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I was recently accepted to Purdue University Department of Freshman Engineering. I am wondering if anyone is familar with the quality of the education that Purdue will offer me if I chose to attend. I would like to pursue a career in Aeronautical Engineering or Computer Engineering. Most likely I will become an Aeronautical Engineer. My other choice is the University of Washinging and Washington State University as my backups. I am not too familar with the current ranking with Purdue, but I am assuming that their school of engineering far exceeds that of U of WA or WA State U. What are the usual GPA/SAT/ACT scores for admittance into the Department of Freshman Engineering at Purdue University?

Thank You,

fellow student

By Freak4korn72 (Freak4korn72) on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 10:35 pm: Edit

Purdue is a highly ranked school for engineering. They are far less selective than many other institutions ranked as high, but they still maintain "highly selective"

I got in with a 4.0, 1220, 28 at the time.

I've heard other people get in with a 3.5 and 29 or even 27 I think. It is not hard at all. But again, it is rolling admissions, so those who apply earlier have a better shot.

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 10:44 pm: Edit

Well what other university would be equal to the education for undergrad engineering? Just kinda want some other names to throw around when I mention that I have been accepted to Purdue's Frosh Dept of Eng.

thanks

* and once i am accepted am i guarantted admission? what would result in being rejeted? i am not going to commit a federal crime, but ap calc is giving me a bit of trouble, unfortuantely C range trouble.

By Becks777 (Becks777) on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 10:53 pm: Edit

Umm- can someone explain tome what freshmen engineering is?- it appears as a major right?. I wanna do computer science but apparently thats not in engineering so i m inclined towards freshmen engineering

Oh- and can i get in if i apply now with a 1330-760m-570v: 3.8 unwtd: 760,710,680

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 11:10 pm: Edit

My understand regarding Fresman Engineering is required from some universities for all incoming freshman entering so everyone is on the same playing field as far as math/science classes. If you are directly admitted like I was to the Department of Freshman Engineering, all I have to do is maintain a 2.5 +/- during frosh year to be automatically accepted to the School of Aeronautical Engineering. So, I am fortunate thta I got accepted to the department so I would not have to reapply to the very competitive school of engineering.

yeah, your scores are plenty high enough, i recieved my letter of acceptance 1/12/04.

can anyone answer my question?

* and once i am accepted am i guarantted admission? what would result in being rejeted? i am not going to commit a federal crime, but ap calc is giving me a bit of trouble, unfortuantely C range trouble.

thanks

By Drusba (Drusba) on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 11:31 pm: Edit

At Purdue, students in engineering do not declare a major until after freshman year and all freshman admitted to the engineering school are therefore put into "freshman engineering." As to the original inquiry, Purdue is an excellent school, fairly easy to get into (top 25% and a 26 ACT gives a good chance of admission), quite hard to get through.

If you want to know what course material you will be taught at Purdue that is different from other engineering schools in the US, the answer is not much. The Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology sets out all required courses for engineering majors and what each course must include. ABET's requirements cover 80% of the courses you will take in college -- the other 20% are school required non-engineering related courses. The net result is that the courses at every engineering school in the nation teach essentially the same thing. In other words, the students at Purdue are being taught the same things as the students at Stanford, Cornell, Illinois, Michigan, Washington and Washington State. Thus, don't assume reputation means you are going to learn something different. Most reputations are based on colleges' graduate and research programs not their quality of teaching undergrad programs, although Purdue, more than a number of others with "reputations," devotes itself to teaching undergrads correctly.

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 11:37 pm: Edit

i got accepted to Purdue, but ap calc is really killing me this semester. if i recieve a C grade in ap calc and B/A's in all other classes I will still be admitted correct?

By Drusba (Drusba) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 12:17 am: Edit

If you are asking whether they will withdraw your admission, the answer is no. However, unless you score a 4 or 5 on the AP test you will not get any AP credit or be able to skip beginining calculus in college.

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 12:26 am: Edit

Well, do you know what exactly people do at Purdue for them to withdraw their admissions? Everything is going too good, almost too good to be true, I just want to ensure that I will not get my admissions withdrawn. I have always wanted to attend Purdue, I guess you could say, IT IS A DREAM COME TRUE!

thanks for all the responses, they are very helpful

By Becks777 (Becks777) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 03:49 pm: Edit

No- they wont just withdraw your app unless something terrible happens- You r proved to be osama's son/ daughter or somethin.

BTW can i start with freshman engineering and then still do Computer Science. Since every school i ve applied to yet has had CS in engineering and not LAS

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 09:32 pm: Edit

what is the exact definition of computer science? i have that throw around a few times and never really knew if it was associated with engineering or not. i think i am pretty set on purdue's aeronautical.

does anyone know if getting the classes you want at purdue is difficult? or do most people get what they want, when they want?

also, so a C grade in AP Calc does not make be not accepted to purdue after i received a letter? what would make me not be able to go to purdue, academically.

thanks

By Becks777 (Becks777) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:00 pm: Edit

Geez- u seem so excited and desperate. No a C is not gonna hurt you!

back to my question

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:08 pm: Edit

i am so EXCITED! i cant wait to attend Purdue. i have always wanted to attend the school of engineering!!!!!!!!

bump for becks777's question

By Choff (Choff) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:30 pm: Edit

Welcome future Boilermaker! My husband and brother are both BSEE's from Purdue, MANY years ago and my son went there last year for computer science. A potential C won't hurt you for admissions. You're in, as long as you send in your agreement by May 1st. One word to the wise, if you haven't already, send in your housing application NOW. You will later be asked for a preference on housing, and your chance of getting the dorm you want will depend on the order of spplications received. While you most likely will get into housing later, you can apply now, then have a better chance of getting what you want. Plus, you don't have to sign a contract till much later. As for your questions on Computer Science, CS itself is in the School of Science at Purdue, different than some other universities. Purdue has Computer Science (school of science), computer engineering, school of engineering and computer technology, school of technology. Engineering is a tough load, so doubling up with CS could be hard. As I've heard someone say, it's easy to get into Purdue, hard to stay in and graduate from its engineering program. I've also been told that companies like Purdue graduates because they know they have a good work ethic behind them, having made it through. Of course, I'm a former Boilermaker myself, so please realize everything I'm saying is most likely very biased! Still, enjoy, and be sure to take advantage of Gold Rush Week, the freshman orientation.

By Drusba (Drusba) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 12:01 am: Edit

"what is the exact definition of computer science? i have that throw around a few times and never really knew if it was associated with engineering or not"

Computer Science deals with the creation, design, application and use of software; computer engineering deals with the creation, design, application, and use of hardware.

As to the question about what it would take to get your admission to Purdue withdrawn, the answer is: if you try your best in your senior year, do not commit any felonies, stay away from drugs, send in everything you need to by applicable dates, and don't die, you have nothing to worry about.

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 01:09 pm: Edit

So how feasible is a 2.5 freshman year? that is what is required after frosh year to enter aeronautical school of engineering. what are the other required gpas for the schools of engineering after frosh year? i know that i am automatically accepted to the school of choice if i maintain a certain gpa, but do they become full quickly? or am i guaranteed a spot for sopho year?

i come from a strong preparatory high school and honors physics and ap calc are college level courses. is the material really difficult? or is there a surplus of material given and expected to be understood in a minimal period of time? just wondering what makes is sound so difficult.

thanks

By Drusba (Drusba) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 02:46 pm: Edit

I believe the 2.5 minimum is necessary to proceed onto a major area for all of Purdue's engineering programs, and acceptance is automatic unless the program is discontinued.

A 2.5 is very feasible. Here is what happens to a lot of freshman:

1. The course material is a lot more at one time than you are used to. That which took two semesters in high school becomes one in college (and you are only going to class 3 hours a week for most courses rather than 5). There is a lot of out of class preparation needed particularly for engineering students. In other words, most need to study several hours a day outside of class to keep up. Moreover they need to study to actually understand the material and not just to regurgitate memorized phrases or formulas.

2. Any student that did well in high school including in honors physics or AP Calculus can do well in college engineering.

3. You are at college. There are no parents. There is no one to tell you to do any work or even go to class. You are with people your age 24/7 and they are all experiencing that same new found freedom.

4. You get to talking with new friends, play cards, go out and have fun, computer games start to become a way of life rather than an occassional activity. There is a party available somewhere almost every night. You start staying up late. You start having a problem getting out of bed in the morning for that 8 a.m. class. You start studying less because the fun with peers or those computer games is more important.

5. Soon you are hardly studying at all and are missing most of your morning classes, figuring you will just read the book and get through. You never read the book.

6. Exam time comes and you try to cram but it isn't enough and you do poorly. Still, you blow off classes and do little studying. Gosh, there are no parents there to make you do it.

7. By end of first semester and at latest second semester, you are nowhere near that 2.5 and in fact are on the borderline of being asked to leave because you are just not making it at all. But you have become the master of several dozen computer games and really loved all that fun.

In other words, if you have the self-discipline to go to class, take good notes, and study outside of class everything you need to study and do so everyday until you are sure you understand the material, you actually have a good chance of getting mostly A's, and B's at worst. However, far too many freshman follow the pattern outlined above. Moreover, many before getting to college profess that it will never happen to them and it does.

By Becks777 (Becks777) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 07:05 pm: Edit

What i m worried about is that all the attention is given to purdues school of engineering. right?- that makes me hesitant to choose CS in the science school

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 07:44 pm: Edit

chose what you want, this thread is dedicated to Purdue's School of Engineering, so only expect topics related to engineering. have you checked how engineering is ranked from either USNews or Purdue's web site? For Aeronautical Engineering, which I would like to pursue, it is ranked 6th Nationally. Biological/Agriculture Engineering is 1st in the nation. And they are usually within top 10 give or take each year overall. they continue to expand and further advance their schools of engineering.

chose CS if you like it, but also check out all the other options that Purdue is well known for.

i am hoping that physics and calc will be mostly review frosh year. after a summer of not thinking, i usually understand the material a lot better, its odd, it slowly works its way into my brain. no partying for me, study study study and more studying

I cant wait!!!!!!!!!!

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 01:37 pm: Edit

Here are some links to Purdue's Ranking, some are older.

https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/About_us/Rankings/

http://www.ir.ufl.edu/nat_rankings/us_news/nucengineer_old.pdf

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/eng/brief/engrank_brief.php

http://www.ir.ufl.edu/nat_rankings/us_news/ugengr_old.pdf

http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/html3month/030829.Bralts.ranking.html

i cant seem to locate any 2004 US News or other rankings for aeronautical undergrad engineering at purdue, if anyone has any, please post.

thanks

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 07:48 pm: Edit

i cant seem to really find a good, clear definition of the difference between aerospace and astronautical engineering. for the army rotc app, i have to chose one of these. i want to be an aeronautical engineer, but they dont that as an option. are all three of these similar? can someone please post what each of these are? i would prefer a career with airplanes, helicopters, etc, rather than space stuff.

thanks

By Drusba (Drusba) on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 09:36 pm: Edit

Aeronautical concentrates on those below space vehicles like planes and helicopters and also deals with things like below space rockets and missiles, astronautical concentrates on space vehicles including ballistic missiles, the two have significant overlaps. Aerospace is simply a reference to both of those together -- many colleges have aerospace engineering programs where you actually major in aeronautical and astronautical engineering together.

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 10:25 pm: Edit

i want aeronautical, but on the army rotc website, is says, 'AEROSPACE ENGINEERING (space travel'. I dont want space travel, but they dont have aeronautical. so should i change it to aerospace even though its specifies space travel? and i dont want astronautical, which they have.

thanks

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 11:25 pm: Edit

"Aeronautical Engineering" typically refers to airplanes and helicopters and air-breathing propulsion, "Astronautical Engineering" refers to spacecraft and rocket propulsion, and "Aerospace Engineering" is a mixture of the two. Purdue's program is called "Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering" which is basically the same as Aerospace Engineering.

someone told me this, thought it may help those deciding too.

By Clipper (Clipper) on Friday, January 23, 2004 - 08:38 pm: Edit

DRUSBA!!!!!!
You must have met my son at Purdue!!! He did EXACTLY AS YOU DESCRIBED and $60,000 later he has no degree.
My son was a wonderful student in high school and his strength was math. My husband and I both graduated from Purdue (H in Engineering, mine was Botany/Plant Path) so engineering was the thing to do. Son goes to Purdue in EE - does ok the first semester, worse the second... well you get my drift. Same scenario as Drusba outlined above. So like I said, after 3 years (out of state tuition) he dropped out. Besides the incredible debt we incurred the only thing he had to show for his time there was his fantastic video game abilities and sleeping til noon and staying up all night.
Please, please - take college seriously. It is tough once you get there. Have fun but remember WHY you are there and what kind of future that Purdue degree can give you.
Good luck - Boilermaker!

By Choff (Choff) on Friday, January 23, 2004 - 10:14 pm: Edit

Clipper,
My husband and I are also Purdue alums, so it was a hard pill to swallow when our son decided it wasn't for him and wanted to transfer back to a place five miles from home. But, hearing your story, and others, I'm glad he did, and is saving us big bucks. Thankfully he got the partying out of his system last year, partially due to watching his roommate self-destruct from way too much drinking and partying. It was bad to the point that when son went back after spring break, roommate was cleared out, and kicked out of the university for being arrested for theft, stealing a laptop from another kid, while he was drunk. Of course, it happens everywhere. Unfortunately this past semester, here nearby, he ended up with a "third semester freshman" who was more interested in his frat, drinking and girlfriend than studying. Thankfully that kid moved out to join a frat brother. Now he's waiting to see who shows up this time!

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Friday, January 23, 2004 - 11:25 pm: Edit

does anyone know if purdue requires semester 1 or 2 senior grades to be sent?

By Clipper (Clipper) on Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 09:06 am: Edit

Choff,
My S got in to Penn State and Purdue Engineering so obviously he could do the work. He was a good kid in HS but when he got there I guess he just lost all common sense. He partied and did not go to class. He would come home between breaks and say he would do better. We finally wised up and refused to pay anymore.
He is now 25 and in the AF.
Good luck to your S.

By Jinhamasaki (Jinhamasaki) on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 03:39 pm: Edit

Hmm...how much $$$$ does Purdue give? It's one of my top choice..but out of state tuition + other expenses deter me from there, especially since it costs almost as much as my parents make.

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Monday, January 26, 2004 - 02:06 am: Edit

ROTC, thats what i applied for

By Mcreek05 (Mcreek05) on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 06:33 pm: Edit

jinhamaski,
i don't know too much about their scholarships and i'm not too worried about money because i live in Indiana, but if you compare Purdue's out-of-state tuition (if they are public) to the other top engineering schools it's a lot less
i do know they give you a $2000 scholarship automatically if you are valedictorian of your class when you are accepted or at the end of the year

By Timpcrk87 (Timpcrk87) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 05:12 pm: Edit

Purdue has one of the best engineering programs in the country. Illinois, Michigan, and Georgia Tech are also really good. There is also Rose-Hulman Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana, it's pretty unknown. But did you know that Purdue has produced more employees at NASA than any other institution, including the most astronauts!!

By Clipper (Clipper) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 06:40 pm: Edit

Let me add my 2 cents in about the astronauts. I was a freshman at Purdue in 1973. The girl next door in my dorm was 16 yrs old and she was already a junior in engineering. The first week all the girls got together to talk (a real popcorn party-not microwaved stuff) about our majors. This young girl told us that she was going to be an astronaut! We all laughed at her bc back in 1973 women didn't have the opportunity to be astronauts - only men! Well, guess who had the last laugh??? She did bc she did go up in the shuttle a few times.

When I got my alumni magazine a few years ago they had a section that included all the astronauts who had graduated from Purdue. Leading the way of course was Neil Armstrong but there was my next door neighbor. How proud I felt that I knew a woman who broke the barrier. Young women today have NO idea what it was like for us back then. I hope they appreciate it.
Purdue is also known as the "Cradle of Astronauts".

By Clipper (Clipper) on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 04:38 pm: Edit

bump

By Becks777 (Becks777) on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 06:02 pm: Edit

I have been accepted to UIUC- So for the time being Purdue is out of my list although i have applied there

By Mcreek05 (Mcreek05) on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 09:15 pm: Edit

what the hech does bump mean

By Mcreek05 (Mcreek05) on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 05:13 pm: Edit

hey bobthecat,

where are you from, i'm from Indiana, and I was wondering when you said you've always wanted to attend that if it was because you were from Indiana, cause in Indiana there are a lot of people who really want to go to Purdue, especially in my area where their are a lot of farmers

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 11:05 pm: Edit

i am not from Indiana. my friends parents went there and they mentioned that it was an excellent engeineering school. so i became more interested in the school as high school progressed. well, i got admitted to the dept of frosh engineering and i cant wait to attend. i got the shirt, sweatshirt, and two decals for my car! and whenever i say that i got admitted, everyone is like, wow, purdue!...department of frosh engineering?!

By Bobthecat (Bobthecat) on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 11:22 pm: Edit

i am not from Indiana. my friends parents went there and they mentioned that it was an excellent engeineering school. so i became more interested in the school as high school progressed. well, i got admitted to the dept of frosh engineering and i cant wait to attend. i got the shirt, sweatshirt, and two decals for my car! and whenever i say that i got admitted, everyone is like, wow, purdue!...department of frosh engineering?!

By Pcqo (Pcqo) on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 11:49 pm: Edit

I have been accepted to purdue just today
with a 2.8 gpa
but my highschool is damn hard and very competetive
besides english is my 3rd language
1260 sat
247 toefl

By Elisa (Elisa) on Friday, April 30, 2004 - 09:30 am: Edit

me too a couple of days before
SAT M 600 V 530
Toefl 260
GPA 3.3

By Exeguest2001 (Exeguest2001) on Wednesday, May 05, 2004 - 11:28 pm: Edit

Purdue is a good school for engineering, I'm attending it right now, currently, my second yr freshman.

you just have to maintain a GPA of over the limit required by your engineering school to get into that school from Sophmore yr onwards. If u hv any other ques., feel free to ask