Despite my love of the state of Indiana (and my love of colleges), I had never been to Purdue until this tour. Blame it on the fact that both of my parents went to IU, but the spirit had never moved me to visit Boilermaker country. I'm going to level with you: Purdue really exceeded all of my expectations. I knew ahead of time that all four of the colleges we were going to were great, but I was pleasantly surprised by our time at Purdue. Perhaps due to my parent's indoctrination, I had a perception that while Purdue was a top notch school, particularly for Engineers and other STEM majors it wasn't as visually welcoming as IU. Boy, was I wrong. Yes, the architecture is different and the limestone is less dominant, but it had just as many classic red brick buildings as Amherst. It also felt like every single building we visited was either brand new or had been renovated in the past 10 years. Whatever capital improvements that have been made to counteract the stereotypes about visual appeal have worked. Aside from the aesthetics though, I was also impressed with the facilities. They have a huge building where students can build sections of life size buildings and bridges to test their designs in a safe environment. They are not just about the sciences and engineering though, students can also pursue business, agriculture and the liberal arts. Purdue combines a great reputation with an impressive campus. The Wall Street Journal lists Purdue as the second most popular school by recruiters and 1 in 50 engineers in the US are Purdue alumni. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all.
Our day ended at Butler University, a place where I took my SATs and spent a summer during college as a Clowes Hall intern, but a school where I had never been on an official tour. (Full confession, they had me from the minute we walked off the bus when they allowed us to each take our picture with Blue II, the Butler mascot - an English Bulldog.) I was already a fan of Butler basketball and having the chance to pet Blue II was a serious thrill. The Admission Office's impressive series of events only went up from there when we were treated to a variety of Starbucks drinks ready and waiting for us as we passed through the bookstore. Well played. Then, the piece de resistance was the opportunity for any interested counselor to shoot some hoops on the floor of Hinkle Fieldhouse (of Hoosiers fame). I passed on the free throws, but Butler deserves major props for integrating some really creative ideas into our time on campus. On our visit we heard from various departments and staff members. Highlights include things like the fact that business students run an investment portfolio with $1 million of the school's endowment. Education students complete an entire year of student teaching, double what is required at most schools. Pre-Pharmacy and Physician's Assistant programs can include auto-enrollment into the programs themselves as long as minimum criteria are met for students admitted as freshman. Lastly, they highlighted the audio engineering and recording opportunities - programs for students that are not necessarily musicians. Overall, Butler is a small place that does a variety of things very very well. It is a Division I NCAA campus near a city with a true campus. Not an easy combination to find (similar options would be places like Davidson, though Davidson is more selective in terms of admission).
The four schools we got to see in Indiana on Monday and Tuesday were a great sample of the variety that can be found in the Midwest. The best part? Every school I saw would be a target or likely for most ElRo students. A huge thank you to the Admissions Staff at each of the four schools involved, your generosity and planning helped me see four great campuses!
Tomorrow - New Orleans Pre-NACAC!
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