Georgia – Purdue University
Semester 1&2, 2024
Bachelor of Design – International
Hello! My name is Georgia, I am an Interaction (UX) design student here at QUT, and I just came back from the most amazing study abroad program in the United States at Purdue University in Indiana, and I’d love to tell you all about it. I initially went for 2 semesters but ended up doing another semester when I realised I hadn’t taken enough credits, so here’s my story on what I went through in my year and a half overseas.
About Purdue University
Purdue is a great university for engineering, and computer based degrees. Neil Armstrong studied aerospace engineering here so the reputation of the school is very high. It is one of the top public universities in America so if you are looking to work in the US after you graduate, this university will look great on your resume. I studied UX design which is in the Polytechnic School and it’s really hard to get into because of the high demand of students wanting to study it, so if you want to study UX design at Purdue, make sure you make your class preference choices early on so the positions don’t fill up too quickly.
Before I left
I found it very important to have everything under control before I left, so I organised my flights to and from the US a few months before I left. I also organised my visa and accommodation before I left too so all I had to do when I got there was organise my arrival information (it’s called an I-94 form, and Purdue will provide more information to you about it, once you arrive in the US). I also found it very helpful to organise a US sim card so that I’d have an American phone number, and an American bank account as well. If you want to get a job on campus, you’ll need to get a Social Security Number, which the on-campus jobs can help you with.
Once I arrived
Immigration was a bit of a process but if you have all of your documents on you (passport with visa, return flight information, DS-2019 form) it will go smoothly. For me, I arrived into San Francisco because it is a little less chaotic than LAX, however that’s up to you. From there, I flew into Chicago, but you can fly into Indianapolis too as it’s a bit closer to campus than Chicago airport is. From both airports there are shuttle services that take you straight to campus, which I found very helpful.
Accommodation and transport
I lived in on-campus housing for my first year and then off-campus housing for my last semester, so I have experience in both accommodation options. The positives of living in on-campus housing were that your rent is paid all upfront at the start of the semester, and it includes a meal plan, so you can eat at the dining courts (kind of like cafeterias) for three meals a day. I’d say it’s an ideal living situation for freshman (normally 18-19 years old) and sophomores (normally 19-20 years old) because you can live with people your age and make great friends within your dorm. The negatives are that the dorms are a bit far from campus, which is a pain in winter when it gets up to -20° and you have to walk 30 minutes to class, and you don’t get to choose which dorm you’re placed in. With off-campus housing, they are a lot more expensive, but are much closer to the centre of campus. I would definitely recommend off-campus housing for juniors (normally 20-21 years old) and seniors (normally 21-22 years old) because it provides you with more freedom, it’s closer to restaurants, bars and campus as well. The negatives are obviously rent price, and that a meal plan isn’t included.
With transport, there’s a bus that goes all around campus, and is free to all students. Also, Ubers are very cheap and there’s heaps around, especially on nights out.
Orientation
There is an orientation week called Boiler Gold Rush which is organised by the school. It’s mainly for those who are just starting university so the students are all 18-19 years old and it costs $350 so I didn’t feel the need to do it. The university also sends you information on how to enrol in classes, how to get to certain class buildings and what books and tools you’ll need to buy for your classes. You’ll also be given an advisor who can help you with classes and enrolment and time table scheduling. If you have any questions about anything, they are the person to ask.
Classes, homework, and exams
I found that compared to QUT, the classes over here gave much more day to day homework. For example, most classes are every two days, so if you are given homework in your Monday class, it’s due the Wednesday before class. Most assignments are due at the end of the week at 11:59pm and depending on what you study, you can be given more assignments and homework than exams. With exams, normally you have mid-term exams, which are in the middle of the term, and finals, which are the week after classes end. All classwork will go towards those exams so make sure you don’t procrastinate because there’s lots of content that goes into these exams! There’s also Career Fairs which are really good experiences to go to because hundreds of companies around the US come to interview people for future jobs, so if you are looking to work in the US after graduation, those are really good to attend. You make a lot of connections and meet a lot of interesting people in your field of study.
Meeting People
I got really lucky and met a girl in my first class on my first day of school who introduced me to her friend group, but there’s so many opportunities to meet people at Purdue. There are countless clubs that you can join and there’s also Greek life (sororities and frats). There’s also a club called PASSPORT which is only for study abroad students or Purdue students who have done a study abroad, so that’s also a great way to meet other international students who are studying at Purdue. I would say that college life in the US is very different to university life in Australia, so making American friends is a great way to involve yourself fully in the American college experience.
College Life
I experienced countless football games and basketball games which was so much fun and so different from anything I’d ever experienced back home. I would definitely recommend going to as many games as you can because depending on if it’s the Fall Semester (August to December) or the Spring Semester (January to May) there’s different sporting events to involve yourself in. Also, if you’re above the age of 21, there’s heaps of events that you can go to like bar crawls, trivia nights, and tailgates. They’re mostly on weekends, so make sure you get all your studying done throughout the week! If you’re wanting to get a job on campus for some extra money as well, the easiest jobs for international students, is to work in the dining courts. The hours aren’t too long and you get a free meal with every shift.
My Experience
I had always wanted to go to the US to see if the college experience really was what it looked like in the movies, and I can honestly say that it’s pretty much the same! I had the time of my life over there and I would honestly recommend it to anyone who is wanting to experience a different university culture. I’ve made friends and connections for life and I couldn’t be more grateful. If I can give any top tips, it would be to take warm clothing (because it gets really cold), take a lot of money with you (so you can enjoy everything fully), and say yes to every opportunity that’s presented to you.
Find out how you can apply for exchange via the QUT Student Exchange website.
