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Trent Owens
Mrs. Alldredge
English 11 AP
6 October 2013
Purdue University
Purdue University was founded on May 6, 1869 in Lafayette, Indiana by the Indiana
General Assembly. The university was named after John Purdue, who gave a $150,000 gift to
the school. It was to be a public, co-ed, university with no religious affiliation. Classes began on
September 16, 1874. Today, Purdue has 30,147 undergraduates. It has a student to teacher ratio
of 14:1 and an average class size of 20-29 students. Purdue is a large, 4-year university that is
nationally recognized for many of its academics and student opportunities.
Some of the many different majors available at Purdue include: Engineering, Business,
Marketing, Health Professions, Social Sciences, Education, and Agriculture. Some other
opportunities that are available to students are double majors, study aboard, honors program,
independent study, accelerated program, and internships. The Professional Practice Program
helps students find co-op positions. There are many unique things happening at Purdue,
according to Mitch Daniels, President of Purdue University, One that is very exciting is how
much our undergraduate students participate in original research, once a role reserved only for
graduate students and faculty members. These opportunities give our students an advantage
when they graduate, as they already have hand-on, real world experience. This advantage after
graduation might explain why Purdues placement rate is 94% (Purdue).
The admission requirements to Purdue are similar to those of most four year universities.
They include a common application with an essay, questions that are Purdue-specific, a writing

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supplement, and a letter of recommendation. An official high school transcript is also required
along with SAT or ACT scores, including writing, and an application fee of $50. The early
action deadline is November 1. Early action guarantees an admission decision by December 13.
The regular application deadline is February 1 (Purdue). Samantha Tapia, Assistant Director of
Admissions, said, When reviewing an application, I am looking for a student who is going to be
a good fit for the program as well as for Purdue. I want a student who is well-rounded and
challenged themselves academically but was also involved.
Purdue is known as an affordable choice for post-secondary education for residents of
Indiana. Tuition and fees for one year currently total $9,992. Room and Board typically run
$10,300, while books and supplies are generally $1,200 more. Certain programs, such as
engineering, also have their own fees. In the case of engineering, this fee is $1,800. Many forms
of financial aid and scholarships are available to help cover this cost. On average, a Purdue
student who applies for financial aid will receive from $7,000-$12,000. Some scholarships
available from Purdue are the Trustees Scholarship, the Presidential Scholarship, the Marquis
Scholarship, and the Purdue Promise. The Trustees Scholarship and the Presidential Scholarship
are awarded for exceptional academic achievement and excellence in leadership, service, or
community activity. The Trustees Scholarship is awarded for up to one hundred people and
provides $10,000 per year. The Presidential Scholarship is awarded to a varying number of
people and provides from $4,000 to $8,000 per year. The Marquis Scholarship is awarded only
to Indiana residents who have a family income between $40,000 and $100,000, show academic
achievement and excellence in leadership, service, or community activity, and have their FAFSA
filed by March 1. The Purdue Promise Scholarship is only for Indiana Twenty-First Century
Scholars and provides the full financial need of the student (Purdue).

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There is a very exciting campus life available for Purdue students. Choices for housing
include dorms, apartments, and fraternity and sorority houses. Housing is guaranteed of a
contract is signed by May 5. The number of students per room varies from one to four. Meals
plans are available from seven to twenty meals per week. Free bus service is available to
students living on campus through CityBus. At Purdue, 10% of men and 8% of women are
involved in Greek life.
There are many social activities available at Purdue such as: campus ministries, choral
groups, concert band, dance, drama/theater, government or political activity, International
Student Organization, jazz band, Literary Magazine, marching band, music ensembles, musical
theater, pep band, radio station, student newspaper, symphony orchestra, television station, and
yearbook. Intercollegiate sports available include: baseball, basketball, cross-country, football,
golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor track, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.
A wide variety of club and intramural sports are available for students as well (College Board).
Purdue is a large, 4-year university that is nationally recognized for many of its
academics and student opportunities. When asked what his favorite thing about Purdue was,
President Mitch Daniels said its people. To explain, he said, Our faculty, staff and students
are some of the best in the world and they work hard to make Purdue great. Likewise, our
alumni carry the Purdue message to places across the country and around the world, letting all
they meet know what an amazing place Purdue is. Purdue people see what is possible and they
set out to make it happen, whether in the lab, in the office, or in the classroom or boardroom.

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Works Cited
"College Search - Purdue University." College Board. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
<https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/purdue-university?
fromEcl=true>.
Daniels, Mitchell E., Jr. E-mail interview. 4 Oct. 2013.
"Purdue University." Purdue University. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.purdue.edu/>.
Tapia, Samantha R. E-mail interview. 1 Oct. 2013.