A note on the costs associated with Drexel

Colleges and Universities A-Z Drexel University
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<p>Hey everybody,
I'm a current Drexel undergrad and I just wanted to share my thoughts about the costs associated with a Drexel education with you. I'm not even twenty years old yet yet, so I know there are many things that the parents on this forum do know that I don't. For that reason, I really welcome and encourage insight and feedback from you guys. My parents and I went through the same process you did last year. In the end, this is what helped me choose Drexel.</p>

<p>This is aimed more towards students in STEM, especially Engineering:</p>

<p>Drexel tuition on five-year plan: ~$36,000
Now, let's say you have a $16,000 scholarship (Which is somewhat lower than many of what I've seen users posting so far in the accepted-student thread).
Your tuition every year is about $20,000. I don't know what other schools you are looking at that are so much better than that. For me, in my state (NJ), the state school gave out very little, if anything to non top-tier students, and tuition was about $14,000. Not an enourmous difference, but still substantial, yes.</p>

<p>Now, let's factor in that on the five year plan, you will be doing three Co-Ops.
In engineering, the average Co-Op salary is close to $17,000. So three of your five years of paying tuition, you will be earning back close to what you're paying in tuition. </p>

<p>In other words, your finances would look like this:
Year 1: -$36,000 for tuition + $16,000 scholarship + 0 co-op = -$20,000
Year 2: -$36,000 for tuition + $16,000 scholarship + $14,500 co-op = -$5,500
Year 3: -$36,000 for tuition + $16,000 scholarship + $16,500 co-op = -$3,500
Year 4: -$36,000 for tuition + $16,000 scholarship + $18,500 co-op = -$1,500
Year 5: -$36,000 for tuition + $16,000 scholarship + 0 co-cop = -$20,000</p>

<p>Over the course of 5 years, that degree costs just over $50,000.</p>

<p>I don't know what other students might have gotten as scholarships to other private schools, but for me, I got nothing nearly close to that at any of the other private schools I got into (Northeastern, Tufts, Stevens). As I mentioned before, Rutgers (NJ State School), gave me close to no scholarship, while Drexel gave me close to 20k/year. Rutgers in-state tuition is close to $12k, I believe. That $12k x 4 is $48,000. Not too far off from Drexel's total cost.</p>

<p>Now, obviously, there are other factors that I omitted. Housing and Fees also play a big part in cost. I'm not going to bother number-crunching, but I don't imagine that, over the course of 4-5 years, these differ strongly from one school to another. At the same time, there are intrinsic factors that I omitted as well. For example, those three Co-Ops total to about 1.5 years of industry experience. That's usually enough to bump up starting salaries by a decent factor (That experience moves you out of entry-level). </p>

<p>Also, Drexel has a BS/MS program in most majors/departments which allows students to simultaneously complete the coursework for a BS and an MS in no extra time, with no added cost. While the program is rigorous, I think the advantages of graduating with a master's degree when you're barely 23 definitely make it worthwhile. </p>

<p>And my last note:
Don't be afraid of high-priced schools. Yes, they will hit your wallet and your bank account. But think, that money has to go SOMEWHERE, right? </p>

<p>If it's going to the teachers/staff, isn't that a good thing?
If it's being spent on campus improvement, isn't that a good thing?
If it's being used to fund research, isn't that a good thing?
If it's being put into resources for the students, isn't that a good thing?
If it's being put into the graduate schools, isn't that a good thing? (Better stipends attract better prospective grad students, who will likely end up as TA's in undergrad classes)</p>

<p>Ultimately, paying a lot of money for the school isn't necessarily an indicator that the school's not worth it. A high priced education sometimes IS worth more than a cheaper one.</p>

<p>If you have any comments/questions/arguements/insight, please don't hesitate to share them! </p>

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<p>Thanks. </p>

<p>The cost of room and board were the highest out of the other colleges we applied to. Our financial packet total for one year (4 yr with One co-op) was $68,000!!! Even with a scholarship, it is ridiculous!!! </p>

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<p>This seems reasonable. However, it would also be reasonable to add back in your lost wages (opportunity cost). In other words, what would you have earned as an engineer in year “5”. Your 5 year calculation for tuition was a net $50k. I have no idea what a first year engineer makes, but let’s say it is $50k (it may be higher), then your actual cost of attending Drexel might be $100k. (plus all of the other costs of course). Now,keep in mind I am a HUGE fan of Drexel and encourage students to go there. And, the value of coop experience is worth it (assuming one can obtain these coops). </p>

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<p>A lot of co-ops are unpaid though, so this whole “earning your money back” thing may not apply to everyone</p>

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<p>So with your calculations, it sounds like Room/Board is free during co-op? I would imagine that a significant portion of your co-op hourly rate will take a hit with room/board costs.</p>

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<p>Thank you guys for your input, I think you all brought up some valid points. I’ll attempt to <em>diffuse them</em> here:</p>

<p>@PERplexD: Cost of Room and Board (Drexel vs Other Schools)
I don’t remember too much about what other schools cost for Room & Board in their residence halls, but one thing to consider is that while Drexel’s dorms are expensive, students typically only live in them for one year. After that, students have the ability to live off-campus in the surrounding area, University City in their second year and anywhere they want by their third year. University City is already an inexpensive place to live, but as a third year, you have the ability to live anywhere in Philadelphia. I have an upperclassmen friend who pays close to $500 a month for his housing and only lives 10 minutes away from the school. I feel like that ability to save money in later years outweighs the cost of that earlier year.</p>

<p>Also, one thing that I can recount from my personal experience is that Drexel’s residence halls are much nicer and offer a lot more to the students than any other college I looked into’s. I’d be happy to elaborate more if need be.</p>

<p>@gdt5151: Lost year of school.
I think this is a reasonable and very valid point. You do graduate a year after your peers from High School. However, remember that your starting salary may likely be higher because of the 1.5 years of experience that you gained over your peers. </p>

<p>@andrewp173 Un-Paid Co-Ops
Remember, this post is aimed towards STEM (especially Engineering) students. So you make a valid point that this doesn’t apply to everyone, but I wasn’t trying to state that it does. While not all Co-Ops, even in these fields, are paid, the majority are. The ones that aren’t are typically only chosen by students because they see the experience from that specific unpaid co-op as being worth more than the salary+experience from another (EX: Student might choose NASA’s unpaid Co-Op over a paid Co-Op with Carpenter Steel Company because they think NASA would provide a more valuable experience than the salary and experience from CSC).</p>

<p>Here’s some relavant info:
<a href=“https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1.0-9/1014094_638336769536288_1622685406_n.jpg”>https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1.0-9/1014094_638336769536288_1622685406_n.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://drexel.edu/scdc/employers/hire-undergraduate/process/salary-guide/”>http://drexel.edu/scdc/employers/hire-undergraduate/process/salary-guide/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>@HighAltitude: Living Expenses During Co-Op
I think you should think about it this way. During Co-Op, you will be living

  1. At home
  2. In the same place you live as a Drexel student (90% of Drexel students Co-Op maintain their school-year housin when they go on Co-Op)
  3. Independently, near the Co-Op</p>

<p>1) Living at home is obviously cheaper than anything else, so that doesn’t need explaining.
2) See my first big paragraph about what it costs to live at Drexel.
3) Living independently near the Co-Op shouldn’t cost anymore (Probably costs less actually) than it costs to live at any other University. In addition, as I’ve been told, some companies offer stipends to cover living expenses, and some companies (if they have Co-Op positions frequently/ year-around) just have an apartment set for their Co-Op employees to live in. </p>

<p>Thank you guys for the insight, I of course welcome more feedback and ideas!</p>

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<p>Hi OnWithTheRiotDU</p>

<p>Your insights have been very helpful for all of us and I want to thank you on behalf of all of us for that.
I also had a couple of questions for you.</p>

<p>Do you know anything about the financial package for international students? What is the average package? Are they comfortable at Drexel?</p>

<p>Is the Pennoni Honors college very selective to get into? I’ve got a 2100 in my SAT and 30 composite ACT, are my chances good?</p>

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<p>I don’t understand your counterpoint? During co-op, there is a very real room/board cost that you are not accounting for? Where I am mistaken?</p>

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<p>I don’t know RiotDu, the cost are way higher than that on the Drexel Web site and the info packet say $68K, and the the dorms are not all that nice. The have the basic necessities but that is about it, nothing to differentiate Drexel. </p>

<p>It is a great school but I can’t see you calculations working those are 68,000 real dollars you have to pony up.</p>

<p><a href=“Prospective Students | Drexel Central”>http://www.drexel.edu/drexelcentral/finaid/financing/prospective_freshmen/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thank you guys for your responses!</p>

<p>@namelessfreak
I can’t really tell you anything about financial aid for international students :frowning: sorry. I don’t know if you asking “Are they comfortable?” pertains to their situation or with their finances. In terms of finances, again, I have no idea how “comfortable” international students are. In terms of their undergraduate experience at Drexel, however, I think most students are happy. Drexel has a lot of international students from all over the world. While occasionally, you do find a slightly more ethnocentric group (A group of international students who tend only to associate with each other), the vast majority of international students seem to be just as integrated into the Drexel community as everyone else. Two of my floor-mates are international students (One is from Brazil, the other from Dubai) and while it was fun to see them go through the various stages of culture shock the first few weeks, they seem well-adjusted and happy now. </p>

<p>In terms of the honors college, I have no idea whether you’d get in or not. I got in and my SAT score wasn’t as good as yours, but I think there’s more to the selection criteria than that. I don’t think it’s overly selective though. I discussed this more in-depth with a parent here:
<a href=“Drexel versus Northeastern for Mechanical Engineering and Honors college - Drexel University - College Confidential Forums”>Drexel versus Northeastern for Mechanical Engineering and Honors college - Drexel University - College Confidential Forums;

<p>@HighAltitude
You are right that there may be a real housing cost associated with being on co-op. You are right that I did not account for it. I think I simply wasn’t explicit enough, so my apologies. Let me try to clarify:</p>

<p>This post isn’t a break-down of the total costs of a Drexel University education. I thought that was sort of implied through the content of the post. This post serves to show how Drexel costs compared to another college education. Of course there is a very real cost associated with room/board while on Co-Op. But, as I denoted in my previous post, there’s a very real cost associated with room/board anywhere, doing anything. The reason I don’t calculate the cost of room/board, as I noted in the post in the first place, is because there will be room/board regardless of where you go and what you do. </p>

<p>Hopefully that makes a little bit more sense. </p>

<p>@EFCShock
I appreciate your insight. I’m not quite sure you fully understood the majority of the points I was making in my post though. As I noted to another user in a previous paragraph in this reply, this is a comparison of a Drexel Education to another college education. In addition, you seem to miss the factor of scholarship that I accounted for in my calculations. Thank you for the link though! I’d suggest maybe re-reading the post in-full. If you have any other questions, please ask.</p>

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<p>@HighAltitude, one great thing about co-op, is that you don’t have to be working in the Philadelphia area. You can feasibly find a position near home (wherever that may be), and get out of your housing contract. </p>

<p>I lived on campus my freshman year, and part of my sophomore year, because based on my social situation, I knew I would have a harder time making friends otherwise. My first co-op is at Drexel, but I just moved out of housing and will be commuting from about an hour away to save money. </p>

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<p>I’ll add another point. Engineering students (especially CS) at non-co-op schools can often get nicely paid summer internships. In between 4 years of school, you have the opportunity for three 12-week internships. I can’t give you averages, but I’ve known CS students to earn between $10K and $18K in 12 weeks, with housing covered by the employer. For fields outside of CS, it will be more difficult to get paid internships all 3 summers, so that is one advantage of co-op over the regular summer internship approach. And you do graduate with more experience, but as others have said, you do it a year later, during which time your peers at non-co-op schools are adding additional experience at their first full-time job. There’s no free lunch either with co-op or non-co-op. I was a co-op student myself, and I happen to think it’s an outstanding way to get experience before graduation, but it’s not the only way.</p>