Purdue University-Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN · Public · Small city · Carnegie R1/R2 · PU · PUMC · Purdue · Purdue-WL · Purdue-West Lafayette

Public institution in West Lafayette, IN · 39,637 undergraduates · 50% acceptance rate · $72,424 median earnings 10 years after entry.

Top 1%Undergraduates
Top 8%Graduation rate (4-year)
Top 10%Median ACT
Top 11%Full-time retention

Stats

College Scorecard figures, each with where this school sits nationally among institutions that report the same measure. A dash means the school does not report it.

Cost

Average net price: $13,945590th cheapest of 1,985 reporting
In-state tuition & fees: $9,992591st cheapest of 2,042 reporting
Out-of-state tuition & fees: $28,7941,211th cheapest of 2,042 reporting
Cost of attendance: $22,567534th cheapest of 1,985 reporting
Median graduate debt: $19,500574th lowest of 1,880 reporting

Outcomes

Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $72,424237th highest of 1,969 reporting
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $60,838235th highest of 1,964 reporting
Graduation rate (4-year): 83.1%169th highest of 2,031 reporting
Full-time retention: 92.0%196th highest of 1,853 reporting

Admissions

Acceptance rate: 50.3%278th most selective of 1,608 reporting
Average SAT: 1342145th highest of 1,024 reporting
Median ACT: 3099th highest of 954 reporting

Campus

Undergraduates: 39,63718th largest of 2,162 reporting
Student-faculty ratio: 14.0:11,172nd smallest of 2,159 reporting
Pell Grant share: 13.0%2,006th highest of 2,140 reporting

Nearest large-hub airport: 104 mi (MDW)

On 6 of our 111 lists

Every published ranking this school appears on, with its rank there.

Applying

EANov 1
RDJan 15

Common App member: Yes
Application fee: $60
Personal essay: Required
Writing supplement: No

Supplemental prompts (2025-26)

Respond in 250 words or fewer.
How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom?
Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected.

Source: Aristotle Circle 2025-26 supplemental prompt roundup

Deadlines and essay flags come from the Common App Requirements Grid, joined by school name. Always confirm against the school’s own admissions page before applying.

Best-paying fields of study

Median earnings one and two years after graduating, by field. Showing 12 of 114 reported programs.

Field	Level	1 yr	2 yr
Computer Science	bachelors	$86,215	$85,981
Construction EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$81,702	$78,343
Computer EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$77,789	$72,448
Chemical EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$73,792	$69,897
Electrical, Electronics and Communications EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$73,549	$69,338
Industrial EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$73,128	$70,057
Mechanical EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$72,483	$71,255
Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralComputer Science	bachelors	$70,806	$68,499
Materials EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$69,338	$68,499
Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$67,507	$63,643
Management Sciences and Quantitative MethodsBusiness	bachelors	$67,473	$63,997
Civil EngineeringEngineering	bachelors	$67,324	$62,707

Campus facts

Founded in 1869source
Athletic nickname: "Boilermakers"source
Mascot: Boilermaker Specialsource
Ross–Ade Stadium seats about 62,500source
Competes in NCAA Division Isource
School colors: Old Gold and Blacksource
Campus size: about 2,660 acressource
Formerly known as "Indiana Agricultural College" (1865–1869)source
Athletic conference: Big Tensource
A [[National Sea Grant College Program institutionsource
A Sea-grant]] institutionsource
A [[National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program institutionsource
A Space-grant]] institutionsource
Football rivalry: Chicago–Purdue (since 1892)source
Plays for the "Purdue Cannon" (since 1890)source
Plays for the "Old Oaken Bucket" (since 1891)source
Plays for the "Shillelagh Trophy" (since 1896)source
2 Nobel laureates affiliatedsource
Fight song: ""[[Hail Purdue!]]""source
Notable alum: Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11 astronaut; first person on the Moon)source
Notable alum: Orville Redenbacher (Popcorn entrepreneur)source
Notable alum: Booth Tarkington (Novelist; two-time Pulitzer Prize winner)source

Athletics — 11 sports

NCAA Division I-FBS · NCAA Division I

Athletic scholarships allowed · Athletic aid $12,831,069 (M $7,893,890 · W $4,937,179)

Self-reported EADA participants (2024-2025). Athletic aid is institution-level, not per sport.

Notable alumni

Neil ArmstrongApollo 11 astronaut; first person on the Moon
Orville RedenbacherPopcorn entrepreneur
Booth TarkingtonNovelist; two-time Pulitzer Prize winnerattended

Illustrative alumni only — not exhaustive and not a quality ranking. Affiliation claims cite Wikipedia/Wikidata; confirm on primary bios before relying on them.