Ups and Downs of Drexel

<p>I recently got accepted to Pennoni and I plan to, if I choose Drexel, major in physics. I went to the Accepted Students Day for Drexel just a couple days ago as well and I really liked it. However, I am also considering Villanova. I did some research online regarding the two and I'm leaning toward Drexel, but I found some reviews about the university that I fear could be true. I'll list them:</p>

<p>A lot of the professors have heavy accents.
-- I have no clue whether or not this is true. At least the ones I met had no accents.</p>

<p>Faculty are heavily under-qualified for their jobs.
-- I researched the physics professors and found a great majority of them have their PhD s from an Ivy League. So at least for physics that is not true.</p>

<p>Amount and power of the evangelicals there.
-- I'm an atheist. I will hate Drexel if it is really that big. And does Villanova push Catholicism similarly?</p>

<p>Only one center for food.
-- I saw a lot of establishments in the area, so it seems like it may not be that bad. I am confused about the Dining Dollars system though. Where could I use them and when do they renew/expire?</p>

<p>If anyone could help me answer my questions or validate these claims it would be appreciated. Thank is advance.</p>

<p>Yeah it looks like there is only one dining hall (its huge and has awesome food). But you can use your dining dollars at places like subway, starbucks, and a few other local businesses around campus
Idk about anything else though!</p>

<p>I think some of the comments you are seeing on college review sites are not accurate- for instance, I don’t believe that Drexel has a particular religious affiliation.</p>

<p>It’s true there is only one dining hall though there are other locations where you can buy fast food using dining dollars. I have heard the food is not that great compared to other schools, and the dining hall is not very close to the dorms. But there are lots of food trucks in the area where you can buy lunch.</p>

<p>Drexel is not the only school with some extremely negative comments on that web site, I would observe. You’d be scared off of leaving home entirely if you believed all of them.
That said, I was a little concerned about the assertion on that site about the strong evangelical Christian presence on campus - not a religious affiliation per se but a certain amount of evangelism by students. Any thoughts from anyone on that?</p>

<p>I don’t think that comment about evangelicals is currrently correct- it has never been mentioned by any of the Drexel students in this forum- if you want to check out some recent discussions about life at Drexel check these threads &lt;/p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/drexel-university/1289041-hi-future-freshmen-youre-so-adorable.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/drexel-university/1289041-hi-future-freshmen-youre-so-adorable.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/drexel-university/1301857-lots-questions-about-drexel.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/drexel-university/1301857-lots-questions-about-drexel.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/drexel-university/1242439-what-best-worst-things-about-drexel.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/drexel-university/1242439-what-best-worst-things-about-drexel.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<ol>
<li>Some professors have accents. Most do not. </li>
<li>Faculty are not under-qualified…most (if not all) professors are required to have a Ph.D. Graduate students cannot teach lecture courses - they can only do the recitations/labs under the supervision of the professor. </li>
<li>Evangelicals…WHAT?! Who told you this? There are people from every religion and plenty of atheists too. I’m not Christian and I never felt pressured by them. </li>
<li>There’s one main dining hall near where most classes are held. The dining terrace (Chick-fil-A, Subway, Currito, Kelly Deli) is next to the freshmen dorms. There’s also Sabrina’s (lunch/brunch place), Starbucks, Creese Cafe, and PLENTY of lunch trucks. After your freshman year, you won’t even need/want to go to the dining hall, as it’s overpriced compared to your other options. Also, the food at the dining hall is much better than it was 4 years ago. Dining dollars can be used at most of the above locations (except for Sabrina’s and the lunch trucks). They renew every term. Get the BLUE plan (not gold…you won’t want unlimited dining hall access or you’ll gain 50 lbs). </li>
</ol>

<p>Any other negative comment that you would like me to refute?</p>

<p>Thank you, sarahjudith, that was very helpful.</p>

<p>As a current student, I was going to post a reply, but sarahjudith covered everything perfectly :D</p>

<p>At many school presentations we attended, they stressed the “community” spirit on campus. At Drexel we didn’t hear that word. D is somewhat concerned that with people coming and going all the time for co-ops and the heavy job emphasis that there is little sense of community that one finds on other campuses?</p>