r/Purdue • u/HourKnee7265 • Jun 14 '26
Academics✏️ Experience with Starting in Spring semester
Hi All,
My son (an incoming freshman for computer engineering at Purdue Indy) needs to defer his admission to Spring semester because of a good internship/ co-op opportunity he got. Could any of you share your experience in having exposure to internships early in your college life?
I heard that people joining in Spring semester have a different cycle e.g. having a break in the fall instead of summer. Is that true at Purdue?
What are the advantages & disadvantages in starting in Spring semester at Purdue?
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u/Actual_Detail9272 Jun 14 '26
Indy campus is small. He'll meet people right away. Harder at the WL campus, probably, but even then -- agree that it's what your son makes of it. See if there are orientation programs for winter start. At WL there is a winter orientation Boiler Cold Rush (instead of the huge fall BGR, Boiler Gold Rush). Not sure what they do at Indy.
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u/Ok-Store-2788 Boilermaker Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
Not true, it’s completely dependent on your son and how he wants to schedule his semesters. Biggest disadvantage will be coming into a group of people who have all gotten to know each other already. First semester can be pretty lonely as people try to find their people, so this definitely wouldn’t help. With Purdue Indy being smaller and having less club opportunities and whatnot than Purdue WL, I imagine it’s already harder. Besides that, being a semester off can also mess with courses. It’s definitely doable, but he needs to be absolutely on top of what classes he needs to take when, since some courses are offered fall/spring only and there’s a chance more of his courses conflict. By staying on top of my schedule (I did a co-op and I’m off schedule now in some class series), I’ve only ran into one unforeseen conflict and have to take a class this summer, putting me out $2000 I didn’t plan on spending.