The Engineering Experience

When applying to Purdue for engineering, I’m sure you heard a lot about the FYE program and some of the core engineering classes you will take in your first year. With plenty of different electives and courses available for you to take, it may be a bit confusing to sort through all of the different information. Don’t worry, we will give you a run down of what your FYE experience may look like and talk more about what some of those classes teach! (Disclaimer: If you are interested in the Honors College track check out this blog !) ENGR 13100/13200 If you are not in the Purdue Honors College nor a part of EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) in your first semester at Purdue, you will take ENGR 13100: Transforming Ideas to Innovation I, followed by ENGR 13200: Transforming Ideas to Innovation II during your second semester. These classes focus on introducing engineering projects and group work to freshman FYE students. ENGR 13100 focuses on working on group and individual pro...

     Being an engineer, it can be easy to get caught up in all of the assignments and deadlines from all of your classes. Although it is important to focus on your academics and stay on top of your work, it is also important to give your mind a well-deserved break every once in a while. West Lafayette and Downtown Lafayette have some great options if you’re looking for ways to destress and explore what’s in the area! Downtown Lafayette      Downtown Lafayette has many different types of activities if you want to take a break from studying. You can go and hand-make candles with your own chosen scent at a small candle shop, go to an escape room with friends, or even go axe-throwing! The opportunities are endless, and even simply window shopping through the boutiques and trinkets shops can be the perfect activity to help you clear your head. If you do not have a car on campus, you can take the CityBus to go to various locations downtown, and it is free for Pur...

I absolutely adore my freshman year roommate, and I really could not have asked for anyone better than Lizzy. She is sweet, funny, personable, and a great person to live with for my first year of college. Lizzy and I met online when we read each other’s Facebook profile in the Purdue Class of 2024 group page. We found out that we lived 15 minutes away from each other and ended up having a lot in common. In true COVID lockdown fashion, we even had the opportunity to have a socially-distant get-together and meet each other in person. Once we both settled on Purdue and after many rooming specific discussions, we decided to live together which was one of the best decisions we made freshman year. Your roommate needs to be someone who will respect you and your space the entire year. It is important to make sure both of your habits won’t clash and make it challenging to live together. Looking back on that experience and others I have had with roommates in the years since, I have some tips for...

Kat Kerr is a Purdue Alumna who graduated from the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering in December 2021. She was an active member of the Women in Engineering program and has been incredibly passionate about research since she started at Purdue. She is currently living in Frankfurt, Germany doing research through the Fulbright Scholarship program. She did an interview with us all the way from Germany to share her life from across the world and reflect on her experiences at Purdue! What have you been up to since leaving Purdue? “I can’t believe it has only been a year since I graduated because my life has changed so much since. After I graduated, I moved to Philadelphia and worked in a research lab at the University of Pennsylvania for about 7 months. In April 2022, I heard that I had been accepted to the Fulbright Scholarship and that I was moving to Frankfurt, Germany! I am currently doing computational vascular biomechanics research here in Frankfurt. There is also another program...

Choosing a college is not an easy choice.  Sometimes it can be hard to differentiate between schools once you look past cost and location.  When it came to my college search, I found out that if I asked the question “what makes this school different from the others?”, I could better compare schools. Here were a few of the things at Purdue that were unique compared to other schools in my eyes. The Women in Engineering Program The main thing that stood out about Purdue to me was how personable the women in engineering program was to me. Out of all 12 schools I applied to, they were the only school to send me a handwritten postcard.  After I found out I got in and got my postcard, I then reached out to the women in engineering program to ask for a one-on-one tour, as during my senior year of high school Purdue’s regular tours were not going inside buildings and I wanted to see what a typical classroom would look like.  The women in engineering program then personally co...