 Purdue is a big public university in the state of Indiana located in Lafayette with over 40,000 students present on campus, which is just an incredible number. I mean, really, that's the size of the town of Beloit that I was in a few weeks ago. Since it's not a freezing cold day and I actually have some time on my hands, I'm going to interview a bunch of students today and talk to them about why they love Purdue University. If you already checked out the university episode, then you know everything you need to know about Purdue and their admissions and their majors. But let's hear it from actual students. Let's hear it from the real people that are living the experience. My name is Andrew Leichen. I like Engineering. I'm Nandini Luxman-Reinen. I'm studying Marketing and I want to go to law school. It was awesome. I'm a pharmacy major. My name is Avery Spencer. I also study Hospitality and Tourism Management as well as Public Relations in StratCom. StratCom is like Public Relations, Marketing and Advertisement as well, so I'm more of the PR, but StratCom is kind of the general. Corian Johnson. I'm a Chemical Engineering major at Purdue, sophomore. Alyssa, Brain and Behavior Science, and I'm on a pre-med track. My name is James Mock. I'm in FYE going into Chemical Engineering. I'm Kaley Katsaris. I'm a junior in Neurobiology and I'm minoring in Women's Studies. I'm Faith Allen and I'm a sophomore and I'm also in Neurobiology. I'm Kate, Biology. My name is Matthew Zhang, Computer Science. My name is Meredith, Study Hospitality, Tourism Management. Neva, I'm an Exploratory Studies. I'm Michelle, Master's in Civil Engineering with Concentration and Construction Management. I'm Tim, Electrical Engineering. Syrah, I study Mechanical Engineering. Well, I applied to a couple schools around Indiana, but I was really looking for a top-class engineering school, so Purdue was pretty much the end of the obvious fit for me. I really like the entrepreneurship certificate, so I wanted to start my own business after I graduated from college and I thought that was the perfect way. We also do have the data mind learning communities and so I'm able to focus on data analytics while studying marketing, so that's really cool and then I like the vibe that we have here. It felt a lot more homely than like the colleges at home, such as Michigan State and Michigan. It's got a really good pharmacy program, pretty close by too. So I am a third generation ninth of my family to come to Purdue, so I kind of had no choice, although Purdue was my dream school no matter what, so kind of had no choice, but also wanted to go here in the first place. It was my first choice as an engineering school because I heard about its prestige and it was very close to proximity, so I decided to apply here. Both my parents went here, so I kind of grew up a Purdue fan. Pretty much just because I had never done all my options to about three, and it was Purdue and a couple of their private schools, and really the other ones just didn't have a community. I went through, visited, most people just sitting in their dorms, they had to have things like, had to have events just to get people out of their dorms, but I came to Purdue with my dad and we were both like, this is kind of the place. It's kind of cool to have not just academics, but a college experience, so that's why Purdue was the way. My dad went here, so it was always something on my radar, but I actually just love that it's in state for me and it has such a good reputation. Like, I've heard people from coast to coast talking about how Purdue is like basically an Ivy League, but in the Midwest. I was hoping to go to a school in Illinois, but Indiana caught my eye because Purdue has so many STEM programs and also there's so many different communities that you can find here, so that's what made me pick Purdue in the end. Both my parents went here, they met here, so I've kind of been a Boilermaker since birth. I've grown up coming to games and stuff, so I just love it here and obviously we have a really good STEM program, so yeah, it's close to home, but far enough away that I don't see my family all the time. Purdue's got a really good computer science major and I also really like the campus when I first saw it, that's like the main reasons why. I chose Purdue because they have a great hospitality program and a lot of great opportunities for students in hospitality, like clubs and just networking and experience and yeah, Boiler Up! My older brother goes here and it's decently close to home. Purdue was very good, we have great professors and faculties, you know the classes are very chill and you get to learn a lot. Because I want to do engineering and I'm from in-state, so I want to watch you for another school. Since it's pretty world famous, I thought it'd be a pretty great option. Also the gear program here was a huge push for me to apply here since I've always wanted to go abroad and the fact that there was a study abroad program designated towards engineers was a great option for me. Honestly, Triple X is probably my favorite place to go. Great food, great environment, just all around good time. So the PMU just opened up on Monday and I've been trying some of the new restaurants for lunch and dinner, so that's a really great place. I do a lot of my like online classes there for the past two days. It's really quiet at some places and loud in some places, but it's a great place to be. I like the walk there, it's a good place to study. Marriott Hall, but I also really like Beering, which is kind of both my major buildings that I have. I like the tundra up at Beering where you kind of can go up there and look around campus, which is really cool. I like to go to the math library to study. I also like to eat at the Memorial Union at the new basement. And I also like to eat at Jersey Mike's too. So those are my favorite spots. I really like hanging out on Third Street outside of like Starbucks and everything with my friends. I was very blessed as a freshman to be able to have my apartment. So my apartment's always a very, very nice place to go because I have room with some very cool people. Yeah, so I'd say my apartment, Freshens and the gym. Freshens is the best food spot on campus, 100%. So yeah, those are my spots. The walk reading room, walk on the second floor. I just find myself there a lot because it's so quiet. But I also like the Union now because it's all new and set up. I really do enjoy the Union. I like the architecture there. I like the coffee shop there and now all the restaurants below. It's a nice place to study and meet up with friends. I work at the Union and so they just redid like the hotel over there. And then they put a restaurant in there. So I really like studying in there. It's really nice and they have music playing in the background, which I like. I always like walk if I can find a spot. Sometimes I go to the physics building on I think the second floor. There's like a library, computer lab kind of area that I go. I mean, the walk is like a really nice place to study. Seeing Lawson when I first came in to like Purdue, that was like one of the like coolest buildings I thought. Probably Marriott Hall. I'm biased because I'm an HTM, but all my professors are there. So I love going to see them and saying hi to them and working with my other HTM peers there. I actually really like over here. It's it's really pretty by the engineering fountain. And there's also this one pond that's sort of over here. I don't remember which one, but it's really pretty. And the campus is pretty vibrant and we always it's a happening place. You know, you get to do a lot of stuff here. Korak is definitely my favorite place. It's like the nicest gym I've been to, I think. The Discovery Park is really nice. They have a lot of really nice buildings that I go and study there. Like you're writing the essays, be honest with yourself and talk about what you're really interested in. Because Purdue can tell if if you really like what you're into, if you're really into whatever major you're trying to get into, they'll know and they'll take you in because of that. Say all the things that you've done in high school. It's like one of the places where you can brag about anything you've done. So if you started your own business while in high school or like your own club, then that's a great thing to put on your application and just sharing your SAT score, even though some schools have gotten test optional. If you're not so involved in high school, but you have a great SAT score, that can pretty much boost up your application. So do the Common App, be honest on your essay. It's more about the quality of how you can write and let us about the actual topic itself. Purdue is a very prestigious university and once you graduate here, it will take you a long way. Like when we travel around, like if you're wearing a Purdue shirt, people will stop you and say, Boiler up. So it's like you are already in as long as you like have that Purdue like connection. So yeah, obviously study hard, but to make yourself a weekly schedule so that you can set up your hours of when you're in the study and what you're going to study. I'd probably just say, like, get yourself out there and join a lot of clubs. Because when I first came here, I kind of felt lonely. And then I actually tried and made new tried to make new friends and went out there and tried to express myself more. And it actually really helps and you feel a lot better about yourself. Definitely visit. I did bad on that. I didn't visit enough early enough. So I definitely visit and find your priorities. I would say outside of money first, but it worked out for me that Purdue is much more affordable than most other colleges that I looked at. Even if you're unsure of whether or not you're good enough or like my friend and I were just talking about this, like comparison definitely kills creativity. Definitely just apply. Purdue is very open to any type of student from anywhere, any corner of the earth. I definitely think there's a place for you at Purdue, even if you're unsure, even if you're, you know, not an engineering or anything stem. The liberal arts is also a really, really great field to go into for Purdue. Literally anything here is perfect for you. So, yeah, apply. I would say that not to overlook Purdue is a school that is literally Ivy in the Midwest, like my friend said. And you can find so many opportunities here, not to mention research, not to mention just meeting people and networking. Like in your essays and stuff, just be yourself, just write about what you know. And I think that, you know, that's kind of what Purdue encourages you to do. Like find your own niche here and they want a lot of like diversity and they want your personality to be able to grow and your interest to be able to grow. So I would probably just say be yourself. And if you have something you're really interested in and really passionate about, then that's something that Purdue definitely wants and they will foster that growth here. Really hone in on your essays, do well on those. And then generally you shouldn't have like too big of a problem getting in. You just need to like believe in yourself. What I loved about Purdue is on their website. It's very descriptive. So if you just go on like my Purdue, it tells you a lot about what you can do. And also everyone is so friendly at Purdue. So if you call anyone, they will help guide you whatever questions you have. And even if someone's not in your major, they are so willing to help you and give you advice. You want to have a lot of extracurriculars in general and you're applying to different colleges. Those are typically pretty good. Apply early. Extracurriculars are really important. So don't forget to do those. Academics are of course important. But getting out and like learning what you want to do is also really important for you.