<p>My son will probably be applying there in the fall. I am a bit unclear on something - based on the admission criteria (GPA of 3.0), it seems pretty easy to get into but he was talking to someone who goes to Drexel (different school though, not Westphal) and got the impression that Drexel is very intense academically with the quarter system and no summer breaks and a very fast paced environment. This doesn't seem to make much sense - why accept kids with so-so credentials and then expect them to thrive in the highly charged academic environment?</p>
<p>I am sure I don't have the full picture. Could anybody clarify? Do you feel the academics are really fast paced at Westphal?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Emily.</p>
<p>Hi Emily. I am not sure where you got your admissions statistics for Drexel but here is last year’s freshman class profile from their website. They state that the “average” GPA is 3.4 and 67% percent of the class in the top 25% of their high school class. [Freshman</a> Class Profile | Undergraduate Admissions | Drexel University](<a href=“http://drexel.edu/undergrad/about/facts/freshman-class/]Freshman”>http://drexel.edu/undergrad/about/facts/freshman-class/)</p>
<p>You might want to contact an admissions counselor to ask more questions. I think that Westphal is generally considered fairly competitive for admissions but it might depend upon the specific major within Westphal.</p>
<p>I believe that Drexel admissions in general have become more competitive and for next year they added Early Decision which will replace the “rolling” admissions that they had used previously. Most schools give preference to their Early Decisions applicant pool which will tend to make regular decision at Drexel even more competitive.</p>
<p>Also- because Drexel accepts students into specific majors certain majors may be more competitive. I know that architecture, specifically, has only a few spots and it is very hard to get into.</p>
<p>Also- note that Freshman retention rate for Drexel is reported as 84% meaning that 16% do not continue whether that be for academic, financial or other reasons.</p>
<p>Thanks very much pamom59. The information about 3.0 GPA was given to us during the campus visit to Westphal last summer.</p>
<p>Didn’t know they were not doing the rolling admission anymore. Wondering how early in the fall one can apply now.</p>
<p>The webdev major is apart of the Digital Media program (DIGM) and for the first 1-2 years webdev students for the most part have the same curriculum as the animation and game design students. So webdev students will be taught the basics to animation and gaming, and will have to take a 3D modeling class which will probably the hardest and most time consuming of any of his first year classes. I was chatting with one of the main DIGM professors and he told me that they expect 1/5 of the freshmen (will be sophomores in the fall) class to either drop out or switch majors.<br>
I’m not a webdev major but in my digital media classes I can tell you that there are some students that really don’t belong in this program. It is very intensive and you will pull multiple all nighters. I’m not trying to discourage anyone because it is definitely a really good program. No other majors will you see during finals week, a lab full of students at 4am working on their projects on the computers with pizza and food and drinks everywhere and music playing or some sort of movie/tv show playing. My one piece of advice to your son would be he should get as much work done as possible during the first 5 weeks. For most classes your final project counts for 60%+ of your final grade. You pretty much know what you are doing for your final project the first couple weeks of class and I really suggest knocking out as much of it as you can early. By week 6 you will start to feel the pressure and then week 10 will hit you like a ton of bricks out of no where.<br>
So I hope I provided some input and let me know if you have any more questions.</p>
<p>@Emily here is a link to admissions page which gives the deadlines. I’ve also found that calling the admissions office is a helpful way to get information about the admissions process. [Early</a> Decision Admission Option | Undergraduate Admissions | Drexel University](<a href=“http://www.drexel.edu/undergrad/apply/freshmen-instructions/earlydecision/]Early”>http://www.drexel.edu/undergrad/apply/freshmen-instructions/earlydecision/)</p>
<p>from @dutallen’s post it sounds like students who have the interest and drive will succeed in this major with hard work and planning ahead; I’d share this info with your son to make sure that his interest and commitment level to the web design major are there. I saw from your other posts that he has a 3.8 GPA so I doubt that admission would be an issue as long as SAT scores are in the right range.</p>
<p>Thanks dutallen so much for your response. I (and probably my son also) didn’t realize how intense it was. He is also considering the IMM (interactive multimedia) program at TCNJ… do you know anything about it? </p>
<p>pamom59, yes, as of right now, his weighted GPA is slightly above 4 and the unweighted should be in the 3.8-3.9 area, his SAT is 2120. I am not so much concerned about him GETTING in as I am about him staying in and getting out with his degree in hand and not too exhausted mentally and physically. </p>
<p>The problem with him is that he is really not buying into the “pull the allnighters, work your tale off” mentality that is so prevalent in this country. Frankly, I am not a big fan of it either.
I find myself in the middle of my work day slowing down for a second and thinking “does it really matter if this or that project gets finished now or a day later?” To me, as long as it’t not a safety issue or not a life or death situation, I think the stress we are under is completely unjustified.</p>
<p>Lots to consider, thanks again for your responses!!</p>
<p>Emily.</p>