College Need-to-Knows: Purdue Edition

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Every college campus is vastly different from the next, and it can be hard to get the full picture of what day-to-day life is like from a student’s perspective. Here are a few things that we think will be important and helpful to know if you are considering applying to Purdue:


Food

Purdue offers students a choice from 6 different meal plans: Unlimited, 14-Track, 10-Track, 7-Track, 80-Block, and 50-Block. The Unlimited option allows students to stop in to the dining halls as many times as they want throughout the week, whereas the 14, 10, and 7-Track limit students to 14, 10, or 7 swipes into the dining halls per week, respectively. The 14-Track is the recommended plan, but I was on the 7-Track and enjoyed being able to make my own meals when I did not want to go to the dining halls. Finally, students on the 80-Block and 50-Block plan can eat at the dining halls 80 or 50 times per semester. These plans are great for students living off-campus who want the option to eat on campus every once in a while.


At Purdue, every student on a meal plan is given a certain number of Dining Dollars each semester. Lots of schools have a similar system, all with different names and rules, but here is a breakdown of Purdue’s:

Dining Dollars work like a debit card that is refilled every semester. Students can buy groceries from the Boilermaker Market and other stores on campus or get food from chain restaurants such as Panera and Starbucks by just scanning their Purdue ID and the charge will be subtracted from their Dining Dollars for the semester.

Campus

Some say that Purdue is like a small city. You can find everything you need as a student on or right off campus and it is the center of life in West Lafayette. Although there are over 160 buildings on campus, everything is organized to make it easier to get to your classes. The west side of campus is largely made-up of residential buildings (dorms, dining halls, and the Recwell), the central area has lots of buildings that are great for studying and meetings, and the east side of campus is mainly academic buildings (lecture halls, classrooms, and labs). Every residence hall has a dining hall within a 5-minute walk, making it easy to grab food without traveling far. There are also numerous dining halls and restaurants in the academic side of campus to stop in between classes. The academic buildings are also arranged by area of study for the most part which makes it very easy to get between classes on Purdue’s larger campus.

Transportation

Purdue offers students free on and off-campus transportation via buses. These buses are great for students living off-campus without cars as they have bus pick-ups frequently throughout the day. Many on-campus students use them as well in the winter to avoid the cold without having to skip classes. There are stops throughout West Lafayette and Lafayette as well that allow students to access off-campus stores and restaurants easily and for free, which is perfect for grocery shopping and visiting attractions for free.



Although there is a lot to do on campus and in Lafayette, it is fun to get out of town for a day trip, game, concert, etc and visit Indianapolis or Chicago since they are both only 1.5-2 hours away. For those trips, there are shuttles and buses such as Greyhound and Reindeer that pick up students on campus and drop off in Chicago and Indianapolis. Purdue even has a free bus route straight to Indianapolis for all students with buses running multiple times a day.

Dorms/Off-Campus Living

Purdue has 31 residence halls and apartment buildings for students to live in and more coming soon. The most popular room type is a double, where you live in a room with one other person with separate furniture, but there are many other options and number of people to live with so it is easy to find something that will fit your lifestyle. Also, if you want something different from a dorm, Purdue also offers apartment living through the residence portal. In an apartment you have access to your own kitchen and different meal plan options.



Living in a dorm, students also have the option to join a Learning Community, where students of a similar nature live together in the same building to foster bonding with students you will share classes with. Purdue even has a Women in Engineering specific community in Meredith South, one of the newer residence halls.


We hope this information is helpful to those researching colleges so that they can get an insight into life as a Purdue student and clear any confusion on our terminology.

Madison Meunier, ChE ‘27 

Recruitment Project Committee 

 

Stay Connected With Purdue WiE Program! 

Facebook: Purdue Women in Engineering 

Instagram: @purdue.wie 

Blog: purduewiep.blogspot.com 

Email: welink@purdue.edu 

YouTube: Purdue Women in Engineering Program - YouTube 

 

 

Use the hashtag #PurdueWiE on Facebook and Instagram! 


Purdue Women in Engineering

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