[background music] Hey, what's up? I'm Ferrari St. Paul and this is Youniversity TV where we put you in University. Today we're here at Purdue University, founded in 1869 and named after it's benefactor, John Purdue. This University is one of the few land [inaudible] university's in the United States to be named after a person. Purdue is located on the banks of the Wabash River in West Lafayette, Indiana about an hour north of Indianapolis and about 2 and a half hours southeast of Chicago. Purdue's main campus is nearly 2500 acres and features several malls, fountains, a horticultural park, 2 golf courses and an airport. All buildings on campus, except for management one's, are made of red brick, giving Purdue the classic college look. Time to ride the train. [train whistle] Purdue University is home of the Boiler Makers. You are looking at the world's largest mascot on board for a spin on the Boiler Maker's special. [train whistle] Purdue University enrolls just under 40,000 students, about 31,000 of which are undergraduates. The student body is about 58 percent male to 42 percent female, and minority students make up almost 12 percent of the population.

We are crazy here. We just love getting dressed up all the time. We have so many traditions here.

Fountain runs are definitely a major tradition on campus. They say you have to run through the fountains before you graduate or you're supposed to run through it on graduation day.

Students looking for admission to Purdue apply directly to their major so requirements can vary between different programs.

Well there's a lot of self selection that goes on in students who apply to Purdue because we do expect students to perform in the classroom. We have pretty rigorous expectations once students are here so we look for students who have taken the tough courses in high school and are prepared to be successful.

Ferrari: The average range of SAT scores for incoming freshman are between 1530 and 1880. The average ACT scores range between 23 and 29 and the average GPA runs between 3.3 to 3.9. Tuition and fees for Indiana residents runs about $8600 per year and about $25,000 per year for out of state students. Housing is about an additional $8,700 per year. Purdue offers 200 majors, housed within 12 schools and colleges. Some of the most popular majors include engineering, professional flight, hospitality, tourism management, pharmacy, management and vet school. At Purdue University the sky's the limit. While some students are studying in the classroom, professional flight students are soaring above campus. This is the first University owned airport. Some of the largest colleges on campus include liberal arts, engineering and technology.

No matter what engineering discipline you choose here at Purdue, you're choosing one of the top engineering programs in the world. You're really choosing an environment that is set up for success.

Ferrari: Purdue has around 2700 faculty members and the student to faculty ratio is a very low 14 to 1, enhancing the quality of learning on campus.

I think we aim to change the world.

Purdue's education is cutting edge with a purpose. It's not just research for research sake.

One of my former students right now is responsible for taking new cardiac grafts. So a baby might be born with a hole in the heart and so surgeons will go in and they'll place a graft over that hole and one of student's works with the materials that are used for those graphs. From conception the idea of the new material, all the way up through FDA trials through trials actually in the operating room.

Ferrari: Pump it up with Purdue Pete, the Boiler Maker's number 1 fan cheers on 18 men's and women's varsity teams. Purdue competes at the division 1 level in the Big 10 conference. Students that wish to live on campus have 15 housing options including male, female and coed halls that feature dining courts and quick-service restaurants.

Boiler gold rush really eases the trouble and the fears of coming to college. From the minute you arrive on campus there's people that help you move in.

I was fairly involved with the Boiler gold rush program as both a team leader and team supervisor and it's just a great program. You really meet a lot of fun people. They call it the wave of the family.

Ferrari: With over 800 student clubs and organizations on campus the question isn't what to do outside of class, it's where to begin.

There's all sorts of clubs here, there's like fencing, there's [inaudible] club, we have skydiving club, I have a friend that is actually involved with that as well so it's just really great.

Ferrari: Greek life also plays a big role at Purdue with nearly 80 chapters on campus. Twenty two Purdue alumni have gone into space including the original moonwalker himself, Neal Armstrong. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Neal Armstrong got his start at Purdue University and his legacy lives on. At the Armstrong hall of engineering you can get a taste of space right here on planet earth.

We also just recently received a piece of the moon from Roger Chaffee's widow who presented it at half time at one of our football games. And Neal Armstrong even led the crowd doing shouts.

Ferrari: If you're looking for a University that is large in size but with a small campus feel and has a strong reputation for technological research, be sure to check out Purdue University. Thanks for joining us in West Lafayette, Indiana on our tour of Purdue University. I'm Ferrari St. Paul and I will see you next time.

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