<p>Just thought I throw this out there, as it could be a real game changer for anyone.</p>
<p>America's</a> REAL Most Expensive Colleges - Business Insider</p>
<p>… I hate to break it to you, but anyone who is applying to colleges already looks at the cost.</p>
<p>This takes into account only need based grants and not merit aid; Drexel gives out a great deal of merit aid, and Harvard does not give out any, thus Harvard does better than Drexel. It’s a very odd assessment. Plus it is from December 2011 so not exactly breaking news.</p>
<p>That said, too many universities are way too expensive - agreed.</p>
<p>It is easy to get some sort of merit aid from Drexel. Schools like Harvard, Princeton, or Penn meet 100% of determined student need where Drexel does not. If you lack the credentials to get into a better college and parents don’t qualify for financial aid and have money you can get a few grand toward your tuition through one of their easy to get scholarships and can boast about the menial tasks you did on your co-ops. I applied and admitted to Drexel twice as an undergraduate and once in a master’s program and can tell you, the merit aid doesn’t make a dent if you get it. I got nothing for the master’s program and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Perhaps if I shelled out 100k in student loans during my undergraduate, perhaps I would have.</p>
<p>I received 16,000 worth of scholarship without any need-aid, while other schools did not give me more than 1,000-2,000 actually making Drexel cheaper. It varies too widely to put such a blanket statement. As far as sticker price goes it is indeed a high 56,000 - but in my case it turns out cheaper than say; Amherst where I would pay 42,000 after you consider the package they give you.</p>
<p>I had high grades at community college and another college before applying and all I got was 8k. They told me it was because they counted I saved money by attending community college first. Was this amount for 5 years there?</p>
<p>Typical AJ Drexel scholarships are above 20k+ in merit-aid grant. A lot of people get AJ Scholarships.</p>
<p>I did too, albeit on the low-end because I’m a slacker. $19.6k for a 4.01 weighted GPA and 2120 SAT Score.</p>
<p>I don’t know what the deal is, I got a full ride to Drexel, and I cannot say I have the best stats around!</p>
<p>Drexel is known for ungenerous financial aid but everyone knows that Drexel is easy to get in. Penn on the other hand is known for generous financial aid. They are fully aware their students can’t get into highly selective colleges like Penn. Just like other high debt, “prestige” colleges on the list like NYU or American University. One plus is they give merit aid to those that are wealthy but no scholar. So if you are rich and not that smart, you may pay the same as someone from a low income household that didn’t have all the advantages.</p>
<p>You have to remember, even though Drexel students boast about their work experience, what kind of experience and responsibility can a Sophomore in college have? I doubt too many people get a 20k plus scholarship. I had high marks and got 8k a year. They stated me going to community college was a “scholarship”. I had high grades.</p>
<p>@buddy16cat </p>
<p>“They are fully aware their students can’t get into highly selective colleges like Penn”
I got into Tufts and Carnegie Mellon. My cousin got into Penn. Yet both of us attend Drexel. While obviously that might not be the case of most Drexel students, please don’t generalize us.</p>
<p>The last reply on this thread is more than a year old and this isn’t an overly lively forum, so I take it that you just wanted to rant instead of contributing meaningfully to any discussion. But here’s my thoughts anyways:</p>
<p>I’d say that you’re correct about one thing: Drexel is, with the exception of a couple programs, definitely not difficult to get accepted into. But your ideas otherwise seem a bit unfounded… You claim that Drexel’s merit scholarships are dependent upon both income level and merit. Do you have any data to back that up? Or are you assuming that because somebody you know, who can’t possibly be smarter or better than you, got a bigger scholarship? </p>
<p>You also write that Drexel students boast about their work experience. Damn right we do. What other college will you attend that you could be working a 6-month full-time job (I.E not a 2 month office-monkey internship) in Space-X, Tesla, Boeing, DuPont, or even J&J** as early as your second or third year of school? To me, that sounds like something to boast about. </p>
<p>Look man, I’m sad to hear that you didn’t get quite the scholarship you expected. But if you really are so doubtful that Drexel doesn’t give decent scholarships and is essentially a life-debt sentence, I’d encourage you to look through these two threads:</p>
<p><a href=“Drexel University- CLass of 2018 (accepted/Rejected) - Drexel University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/drexel-university/1587675-drexel-university-class-of-2018-accepted-rejected-p1.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“A note on the costs associated with Drexel - Drexel University - College Confidential Forums”>A note on the costs associated with Drexel - Drexel University - College Confidential Forums;
<p>**I’m a STEM major so these are the types of companies I’m familiar with. In terms of other areas such as fashion, design, business, etc, I’m not as aware.</p>
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<p>@Sergey, Please tell us more. Was it merit plus grants plus loans?
I didn’t know that Drexel gave full rides - in fact I didn’t know they gave full tuition? The most I’ve heard about is half-tuition for merit, then a mix of grants & loans.
Very interested because Drexel is on my kid’s “might apply” list.</p>
<p>Edit - Oops - didn’t realize that post was from last year. Still curious if Drexel actually gives full tuition scholarships at all.</p>
<p>@scholarme
I believe Drexel guarantees full tuition merit scholarships to all NMFs. There are also some programs Drexel has that give full scholarships, such as Liberty Scholars. </p>
<p>I also personally have more than half-tuition from merit. Not quite a full ride though… </p>
<p>“Might apply” it’s a free application and there’s no additional essay outside the common app (atleast in my senior year), so your kid “might” as well! </p>
<p>@OnWithTheRiotDU thanks! Free app plus no essay sounds great! “Might as well” as you say!
The co-op program is really attractive, imo.</p>
<p>"I’d say that you’re correct about one thing: Drexel is, with the exception of a couple programs, definitely not difficult to get accepted into. But your ideas otherwise seem a bit unfounded… You claim that Drexel’s merit scholarships are dependent upon both income level and merit. Do you have any data to back that up? Or are you assuming that because somebody you know, who can’t possibly be smarter or better than you, got a bigger scholarship?</p>
<p>You also write that Drexel students boast about their work experience. Damn right we do. What other college will you attend that you could be working a 6-month full-time job (I.E not a 2 month office-monkey internship) in Space-X, Tesla, Boeing, DuPont, or even J&J** as early as your second or third year of school? To me, that sounds like something to boast about."</p>
<p>What kind of jobs do they offer to 2nd and 3rd year college students? Yes, I agree though they are easy to get in and 50% of admitted students don’t attend. They offer merit scholarships though unlike high ranking colleges who only offer need based aid. If you look at College Compass though, people of all income brackets have about the same net cost. I know when I applied there they were big on private student loans until a judge in New York required they refund all the commissions they earned on them. What prompted to you to attend Drexel when admitted to Penn or Carnegie Mellon? Obviously these are higher ranked colleges. I guess it is best to use what you can to boost yourself like pre-graduation work experience. In my field though, computer science, Drexel is ranked third to last. Certainly not worth the crippling private student loan debt. Yes, I do have three admission letters to Drexel along with 2 financial aid awards. Some people though aren’t able to receive financial aid and Drexel does offer merit scholarships unlike colleges like Penn. I believe it though from personal experience that Drexel has one the highest real costs on the nation. I seriously question when people state they were able to attend a college that ranks number 1 for computer science and is highly ranked for other STEM majors and why they attended Drexel instead. Most students that attended Drexel would attend Penn in a heartbeat if they got in. I could be just that, they were ineligible to receive merit aid. I personally would never consider going to Drexel, I don’t consider them an option but the application is free so you are always welcome to try and see what scholarships you will receive.</p>
<p>Here is some references to back my comments along with my personal experiences having three admission letters, two undergraduate and one graduate:
<a href=“The Real Cost of Attending an Expensive East Coast University”>http://www.thecollegesolution.com/the-real-cost-of-attending-an-expensive-east-coast-university/</a>
<a href=“College Navigator - Drexel University”>College Navigator - Drexel University;
<p>In my previous post I mentioned the college compass site, I meant College Navigator. The only site where you can get information on Drexel’s real cost since it is concealed, perhaps out of embarrassment. As I mentioned the free application is a plus. To be honest, I applied to Penn late and they wanted an SAT score despite having 90 college credits and high marks so I was unable to get in. I should have re-applied later. Almost everyone would attend Penn over Drexel unless of course they were seeking merit aid that Ivies usually don’t offer. There aid is strictly need-based.</p>
<p>Like I said though, Drexel’s application is free, you can always apply and see what kind of merit aid they will give you. As far co-op you have to decide if it worth the additional cost. Transfers are only eligible for one co-op experience and there is no way to determine what co-ops you are able to get. Not all students find co-ops right away as well.</p>
<p>@scholarme - Yes! Drexel absolutely still gives full scholarships. I know people who’ve been awarded them. As far as I know, they do not cover room and board. I live within a half hour of Drexel (much faster without traffic), and I know many of the kids who win the full scholarships will live on campus for a year but then end up commuting from home for all or part of their remaining years, particularly if their co-op is somewhere in the suburbs, e.g. King of Prussia, Collegeville, etc. It doesn’t make sense to do a commute like that from Center City. </p>
<p>Thanks! Although I checked on both the drexel & common app sites and they both say the app fee is $50. I guess Drexel isn’t a free app anymore, too bad. Still worth applying though if they do give full tuition.</p>
<p>@scholarme - when we visited Drexel, they said in their presentation that the fee only applies if you apply on paper. At that time - about 7 months ago - it was free to apply online.</p>
<p>Yes, it looks like this year it will cost $50 to apply online to Drexel:</p>
<p><a href=“First-Year Application Instructions”>http://www.drexel.edu/undergrad/apply/freshmen-instructions/</a></p>