Among all the campuses we’ve visited, Purdue may have been the least striking in terms of “beauty” standards, but the overall environment and student interaction has been the best.
I personally strongly advocate against picking a school based on how beautiful the campus is—it’s literally my pet-peeve when I see it mentioned at the top of the order; most students will get over the Gothic and Beaux-Arts architecture after landing on the campus; what will make a difference in their sustained happiness is the academic experience and quality of the student body.
I honestly think she felt sad that this wasn’t the place for her. On the way home I asked her when she knew it was not the right place, and she said almost from the first session and that feeling strengthened over the day.
She was planning on rooming with a good friend and broke the news to her when we got home she picked another school over Purdue.
