Hi!
I am looking forward to applying to Drexel University this fall. I’ve been doing my research about the university and I find it quite discouraging the amount of negative outputs and experiences that previous students have had. So far I’ve really liked the opportunities that it offers, and I don’t really mind that much the social aspect of the school since I want to focus on my academics and my position after graduation. I am scared by the fact that people really complain about the school and end up transferring. I would really appreciate it if someone could give me their own perspective about the school, as most of what I’ve read has to do with the administration and overall the campus atmosphere. I won’t be able to visit the school until I know if I got accepted, and I do not know if I should worry about the things that I’ve read since they are a couple of years old. Thank you!
When I was looking at Drexel in 2013, the same sorta thing happened to me… I took a tour, and it seemed like a pretty good fit for me. And then I started reading reviews online, and I couldn’t believe how much negativity I was reading.
I decided to disregard the reviews (many of which seemed to have been written pre-2010) and attend Drexel anyways. I think it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made. After a few years at DU, I’d say that while there are A LOT of complaints students will make, there are only A FEW legitimate ones. Here’s my take on the most common complaints from Drexel:
-The price: Yeah, it’s pricey. If you’re halfway through your time at Drexel and complaining about it though, that says more about your lack of planning and researching than it does about the school. yes, tuition has gone up each year - but if you did your research you would’ve known to expect that to happen because it does at every other school too. I have never heard of them cutting off someone’s scholarship or financial aid unless it was part of scholarship/aid agreement (I.e your GPA drops below 2.75, you lose your scholarship. They tell that will happen when they give you the scholarship). The price is a valid reason to choose against Drexel - it is not a legitimate complaint once you’re here, in my opinion.
-Freshman Housing quality: People complain about a lot of aspects of housing. Quality, for example. Your freshman dorm room comes with HD cable TV, central heating/AC with your own thermostat, high speed wifi, if you’re LAZY. If you’re smart enough to sign up for housing first (first-come, first-serve process), you have the option of living in a dorm with a view like this (http://drexel.edu/~/media/Images/virtual-tour/locations/millenium-hall-desktop.ashx) or a suite, with 1.5 bathrooms, a living room, and kitchenette IN your room to split between two bedrooms (2 ppl each). If you don’t pay attention and end up in one of the less-desirable freshman dorms, you’re still getting those amenities mentioned above. By and large, if you end up with a room you don’t like, it’s your own damn fault for waiting too long to fill out the housing form.
-Freshman Housing price: Once again, you can see the price of the residence halls before you apply. You can get a tour of the residence halls before you accept. You know what you’re getting and you know what you’ll pay before, much before you have to commit to it.
-Upperclassman housing: Alright, I’ll grant this one as semi-legitimate. Drexel used to have a pretty good policy - Sophomores could live in University Housing (Drexel Residence Hall), Affiliated Housing (Big apartment buildings that are not owned or run by Drexel but are on campus and only lease to students), or Approved Housing (Smaller houses, apartment buildings, etc, in the nearby area in Philadelphia). University Housing being the most expensive, affiliated housing being the middle, and approved housing being the cheapest (400-900 a month). This past year, they took away the Approved housing option - meaning all Sophomores are locked into either a University Residence Hall, or an Affiliated Building. Now, mind you, these affiliated buildings are extremely nice and luxurious, and are still cheaper than Drexel’s own housing - But they are still pricier than splitting a 2 bedroom apartment in a nearby house. The reason I say this is semi-legitimate is because INCOMING students know this policy before they enter - the students who actually got hurt here had this policy changed on them AFTER they had enrolled at Drexel.
-Administration and the “Drexel Shaft” - I’m sure you saw that term a lot in reviews. Does the university occasionally do things that students don’t like? Definitely. For example, they announced this summer that students will now have only the first week of each 10-week quarter to add/drop classes, when the period used to be the first two weeks. I have yet to meet a student who sees the usefulness in this policy, giving you only one week of class to determine if it’ll be too tough or if your load is too heavy, etc. This is one of the few times I’d say that students got “shafted” - screwed over by the university. Most of the time, when I hear “drexel shaft” it’s a student complaining about something that either was totally in their control, or totally out of the university’s control. Your car got towed? That wasn’t Drexel who towed you, and it’s your fault for parking your car where it shouldn’t be. You have two final exams back to back? Well, there’s really no way for the university to schedule all of it’s exams in a timely manner without some people ending up with that. You ran out of dining dollars and now can only eat at the dining halls for the rest of the term? Seems like poor planning on your part.
-Atmosphere: Unless you’re one of the few students who is unable to tour campus prior to the decision deadline, you had the opportunity to see the campus before making the decision. If on your tour, you somehow got the impression that this is a typical college campus with big sprawling greens, where students picnic and take afternoon naps and really aren’t stressed about anything… Well, you must have had your eyes closed and your ears clogged. It’s an urban environment filled with students who are competitive, ambitious, and hard-working - That doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. But if you come to Drexel under the impression that you’ll be getting the “typical” college experience, I don’t know what tour you were on - I think our tour guides (atleast from the ones I’ve been on) do a very good job showing you that you will work harder here than you will most places. But you’ll be way better prepared when you leave here than you would be from most places too.
I know that was an elephant of a post - I’m on the train and forgot my headphones so I don’t have much to do. Hopefully this helped - feel free to ask if you have questions on anything.
It did help a lot! Thank you. I will only be able to visit if I get accepted, but it does sound like a good fit for me. I really love the co-op program and I want an urban campus. It also seems like a great school for the major I am applying ot. (Biomedical Engineering). Thank you for taking time to answer y questions, it is really confusing due to all of the negativity I’ve seen, but I am conscious that college is what you make of it.