<p>Does anyone know anything about this school? I have a friend whose daughter is number one in the class(of about 500 students) and is very interested in this school. She is a high school junior with no test scores yet. We are sure she can get in, but are wondering about academics, etc. I would appreciate any information. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>momof5, I don't know a lot but D and I did a driveby (about 2 hours wandering on our own) back in March. The campus did not appear unsafe although it was clearly in town and not suburban. The buildings were not as architecturally significant as some but appeared to be well maintained. The kids we talked to loved it and we didn't meet any who had negative comments. </p>
<p>Seemed to be a very good MOR (middle of the road ) school with happy pre-professional kids getting a good education. Very few counterculture, pierced, Marilyn Manson types, and no significant truly moneyed preppy contingent either. Sorry I can't help but I have suggested to several kids that they take a look. I had a positive first impression.</p>
<p>I had a very close friend (a year ahead in school) who attended Drake for 1.5 years until she transferred to the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She was quite unhappy with the social scene; the majority of the students did nothing but drink from Thursday to Sunday. She was also unhappy with the large amount of pre-professional students as a person that wanted to explore her options in college. I went to visit her when I was a senior in high school and while I like the campus enough, I did not click at all with the students or the atmosphere - I couldn't wait to leave the place (and I was stuck there for 4 days!). It seems that the majority of the students are from Iowa and surrounding states, and many leave campus on the weekends. There is not a lot to do on-campus and many students have cars and go to Des Moines for a more social scene (though there's not really a lot to do in the city of Des Moines either...). Most of the people that I know that go there/have gone there do like it though. I think it's really a place to go visit and get an idea for yourself. They offer a lot of merit scholarships as well, so that's also something to look into. Let me know if you have any more questions!</p>