Purdue University-Main Campus Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

Laura

Don't go to college. It is stupid expensive, and you do _not_ know what you want to do. Take a year off after high school. Work, travel (if you can afford it, which you can not), study on your own, and figure out what you want to do. Then go sell your soul to pay for college.

Charles

I wish i would of knew how to effectively manage my time between studying and having fun.

Michael

I wish I would have taken advantage of all of the tremendous resources Purdue has to offer to students. Purdue has an incredible wealth of libraries, study areas, and most of all TA's that give their time to help with completing assignments and studying for exams. It wasn't until late in my junior year until I started going to TA office hours and realized how helpful they are. It was as if I got six hours worth of studying done in one. I'm sure if I would have known this earlier my GPA would have been higher.

Mallory

I wish I would have known more of what I wanted to do for a career. I wish I would have known more of my strengths and weaknesses in different situations.

Seairah

I wish that in high school I had had more resources available toward the procedures of college including loans, scholarships, career advice, and help choosing a major. Having help preparing for college would make the process less stressful, students would then be making more educated financial and academic choices. Fortunately, once I got to Purdue, there were resources available to me including academic advising, career counseling, and financial counseling. I think high schools should consider ways to work more with college counselors to help students be more informed and prepared as they head to college.

Magdelyn

I wish I knew to take more AP courses in high school in order to get out of some of the introductory courses. Also, I am in pharmacy. Leadership is a huge part of the application process. I wish I had a leadership position in High school that would have enhanced my resume when applying for other positions in college.

Kelly

Before attending Purdue University, I wish I would have known about my options past my freshman year. Each acitvity that an individual takes on eventually impacts where they go later in their college career. For example, I wish I would have been more educated about greek life vs. becoming a Resident Assistant. When I learned about these opportunities, I learned that I may only choose one. This was a difficult decision for me to make in the short amount of time, however, I am pleased with my final decision to attempt to become a Resident Assistant.

Holly

If there is anything I wish, it is that I had known how much I would find my place by being so far away from home. Being someone with as many allergies and being sickly as a child really had me a bit scared of stepping out and finding myself in a new city, but being here has shown me that I had a lot more promise than I could have ever thought of. It's one of those things you don't expect, but you love to realize.

Courtney

I wish that I knew how to study properly before coming to college.

Spencer

I wish that I knew the challenges that awaited me. I did not realize at first what it meant to be a student at Purdue University. The challenges I mentioned before really pushed me to near fail. Time management did not make sense to me at first. I never had to effectively balance out time between school, work, and friends on my own. Freshman year was my first year ever dealing with financial issues. Never in my life had I ever truly felt lost than I did first year, up until I learned that I could do this.

Collin

I wish that I had known the extent of work that I would be doing at Purdue. I was able to cruise through high school farily easily, but Purdue has definitely made me work. College, in junction with my Navy ROTC commitment, really has me going back and forth between activities constantly, but I was able to adapt to the change without much academic suffering.

Elaine

Once you get into college your high school GPA is worthless. While it is awesome to excell in high school and see your capabilities, there is no need to stress over getting straight A's. It is more important to practice time management and good study skills rather than freak out about possibly getting a "B." Learn not to procrastinate because what works in high school is not enough time in college because the exams cover so much more material, so don't fall behind in classes. On the other hand, remember that it's never too late to try.

Rebeka

I didn't know how valuable your class advisor really is. I have learned that she is a fountain of knowledge. My advisor has been instrumental in directing me towards opportunites I would never have known about. She has helped me with accademic issues and finding a tutur. She has been encouraging and reassuring. College is the first time you are actually on your own. I am committed to doing well, and it is comforting to have support here. While my family is very supportive, I want to do this on my own. I want to succeed. I will.

Samuel

Before I enrolled at Purdue University, I wish I had known about all of its clubs and programs that it has to offer to me as a freshman. It is tough to get involved right away when you have to get used to the college life and schedule however. I think it would've been nice to have started with an idea of which clubs that my major has to specifically offer to me and how I could get involved. This tool could be very useful in broadening each freshman's overall experience at this college.

Jeff

Study hard, learn how to focus in lectures and just have fun

Lauren

I wish I would have been more aware of all the opportunities to get involved on my campus. There are endless ammounts of clubs and call-out meetings, so when I arrived I was kind of overwhelmed by all of it. If school would send out information before the start of the year, students would be much more apt to find a good fit and get involved.

LaToya

I wish I would have been a little more traveled. This was the first time I had ever been away from home so it was a big shock to be on my own. I think had I got away before I would have been a little more mature going into it.

Leah

I wish I had known to get more involved at school. I didn't my first year and focused mainly on my course work. I think if I had been more involved with the many available activities it would have really made my experience fuller.

Marissa

Before I came to this school I wish I had known exactly how difficult college courses are, and what they are like. This knowledge would have helped me prepare for college and understand just how much one has to study in college in order to succeed and accomplish their goals. There should be a class in high school that teached you the fundamentals of college and college courses.

Madison

If someone would have given me advice about college, I wish they would have told me to be more outgoing and willing to meet new people. I took me a while to step outside of my box, but after I did, I made some friends that I hope to keep for life.

Margaret

I wish I had known that there is such a thing as a bad roommate, things that your high school hadn't taught you tht they claimed they did, life doesn't revolve around drinking despite being on a campus where over 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus have "gone greek". Maybe I should've taken some summer classes, it would've helped me get a step a head in my major rather than a step behind. I wish I had know that I'd spend more time than I ever have studying. when it comes to it; College=real world

Rickey

That college is really hard.

Joseph

The amount of money required and consequentially the strain that would be placed on my parents. Otherwise, I just wish I could have had work experience pertaining to my major to give an edge when it comes to internships/summer jobs/etc.

Billy

How to study better for exams.

Lawrence

I wish I had known and understood that I would face these type of financial challenges pertaining to the covering the costs of attending yearly.

Emily

Something that I wish i had known before i started would be that it is really different than the highschool experience, just because i got away with things in highschool doesn't mean i will in college. I wish i had known that i need to sit and study more than just a little bit.

Emilie

I would have liked to have known that they currently allow smoking on campus. I also would have liked to know how expensive room and board is and how difficult it is to find scholarships for "average" people.

Rachael

I wish I had known how important it was to pick a few organizations that really interested me, and get really involved in those organizations. Leadership is key on a resume- I wish I had dedicated myself more to various leadership positions earlier on.

Allyson

I wish I would have known how much in debt I was going to be from being out of state and having to pay about 3 times as much as an in-state student. I also wish I would have known exactly what I wanted to major in.

Sarah

I wish I had known the degree of independence and self-reliance one must have to be successful. That unlike high school, instructors will no longer hold your hand and guide you through the class; but now expect you to maintain effiency and be able to cope with stessors on your own. I

Nicholas

That the professors here for the most part are very nice, but the T.A.'s are all really strict and have ego-trips all the time.

Kara

When coming to Purdue, I was not sure what to expect. Before I came here, I wish I would have known how difficult the nursing program is. I would have prepared more in high school and studied more often in order to be ready for the challenges ahead. This advice can be applied to any major at Purdue. There are a lot of challenges, and professors are always willing to help, however, you have to do your part and study hard in order to succeed in your academic endeavors.

Lee

I should've known more about what kind of classes they offer and accpet for transfer credits.

Bailey

Take computer programming classes.

Kristin

Nothing. I was raised in the town of the school I attend and my family has a history of attending it. I knew quite a bit.

Cherrie

How difficult it was going to be.

Lauren

I wish I had known to try and do more "fun" things as apposed to just focusing on school and applying to pharmacy school.

HeeEun

Get a lot of scholarship. I'm an out of state student therefore, I wanted to get many scholarship

Raquel

I wish I would have known how much more homework I was going to be given during the week. It was a big difference coming from high school since classes were easy for me in high school. In college, I actually had to work to get my good grades.

Christina

While Purdue is a great school and I absolutely love it I wish that I had known that it can be very hard to get financial aid. The financial aid office is very kind and friendly for the most part but at times they are not very efficient. Many of the other offices at Purdue are not very efficient either. Often, it takes many phonecalls or e-mails to make sure the offices have all the information they need from you.

Sandra

Despite the fact that it is a large school, it's extremely easy to feel alone. Many students keep to themselves and ethnic diversity is minimal at best. If you're an outgoing individual you will find the Purdue campus to be excellent, however if you're a bit more reserved it can prove challenging.

Dimitri

How to get scholarship money

Angel

It was as cold as it was. To budget my loan when I received it.

brian

How to become an in-state resident.

Michelle

I wish I had known more people, coming from out of state made the first few weeks hard for me

Tim

you have to work hard if you want to succeed

Ashley

I wish I would have known what I wanted to major in upon enrolling. I had to switch my major a couple times.

Sarah

How many hours softball would take and to not try to do all my reading assignments.

Danielle

More about the location

Missy

I would have liked to know how much meal plans cost because I think it's very expensive.