Tuition deposit deadline is coming up rather quickly and I’m still debating between these two universities. Money wise both these schools come out pretty even with scholarships and financial aid into account. I’ve been comparing both schools for a long time now and I still can’t seem to pick. Both schools are recognized for their good academic standings, Drexel is located in a nicer area, right in University City, neighboring the University of Pennsylvania, however does not really provide much of that campus feel. Temple in the other hand provides the campus feel that Drexel lacks, but is located in a not so nice neighborhood in South Philadelphia. My plan is to be commuting to these schools my first year and then finding a place to live off campus the following years. One of the key factors in my decision making is determining which school will benefit me the most as I plan to pursue a career in medicine. Which school will provide me with the most opportunities to prepare me to apply to med schools. Volunteering time is mayor when it comes to med school and from comparing Temple and Drexel, I’ve noticed that Temple works on the most common semester calendar system and Drexel on the quarter system. Which calendar system will provide me with the most free time to partake in volunteering? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each? I’ve read reviews online and a lot of them say that teachers at Drexel don’t really care for their students and are not good at presenting the material even if they actually have a great grasp of the concepts. Temple seems to hold better reviews but comments about safety seems to pop up everywhere. Can you guys please share your opinions and experiences? Any comments are greatly appreciated.
Temple’s med school seems to be better. Not sure how that would affect your undergrad education, maybe access to faculty and research opportunities.
Have you visited both? Temple is actually in North Philadelphia. I would advise you not to choose one over the other based on the surrounding neighborhood. They’re both in rough areas, but have easy access to nicer parts of the city. Penn is nicer, but you won’t be spending much time there as a Drexel student (the campuses are essentially divided by Chestnut St.), and the areas North and West of Drexel’s campus are very gritty and dangerous. So you will have to keep street smarts at both. I would really advise you to visit, and explore the programs you like further.
Thanks for feedback, I just made the stupid mistake and put South instead of North, that’s kinda embarrassing. But anyway, I’ve visited both schools 3 times already, I’ve talked with faculty and current students, and I think I’m going to visit again during the week. Honestly I’m at the point where I would be perfectly fine attending either one, but I have to make a decision which makes it harder because I equally like them.