Purdue University-Main Campus: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Iowa City, Indiana · Public · Open access · CDS 2024-2025
Purdue University-Main Campus is a public university in Iowa City, Indiana that admits about 85% of applicants, making it a open access school. The average family pays about $21,398 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, Finance and Financial Management Services and Behavioral Sciences, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 75% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 10.1 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Purdue University-Main Campus is a public institution located in Iowa City, Indiana. For the most recent reporting cycle, Purdue University-Main Campus admits the majority of qualified applicants, with an overall admission rate of 85%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1220 and an ACT composite around 26. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $21,398 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Purdue University-Main Campus is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What parents should know about Purdue University-Main Campus right now
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, founded in 1869 after businessman John Purdue donated land and money to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture, with first classes held in September 1874. Purdue is the flagship of the Purdue system, which now includes Purdue University in Indianapolis as an expansion of the West Lafayette campus. With roughly 50,000 students at West Lafayette, Purdue is best known to parents as a STEM powerhouse, particularly in engineering, where the College of Engineering ranks among the top public engineering schools in the country, and in computer science, aviation, and agriculture. The Mitch Daniels School of Business, renamed in 2023 in honor of the former university president, has rapidly expanded its analytics and supply-chain offerings. A defining feature of Purdue for cost-conscious families is its tuition freeze, which has held undergraduate tuition at the same rate for more than a decade, an unusual commitment among flagship public universities. Purdue has continued to publish admission decisions early through its non-binding Early Action cycle and uses a major-specific review, so the intended program materially affects selectivity. Recent news worth tracking includes the rapid growth of Purdue Indianapolis since 2024 and continued expansion of semiconductor and hypersonics research partnerships funded through federal CHIPS Act and Department of Defense investment.
What GPA does my child need for Purdue University-Main Campus?
Purdue University-Main Campus has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Purdue University-Main Campus weight in admissions?
Purdue University-Main Campus reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Class rank
- • Academic GPA
- • Standardized test scores
- • Recommendations
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • State residency
- • Application essay
- • Interview
- • Extracurricular activities
- • First generation status
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Level of applicant's interest
SAT and ACT scores Purdue University-Main Campus typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 560–660, with an EBRW midpoint near 625. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 22–28. Many applicants here submit scores; even slightly below the average can be competitive when combined with a strong GPA and curriculum.
| 25th percentile | 1140 |
| 50th percentile | 1230 |
| 75th percentile | 1313 |
| % submitting SAT | 15.51% |
| 25th percentile | 21 |
| 50th percentile | 24 |
| 75th percentile | 28 |
| % submitting ACT | 56.62% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
How much does Purdue University-Main Campus actually cost?
Published tuition is $10,964 for in-state students and $32,927 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $12,616 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $21,398 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 18% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | — |
| Room and board | — |
| Average net price (after aid) | $21,398 |
| Application fee | $55 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Purdue University-Main Campus
| Regular deadline | May 1 |
| Notification date | Rolling beginning August 1 |
| Reply deadline | May 1 |
| Rolling admissions | Yes |
Will my child graduate from Purdue University-Main Campus?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Most popular majors at Purdue University-Main Campus
The most popular undergraduate programs at Purdue University-Main Campus, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, Finance and Financial Management Services and Behavioral Sciences. Across all programs, Purdue University-Main Campus confers roughly 2,308 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness program report a median income of about $65,473 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 511 | $65,473 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 379 | $89,537 |
| Behavioral Sciences | 315 | — |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 245 | $80,929 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 240 | $73,476 |
| Marketing | 234 | $75,795 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 201 | $96,419 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 183 | $59,491 |
Is Purdue University-Main Campus safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Purdue University-Main Campus disclosed 225 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 10.1 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 108 violent offenses and 78 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at Purdue University-Main Campus?
About 28% of undergraduates at Purdue University-Main Campus live in campus housing, so a meaningful share of students commute or live off campus. In Greek life, 18% of men join a fraternity and 24% of women join a sorority. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
Other colleges in Indiana parents ask about
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Purdue University-Main Campus
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Purdue University-Main Campus recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Purdue University-Main Campus
What GPA do I need for Purdue University-Main Campus?
Purdue University-Main Campus has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission.
What SAT or ACT score does Purdue University-Main Campus typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 560–660, with an EBRW midpoint near 625. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 22–28.
How much does Purdue University-Main Campus actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Purdue University-Main Campus after grants and scholarships is $21,398 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Purdue University-Main Campus realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Purdue University-Main Campus is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Purdue University-Main Campus?
Purdue University-Main Campus accepts about 85% of applicants out of roughly 27,770 who apply each year. It admits the majority of qualified applicants.
Is Purdue University-Main Campus test-optional?
Yes. Purdue University-Main Campus is test-optional, so SAT and ACT scores are not required, but strong scores can still be submitted and will be considered.
What is the graduation rate at Purdue University-Main Campus?
About 75% of students at Purdue University-Main Campus graduate within six years. 90% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
What does Purdue University-Main Campus look for in applicants?
Purdue University-Main Campus rates course rigor, class rank, GPA and test scores as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Purdue University-Main Campus a public or private school, and where is it located?
Purdue University-Main Campus is a public institution located in Iowa City, Indiana.
What are the most popular majors at Purdue University-Main Campus?
The largest undergraduate majors at Purdue University-Main Campus by annual graduates are Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, Finance and Financial Management Services and Behavioral Sciences. The school awards about 2,308 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Purdue University-Main Campus safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Purdue University-Main Campus reported 225 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 10.1 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at Purdue University-Main Campus?
At Purdue University-Main Campus, 28% of undergraduates live on campus, 18% of men are in fraternities, 24% of women are in sororities, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Purdue University-Main Campus, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.