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Purdue University-Main Campus Data & Information Overview

1111 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
50% Acceptance Rate

Get the facts about Purdue University-Main Campus. Learn how it ranks, what majors it offers, how diverse it is, and much more.

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* Rankings

Where Does Purdue University-Main Campus Rank?

#36 Best Colleges in Nation
#2 Best Colleges in IN
Purdue University-Main Campus ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

Purdue University-Main Campus was awarded 1111 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Ranking

Purdue University-Main Campus is ranked #36 out of 3,449 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.

Within the state, Purdue University-Main Campus holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in Indiana ranking.

See all of the rankings for Purdue University-Main Campus.

How Difficult Is Admission to Purdue University-Main Campus?

50% Acceptance Rate
55% Of Accepted Are Women
79% Submit SAT Scores

Admission Selectivity

Purdue University-Main Campus has an acceptance rate of 50%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for Purdue University-Main Campus.

SAT and ACT Scores

About 79% of students accepted to Purdue University-Main Campus submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 600 and 720. Math scores were between 600 and 760.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Purdue University-Main Campus  ( 600 to 720 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Purdue University-Main Campus  ( 600 to 760 )
200
800

Purdue University-Main Campus received ACT scores from 25% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 27 and 34.

ACT Composite Scores for Purdue University-Main Campus  ( 27 to 34 )
1
36

Learn more about Purdue University-Main Campus admissions.

Instructors at Purdue University-Main Campus

14 to 1 Student to Faculty
97% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

With a student to faculty ratio of 14 to 1, Purdue University-Main Campus is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Purdue University-Main Campus is 97%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  97 out of 100
0
100

Student Success Metrics for Purdue University-Main Campus

92% Freshmen Retention
83% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshman Success

The freshmen retention rate of 92% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Purdue University-Main Campus enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  92 out of 100
0
100

Time to Degree

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Purdue University-Main Campus the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 83%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  83 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Purdue University-Main Campus.

Student Demographics at Purdue University-Main Campus

39,637 Undergraduate Students
30.1% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
42.6% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 39,637 undergraduates at Purdue University-Main Campus.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Purdue University-Main Campus.

Cost of Attending Purdue University-Main Campus

$16,772 Net Price
22% Take Out Loans
$24,544 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Purdue University-Main Campus is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for Purdue University-Main Campus

$0-30 K$30K-48K$48-75$75-110K$110K +
$4,927$5,925$8,948$18,919$21,130

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Purdue University-Main Campus, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Borrowing and Loans

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Purdue University-Main Campus, approximately 22% of students took out student loans averaging $6,136 a year. That adds up to $24,544 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Purdue University-Main Campus.

What Do Purdue University-Main Campus Alumni Earn?

$72,424 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University-Main Campus make about $72,424 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for Purdue University-Main Campus students since it is 47% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at Purdue University-Main Campus make the most money.

Location of Purdue University-Main Campus

Indiana State
39,637 Undergraduate Students
Small City Campus Setting

Purdue University-Main Campus is an public institution situated in West Lafayette, Indiana. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Purdue University-Main Campus.

Location of Purdue University-Main Campus

Contact information for Purdue University-Main Campus are listed below.

Contact Details
Address:Hovde Hall of Administration, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2040
Phone:7654944600
Website:www.purdue.edu
Facebook:www.facebook.com/PurdueUniversity
Twitter:twitter.com/LifeAtPurdue

Purdue University-Main Campus Majors

28 Majors With Completions
29,598 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 28 majors graduated from Purdue University-Main Campus. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular MajorsCompletionsAverage Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies14,799NA
Business Administration & Management934$72,993
Mechanical Engineering819$78,796
Computer Science691$81,749
Electrical Engineering577$90,896
Aeronautical Engineering543$73,518
Child Development & Psychology401$28,965
Computer Engineering370$76,843
Industrial Engineering366$70,780
Management Sciences & Methods345$69,207

Learn more about the majors offered at Purdue University-Main Campus along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Study Options at Purdue University-Main Campus

41% Take At Least One Class Online
2% Take All Classes Online

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

16,312 students took at least one online class at Purdue University-Main Campus.

Learn more about online learning at Purdue University-Main Campus.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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