Navigating Purdue as a fully online student

During the ongoing pandemic, asynchronous lectures have become a huge part of Purdue’s online university experience. My friend once compared asynchronous lectures to a love-hate relationship. The more I think about it, the more I realize how true her statement is. Online university and recorded lectures remove the organized structure of fixed schedules and locations. You can watch lectures at your own convenience, whenever and wherever you want. This can be an advantage, particularly if you are not an early morning person like me. but at the same time, the temptation of procrastination can be too strong. I have to admit that I am somewhat guilty of the latter. However, I learnt from my fall 2020 online experience, took advantage of Purdue’s resources and created a customized, fixed schedule for myself which helped me stay on track with all of my courses and extracurriculars way better compared to Fall 2020. 

Shruti and her friends at the Hong Kong Harbor (Photo taken prior to COVID-19 Pandemic)

Being a fully online student and an international student is difficult. You have to deal with miscommunication, time zone differences and potentially no friends in your classes. Luckily, Purdue provides solutions for these challenges. An aspect of recorded lectures is the increased probability of miscommunication and misinterpretation of academic concepts. You can’t really raise your hand or ask your classmates as you would do in a traditional class setting. The most obvious solution to this is attending office hours but this can be difficult if you live in a different time zone. I have a time difference of 12 hours from Purdue which means most of my professor’s office hours lie between 12 to 5 in the morning, which isn’t always feasible if you ask me. But Purdue professors are understanding and happy to help in whatever way possible. So I encourage you to send an email to set up a one-on-one session to clear your doubts even though it can be sometimes nerve-wracking and difficult. All you need to do is ask. In addition to this, some courses offer learning management systems or forums such as Piazza which enable both on campus and online students to post questions and interact with one another. Moreover, there are several non-official Purdue GroupMe chats where you can clear your doubts with your peers. In fact, there are over 50 WIEP study groups on GroupMe. 

Friendships and social life are arguably one of the most significant drawbacks of online university. When you are living on campus, you run into people in your classes, residence halls and literally anywhere else you can think of. Unfortunately, online universities might lack as much face-to-face interactions. The online experience can be very similar to courses you take on Coursera or EDx or the instructional videos you can watch on YouTube. For me, it was initially hard to make friends in spite of being on several WhatsApp and GroupMe chats specifically because there are a large number of people in such group chats. I found out that one of the best ways to meet people online at Purdue is through clubs and extracurriculars. Purdue offers a range of clubs so you can easily find one activity which suits you. There is something for everyone at Purdue. Since large gatherings are not permitted due to Covid-19, most Purdue clubs and activities, including WIEP, have shifted online anyway. Additionally, Purdue hosts online sessions such as the FYE social hour so students can meet other engineers and stay connected with Purdue’s community. I joined the WIEP group mentoring program which consists of hourly meetings in small groups of four to five other women in engineering. We discussed topics ranging from interviews, networking, careers in engineering to budgeting. It was a comfortable space where we could connect and share our experiences. I will forever be grateful to the WIEP group mentoring program to help me feel that sense of belonging despite being several miles apart from Purdue. 

Honestly, I know that sometimes it may feel like the online experience is not as awesome as the traditional university one but we can make the most out of it by maximizing the use of resources that Purdue offers. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone, talk to your professors and join new clubs. In the end, it will all be worth the effort. If you have any questions, comments or want to find out about Purdue's online experience and resources tag us, leave a comment below or follow us!

Shruti Irap, FYE '24

Recruitment Project Committee

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