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Student Life
Student Favorites

Do you wonder what it's really like to be a Purdue student? To give you a little insight, we went directly to the source -- our students. They gave us plenty of feedback about the best, coolest, and favorite things about Purdue and their college experiences:

Purdue Tradition

Thing to Do on Campus

Way to Make Friends

Best-Kept Campus Secret

Care Package

Cheap Night Out

Research

Internship or Cooperative Education Site

Elective Course

Hangout

Intramural Sport

On-Campus Entertainment

Place to Eat

Place to People Watch

Place to Relax

Place to Study

Professors

Purdue Experience

Spectator Sport

Residence Hall Food

Student Organization

Thing to Do in Lafayette-West Lafayette

Workout Facility

Favorite Purdue Tradition

  • Sledding at Slayter Hill
  • Fountain runs
  • Singing "Hail Purdue"
  • Push-ups after the football team scores
  • The first-down cheer at football games
  • Tailgating
  • Big Bass Drum — the world's largest
  • The band
  • Saying "hello" on the Hello Walk
  • Bug Bowl
  • The Boilermaker Special
  • Football team singing "Hail Purdue" with the student section at the end of a game

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Favorite Thing to Do on Campus
  • Playing Frisbee or having a picnic on the Memorial and Engineering malls
  • Fountain runs
  • Running
  • Bowling at the Purdue Memorial Union
  • Relaxing by a fountain
  • Reading on Memorial Mall
  • $3 movies in Stewart Center
  • Dancing
  • People watching
  • Sledding at Slayter Hill
  • Football games
  • Activities at the Union
  • Going to the Recreational Sports Center
  • Playing pool at the Union

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Favorite Way to Make Friends
  • Through student activities and organizations
  • During Boiler Gold Rush
  • In the residence halls
  • Through mutual acquaintances
  • At parties
  • Talking and studying with classmates
  • Playing sports
  • Through fraternities and sororities

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Best-Kept Campus Secret
  • The tunnels from Rawls Hall to the Purdue Memorial Union when it's cold or raining
  • Emergency loans from the Office of the Dean of Students
  • Hong Kong Student Association's Chinese Night
  • Cheap Purdue baseball games
  • Great workout: Ross-Ade Stadium steps
  • Bowling alley and billiards in the Union basement
  • John Purdue's real grave site

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Favorite Care Package
  • Cookies
  • Money
  • Chocolate
  • Homemade food from mom
  • Gift certificates/cards for fast food, Starbucks, and Target
  • Notes from home
  • International food
  • Earrings
  • Shoes

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Best Cheap Night Out
  • $3 movies at Stewart Center
  • BW3's wing and leg night
  • Bowling at the Union
  • Pappy's diner at the Union
  • Ice skating at Wabash Landing
  • Sledding on Slayter Hill, followed by hot chocolate
  • Going on a walk with friends

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Coolest Research
  • Camp Calcium in the Department of Foods and Nutrition
  • El Nino's effects on Southeast Asia
  • Development of oral insulin for diabetics
  • Nuclear space propulsion systems
  • School of Veterinary Medicine's research on kidney disease
  • NASA food projects
  • Larynx regeneration in dogs

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Favorite Internship or Cooperative Education Site
  • Rolls-Royce (Indiana)
  • iVillage Inc. (New York)
  • Hong Kong Business Aviation Center (China)
  • Butler International, Purdue Research Park (Indiana)
  • Teaching in an Illinois high school
  • WLFI television station (Indiana)
  • DuPont research summit (Delaware)
  • DISH Network (Colorado)

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Favorite Elective Course

  • Intro to forensics and laboratory in forensics
  • Dance
  • Chinese
  • Oceanography
  • History of East Asia
  • Music
  • Flower arranging
  • American Sign Language
  • Psychology
  • Art history
  • Theatre
  • Business etiquette
  • Criminology
  • International relations
  • Native American literature
  • Public speaking

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Favorite Hangout
  • Recreational Sports Center
  • Residence halls
  • The Union
  • Friends' apartments
  • BW3's on the Levee
  • Vienna coffee shop
  • Café Hookah
  • Wabash Landing
  • Heisei and Kokoro sushi restaurants
  • Sorority or fraternity houses
  • HTM Café

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Favorite Intramural Sport
  • Wallyball
  • Flag football
  • Indoor soccer
  • Ping-Pong
  • Basketball
  • Figure skating
  • Flying Piper Warrior aircraft
  • Softball
  • Volleyball
  • Lacrosse
  • Ultimate Frisbee
  • Dodgeball

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Favorite On-Campus Entertainment
  • Concerts and musicals
  • $3 movies at Stewart Center
  • Events hosted by student organizations
  • Free concerts
  • Laser tag
  • Watching the Boilermaker Special cruise around
  • Open mic night at the Union
  • Football games
  • Heart & Soul musical performances
  • Crazy Monkeys improv comedy shows
  • Weekend club outings
  • Glee Club performances
  • Intramural sports

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Favorite Place to Eat
  • Pappy's Sweet Shop
  • Boiler Market
  • Ford Dining Court
  • Hillenbrand Hall
  • Jimmy John's
  • Oasis Café
  • Heisei
  • Kokoro
  • Café Hookah
  • Sagamore Restaurant
  • South Street Smokehouse
  • Bistro 501

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Favorite Place to People Watch
  • Engineering Mall
  • The Union
  • Memorial Mall
  • Academy Park
  • Class of 1950 Lecture Hall, top floor
  • All-night computer labs
  • Loeb Fountain
  • Founders Park
  • Stewart Center

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Favorite Place to Relax
  • The couches in the Union
  • Engineering Mall
  • Starbucks
  • Skating rink
  • Slayter Hill
  • Sauna at the Recreational Sports Center
  • Up in an airplane
  • Boilermaker Aquatic Center
  • Mechanical engineering computer lab
  • Horticulture Park
  • Founders Park
  • Pond by the Bell Tower
  • Memorial Mall

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Favorite Place to Study
  • The "stacks" in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education Library
  • The Union
  • Digital Learning Collaboratory in the Hicks Undergraduate Library
  • Vienna coffee house
  • Oasis Café
  • Einstein Bros
  • Krannert drawing room
  • Pharmacy library
  • Computer lab
  • Residence hall room
  • Outside when it's warm and sunny
  • Lynn Hall Library
  • Purdue Writing Lab
  • Empty classroom

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Favorite Professors
  • Robert Taylor, Agricultural Economics: "Great lectures and always willing to provide extra help."
  • Christine Jackson, Organizational Behavior: "She really cares about her students."
  • Roy Dejoie, Management Information Systems: "He takes the time to explain class concepts in depth and detail. "
  • Buster Dunsmore, Computer Science: "He made a 7:30 a.m. lecture a lot more fun."
  • Josh Boyd, Communication: "His classes are welcoming and interesting, and his door is always open."
  • Kim Wilson, Horticulture: "Her classes are at a fast enough pace to stay interesting, but she allows time for questions."
  • Robert Melara, Psychology: "Always has 'Fun Friday' labs and keeps psych interesting."
  • Ian Shipsey, Physics: "He performs cool demos in class and always pokes fun of the physics department."
  • Thomas Goodrich, Organizational Leadership and Supervision: "He's very down to earth, tells funny stories, and easily relates the class work to real life."
  • George Bodner, Chemistry: "He has a fun and educational demonstration every class period, and plays guitar after evening exams."
  • Susan Watts, Management: "She cares about her students and takes time to make sure everyone understands all of the information."
  • Mark Russell, Animal Sciences: "He is very engaged in teaching and has incredible enthusiasm."
  • Jon Teaford, History: "He tells history like it's a suspenseful story."
  • Randy Roberts, History: "He is so funny that he makes a three-hour class seem to go by in minutes."
  • Robin Kraft, jewelry making: "She offers good advice and ample help."
  • Angelica Duran, English: "She goes out of her way for students."
  • Wendy Flory, English: "She's brilliant and so interesting."
  • Dennis Minchella, Biology: "He's very dynamic and hosts study groups at McDonald's."
  • Stephen Beaudoin, Chemical Engineering: "He holds office hours in the middle of the night on days before homework assignments are due and makes sure his students get to know each other."
  • Noelle Lottes, Nursing: "She becomes your friend while doing an excellent job teaching."

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Favorite Purdue Experience
  • Boiler Gold Rush (BGR) orientation program (participating as a new student and working as a team leader)
  • Cheering for Purdue teams at athletic events
  • Every time we beat IU
  • Participating in student organizations
  • Friends
  • Football games
  • Fountain runs
  • Getting to know amazing people
  • The honors residential learning community for freshman engineers
  • Squirting everyone with squirt guns during BGR
  • Beating Notre Dame in football

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Favorite Spectator Sport
  • Football
  • Men's Basketball
  • Women's Basketball
  • Wrestling
  • Lacrosse

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Favorite Residence Hall Food
  • Make-your-own pizza
  • Salad bar
  • Philly cheese steak Friday at Wiley
  • Spicy chicken sandwich
  • Double-swipe steak dinner
  • Big cookies
  • Egg rolls
  • Gourmet burgers at Tarkington
  • Bread sticks
  • Ice cream cones
  • Shrimp
  • Make-your-own stir fry
  • Yellow cake batter ice cream
  • Turkey and mashed potatoes
  • Loaded baked potato soup
  • Marinated beef Caesar salad
  • Slow-cooked beef brisket

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Favorite Student Organization
  • Boiler Gold Rush
  • Purdue Musical Organizations
  • Purdue Diversity Organization
  • Purdue Pilots
  • Society of Minority Managers
  • Circle K Club (service)
  • Black Student Union
  • Women of Vision
  • Italian Club
  • Alpha Phi Omega (service)
  • Purdue Student Union Board
  • Campus Crusade for Christ
  • Boiler Volunteer Network
  • The Navigators (Bible study)
  • Purdue Student Host Organization
  • The Pre-Dental Club
  • Science Ambassadors
  • Panhellenic Association
  • Purdue Crew
  • Old Masters
  • Marching Band
  • Purdue Student Engineering Foundation

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Favorite Thing to Do in Lafayette-West Lafayette
  • Ice skating
  • Go to a free show by the Purdue Bands at Long Center
  • Take the trolley
  • Drive through the historic section of town
  • Laser tag
  • Roller skating
  • Explore downtown Lafayette
  • Community service
  • Movies
  • Bowling
  • Shopping
  • Eating out

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Favorite Workout Facility
  • Recreational Sports Center (including the Colby Fitness Center)
  • Outdoors
  • The skating rink at Wabash Landing
  • Boilermaker Aquatic Center
  • Private gym at my apartment complex
  • Cattail Trails north of campus

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Student Photo

 

 
 
   
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