Purdue is located. Students come from all financial backgrounds; however, there seem to be a majority of students from upper middle class to upper class families. Out-of-state students, and out-of-country students, are normally from upper class families, as out-of-state tuition is fairly expensive. Purdue students are mostly on the conservative side, as far as politics are conscerned. It is really not that big of a deal on camus however.

Midwest is known to be a conservative part of the US. And I have realized that was true. Since I am from Turkish nationality I had several US-Iraq discussions. I had people asking me about my religion couple of times by giving me surveys and then advertising Christianity. People wear comfortably and the good thing is nobody cares what you wear on that day. Since Purdue is a very multinational university different types of students interact. All of the students wear t-shirts or sweat-shirts with the tag "Purdue" in the dining hall. As far as I know most of the Americans at Purdue are from small cities of Indiana.

LOTS of international students! It's such a great opprotunity to meet people from all over the world and get a feel for a different culture.

The diversity seems pretty good, I would like to see less alcohol influence, it would be awesome if the whole purdue student body could kind of become one i guess and affect the whole country

At first glance, Purdue is described by the visitors I've interviewed as conspicuously white, male, Christian, Republican, selfish, and mean. Upon closer inspection, we find that the student body actually represents a national cross-section much better than most of Indiana, and has strained to ship in students from other nations (for various purposes). You'll notice references to Purdue as an "All American" institution, and I'll be damned if I know what that means. There are so many people here that you will surely find folks like you, but most of them will, unfortunately, huddle. The university just isn't as comfortable as most in its class publicly advocating for its disadvantaged groups or claiming them as members of the same community. The resource office for gay students is literally walk-in closet space, in a discreet underground location. If you are atheist, complete strangers will regularly approach you with the hopes of helping you understand your error of faith. Many people endeavor to blend in to the crowds so that they'll be able to focus on the classwork, free of the additional cultural burden others might add.

I feel like different classes of students interact at Purdue. While some high school stereotypes still exist, they really don't play a part in life anymore. At college, you survive if you know how to balance academics and your social life. Even though most stereotypes seem to be true about Purdue for me, I'm sure every person can find his or her niche. We may be mostly engineers, but we have a tight group of dancers and theater people in the liberal arts fields. Many people seem apathetic, but we do have over 800 student organizations where one is sure to find people with similar interests. Purdue is slowly becoming more accepting, it seems to me, with the recent emergence of the LGBT community and various other cultural groups.

Purdue is amazing! Most student have the time of their life. It isn't uncommon for students to be apart of a variety of student organizations, hold a job, have a rigorous course load, as well as find time for a little fun. The Greek system dominates Purdue and is the main social seen for underclassman. The bar scene is the place to go once you turn 21. There isn't really an off campus. West Lafayette is Purdue University. Students don't live in the dorms unless they are freshman or transfer students. It is not that you can't live campus housing, its that many students find apartment or house living more comfortable. They are often closer to campus then the dorms as well. Most students are middle class. It is not like the east, we don't have competitions based on the number of houses our parents own, or what kind of cars we drive, one house with an olds mobile and a pick up truck sounds normal. There is definitely division between races but this is what is preferred by students. There is every and any type of student at Purdue. If you can't find a friend you mine as well crawl in a whole and never come out. There is something and someone for everyone.

I hang out with some pretty diverse groups. The only group that I haven't really connected with are people who work in the newspaper, they can be kind of snooty and some are seriously on a power trip. But I hang out with liberal arts students in Model UN, all kinds of people at NORML, my friends going into aero with me, my friends in the honors engineering program. It's pretty easy to fit in, you just have to find your group (it might require a good amount of effort to go and find them, make sure you don't just sit in your room on weekends!)

Purdue has a wide variety of people of different backgrounds. If one is willing to try, he or she can easily find others with similar backgrounds and/or interests. Sometimes students naturally segregate themselves into comfortable groups, but there is still willingness to interact with everyone else.

There is every type of person on campus. A lot of religions a ton of different races and are very split up, not a lot of inter-mingling and I hate that.

Purdue is a large mixture of different cultures. You can walk from one class to another and experience three to five different languages along the way. I don't feel any student would feel out of place at Purdue however those preferring a small school won't really like the large campus with large classes What do most students wear?- some wear PJs some wear business suits most wear something in between. jeans and a t-shirt are common, not to mention the college student must a sweatshirt :-D (preferably not in the rival school's crimson and cream colors...IU) Lafayette, Indiana and Indiana in general leans more toward the right and campus is going to be more conservative than states where they are more left wing focused but democrats and republicans can both be found on campus

The student body is SO diverse. It is really awesome to walk down the sidewalk and here so many different languages. You also learn alot about life in other countries!

Eh.. It's like every other college. There's a lot of stupid people, a lot of intelligent people, and a lot of drunks on the weekends.

Purdue is not the most politically active campus; being situated in a conservative state, but we have some political activity. The Students for Life put crosses all over the memorial mall once a year; which has always bothered me. I've also seen a reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ played out for Good Friday. In contrast 'sex on the mall' sex education booths run by such groups as Purdue VOX and the LGBT groups pass out free condoms and offer a myriad of information and interesting activities, which also occurs annually at a different time. We have a wide variety of students, though quite a lot from good old in-state Indiana and the Chicago area. I see the greatest diversity while working at the Purdue Memorial Union - everyone comes to eat pizza.

Students here are politically active, and I think there's an even split between conservatives and liberals, although the conservatives (especially pro-life activists) are more vocal. Most students here come from upper-middle class backgrounds. Most students wear jeans and t-shirts to class, but one will see the occasional person wearing a business suit or a dress and high heels. Unlike the stereotypes about college kids, hardly anyone shows up to class wearing their pajamas (even at 7:30 in the morning).

Ok, I'm not answering all of these questions, but I'll give my summary. Everyone is broke, cuz we're in college. There seem to be racial cliques in many places on campus, but I have friends of all types. Although Purdue boasts that it has the most diverse campus in the country, it's still mostly caucasian. Casual clothing. It's Indiana, not California, so people are a little more down to earth and have different (in my opinion, better) priorities than just money. I don't mean to stereotype Californians, but after living there for a while, I found a lot of that.

This is Indiana, there are red-necks that don't know what class is, but for the most part groups are fine, and understanding. Students wear a vast range of clothes to class. Really, just about anything inside reason is worn. Different types of students interact all the time. I have lots of friends that are management types or elementary education types. The four tables in the dining hall.........just regular people. Most Purdue students are from the Chicago area, and Indiana. There are all kinds of financial backgrounds. A decent amount of students are politically aware. It reflects the same number of people that are in society, and lean towards the right. Students fo talk about how much they will earn one, of course.

*Purdue is a very diverse place to be and really opens your eyes to everything that's in this world. I have friends who aren't the same race as me, religion as me, socio-economic status as me, or sexual preferences as me and I think that's perfectly fine. I thank everyone I've met, different from me or not, because they have shaped me into the person I am today. *Purdue is a very welcoming place *To be honest, most students don't typically dress up. I don't really pay attention to what other people are wearing however, because I'm just trying to stay awake and get through the day. Sweats and sweatshirts are how I roll. *All students interact in class, esp. if participation is required for your grade *Ummmm there are no "dining tables" at Purdue unless you count the ones in the dining halls and I haven't been to one of those in 4 years *Most Purdue students are from Indiana or the surrounding states, especially Illinois and the Chicago region. We also have a lot of international students, one of the biggest international student bodies in the country I think! *Financial backgrounds?? I have no idea, but if you're talking about paying for school...I think a lot of students are actually paying their own way through college with loans. *I think students are politically aware to some degree, but I'm sure our age group could be more and do more. *Hmmm left, right, center...sounds like you're hanging a picture on the wall or something. If this has something to do with political parties, I have nooooooooo idea. *Some friends do, but most don't just go up to someone and talk about it, at least not in my major because communication really isn't anything to brag about to people at first. I don't know about the engineering students...

Purdue is very diverse due to its engineering program. People travel from all over the world to come here. It is a little bit more of a conservative school than most colleges. You don't see a lot of LGBT people, but there are still some and they are accepted. I don't think anyone would feel out of place at Purdue because it is so diverse. Most students wear to class either jeans or sweats. It's very laid back. A lot of Purdue students are from Indiana, but you will find that at any state school. People come from all financial backgrounds. There are kids working just to pay for college themselves and then there are the kids driving the jaguars around campus. Students are politically active if they choose to be. With 38,000 students on campus, you can easily find someone who is interested in the same things as you.

I started playing on the women's rugby team at purdue my freshman year. All my teammates have become real good friends. I think anyone could find someone to hang out with at Purdue. We have a very diverse group of people, and almost 40,000 students. So you're bound to find a friend. I find that a lot of Purdue students are from the Chicago area or Indiana.

There is a lot of tolerance on Purdue's campus. We have very diverse but very active religious groups and everyone seems pretty supportive of others' beliefs. Unfortunately there are the few frat guys who insist on making derogatory jokes and comments about homosexuals, but for the most part I haven't encountered any prejudice towards minority groups. Students are really friendly and incredibly open to meeting new people and learning about their differences. The common wardrobe is pretty relaxed, jeans or sweatpants and t-shirts or hoodies with flip-flops. People rarely dress up, and as the semester goes on we get more and more casual. The exception to this, however, is pretty glaring, and that's with the Greeks. It seems there is a requisite outfit for anyone in a sorority: Victoria's Secret sweatpants, Ugg boots, a Northface fleece, and huge sunglasses. They look like clones and they are EVERYWHERE. Outside of that, people can wear basically whatever they want and fit in just fine. Purdue is not a very judgmental place (if you excuse how I just not-so-nicely categorized the Greeks), and personal freedom and expression are definitely embraced. When it comes to politics Purdue, and Indiana as a whole, is pretty seriously Conservative. I think a lot of students have leftist notions, particularly when it comes to wanting change, but we're often hesitant to push against the norm and actually fight for it. That's not to say there aren't activists; it's encouraged to stand up for what you believe in, and I've heard quite a few heated political discussions, but generally we're fairly content with the status quo.

I have a lot of friends who are of a different race/religion/SOS background. They are a lot of fun and the differences we have only help with our friendship. There is no student that could feel out of place at Purdue. Most students wear sweats to class, although there are those certain people who dress up every day. Yes, different types of students always interact. Four tables at the dining hall: Table 1 is a bunch of girls on the same dorm hall. Table 2 is engineers who made friends with eachother. Table 3 is the sorority girls. Table 4 is the frat guys. Purdue has a lot of state students, but also has a great percentage of out of state students like myself. High middle-class to high class backgrounds are the most prevalent. Students are politically aware, although it is not a huge interest here on campus. Predominantly center. Yes, students who go to school at Purdue are hard workers and know what it takes to get a good job with great pay in the future.

Its a school of roughly 40,000 relatively diverse undergrads. We have a large number of foreign exchange students, especially in our engineering program, but apart from that its mostly white hoosiers. Despite the large number of students, purdue is a very tight-knit group. As you matriculate through the programs, your classes narrow from the large (500+) gen-ed lectures to groups of 30 or less, and your last two years you are with mostly the same people. If you are active in the widely networked greek life here, you can walk pretty much anywhere on campus and see someone you know. Honestly, I would't change anything about the people or the number of people that go here.

Purdue's diverse student body is from all fifty states and numerous countries. It has one of the largest international student populations in the nation! From my experience, students with an Asian heritage are numerous, but Jewish and Native American students are underrepresented at Purdue. Regardless of having a variety of international students, most of the students are from Indiana. Since it is a public school, they have priority in admissions.

Surprisingly, Purdue has a lot of diversity in it's student body. Since we are a big engineering school, we attract a lot of foreign students for our engineering program. So on one hand, our student body is a melting pot of different cultures, but on the other hand, as a Jewish student who goes to Purdue, I don't feel like it is all that diverse. From my experience here I know that we don't have a large Jewish population. I knew that when I applied to this school and that didn't factor into my decision. We do have a Jewish organization here, called Hillel, but I never liked it and never joined. It was too clique-ish for me. So we are a somewhat diverse student body, but still primarily a Christian school. As for the student fashion trends; they vary. Sorority girls tend to wear Ugg boots one day and then dress up the next. Most people though will wear jeans and t-shirts. I guess you could say it's typical Midwestern style, but overall, we dress for the weather.

My experience with the diversity on campus has been great. There are a lot of diverse students here. I'm not sure if any student would feel out of place at Purdue. A few years ago, I remember there was more emphasis for Purdue to admit African Americans. I think that problem has been solved. There is a great diversity here. Students mostly wear jeans and a sweater or t-shirt. During the winter, most students wear hoodies and sweatpants. Girls always wear Victorias Secret PINK sweatpants tucked into Ugg boots. It's a laid back atmosphere. Different types of students interact all of the time. I don't know why they wouldn't. The four tables of students in the dining hall would be pretty similar. There would be a more guys than girls, of all ethnic groups. I guess that is the only way Purdue is not diverse is in gender. There are a lot more guys than girls here. Most Purdue students are from the Midwest. There are a lot from all parts of Indiana, but also the Chicago suburbs. A lot are from Ohio and Michigan too. There are all types of financial backgrounds. I have an extremely smart friend who is on a full scholarship. I also have friends who come from very wealthy backgrounds. Purdue has a generous financial aid program, which helps to bring in students from all financial backgrounds. Some students are politically aware. Our age group is known for being politically apathetic. However, I feel like we are above that average. A lot of people vote here. It is mostly a conservative campus. All students talk about how much they will earn. Engineers range from $50,000 to $70,000. Communication graduates will make about $25,000-$30,000.