<p>How is the advising? How difficult is it to get needed courses? Is there red tape? Do things run smoothly? Thanks.</p>
<p>Also, how are the academic supports (ie: writing center, getting a tutor if needed)?</p>
<p>Out of the 27 people who read this post, someone is a current student or a parent of a current student, or even a faculty member. Please respond if you are lurking! Feel free to send a PM if you feel more comfortable.</p>
<p>Hi - just stumbled upon this post. Don’t know if it will help, but my D graduated from Drew, and I don’t think she had much of a problem with getting course selections, maybe once or twice, but it usually worked out without a problem. She made use of academic support for an internship and resume writing, but didn’t need the others. However, she did have some other issues for which she needed disability support. Once the proper documentation was in place, that worked out well, and I felt they supported her well throughout her time there. She liked the “small” college feel that Drew had, and for the most part was happy with the professors and the staff. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>OneofEach, thank you so much for helping! Yes, it helps a lot. I am glad that your D did well at Drew, and I am glad to hear that she was supported where she needed it and was successful. That speaks volumes!</p>
<p>Thank you for registering here just to answer my questions! I truly appreciate it.</p>
<p>Hi Northeastern MOm
I am one of those lurkers! I live in Madison and know some people that work at Drew so I usually read the Drew board to see if there are generic questions I can answer. Unfortunately I don’t have the answers to your specific questions.</p>
<p>scoutmom, thanks for giving it a try anyway!</p>
<p>Hi NEmom et al.</p>
<p>My D has just completed her second year at Drew. With a very few exceptions, she has gotten into virtually all the courses she wanted and has had a decent schedule every semester. My sense is that her advisement experience has been mostly fine. Note however that like at most places, advisement is probably best once a student has committed to a major. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Cadbury, hi! Thanks for posting. Is your D still happy at Drew?</p>
<p>Also, does she find that a car is necessary?</p>
<p>Hi again!</p>
<p>Freshman year was a little tough for D for all the usual reasons: being away from home for the first time, mono, roommate issues, etc. But she really seemed to settle in and had a great sophomore year. She went to Argentina on a Drew International Seminar (DIS) over Jan intersession and is planning to study abroad next year.</p>
<p>Not having a car has not been a major issue for her. She had a bike on campus this year, she occasionally takes the commuter train into NYC, she takes the bus home from Port Authority for breaks, and she has some friends on campus with cars. Also, Drew is a college member of zipcar, but D did not enroll in the program this year.</p>
<p>I’d be glad to try to answer any other questions, but please note that I’ll be offline for awhile.</p>
<p>I’d like to add that they did have a van to Stop & Shop but I’m not sure it’s still being used. This year, my son knew someone with a car, so he would go or give them money to pick up some things. It’s something to ask about though.</p>
<p>cadbury, thank you for the info!</p>
<p>Debruns, thanks, that is good to know too. As far as your son’s experience, how do you feel his advising has been and has he been able to get needed classes? Has he experienced red tape? Does he find that things run smoothly? I don’t know if your son has used the academic supports, or if he knows about them through friends. If he does know about these programs, what does he think about them?</p>
<p>I don’t think my son has had any major difficulties. His advising had been fine, they helped him get into a class independently because of his schedule and have kept him on track with what he needs for his major/minor. I think it would even be better if my son was more aggressive in asking questions, etc. , sometimes he just uses the Internet for answers to let’s say, grad school questions, when he can pick their brains too.
He has tutored for his major and says there are tutors available for every subject and writing. They also have support for students with different impairments.
He has never found a professor not available for help during office hours and many will have you email them to set up another time if you can’t do it then.
Being a small school, he found 1 class he might need for some grad schools (education class)not available but other than that, he hasn’t found any problem with his major/minors. The only other issue being a small school, is that postions in labs as an assistant or helping in other ways isn’t going to be what it would be at a larger university. Of course not all those students get internships, but the ratio is probably higher. Also my son lives out of state, so many opportunites he couldn’t partake in for jobs/internships over the year and summer. We unfortunately couldn’t pay for him to stay any longer and although they have scholarships for helping toward board, etc. he would break even or have to pay some toward tuiton, but wouldn’t have any money to put toward the following year. He has to contribute a few thousand to keep the loans down. For some, that wasn’t an issue, cars, trains, etc. were available, but for him, it was more work. They did give him advice, websites, etc. but of course, NJ students had a larger number of local opportunities.</p>
<p>Debruns, thanks. I do understand about not being able to stay over the summer! The cost is huge, and the non-wealthy do need to save summers for pocket money for the following school year! Honestly, the Jersey kids who live close enough could take advantage of opportunities near the school. If one has to commute 1.5 hours each way, they may as well live 6 or more hours away. I guess one could do a commute like that one day per week, but certainly not daily. I guess if one lives or can commute into NYC then there are also many possible internships. </p>
<p>Good to know that there weren’t major difficulties as far as classes, red tape, getting into classes. </p>
<p>Thanks for the information!</p>