The following reviews are the views of students or alumni at this school and are unrelated to the school data and other editorial content on usnews.com. These reviews neither reflect nor impact a school's position within the Best Colleges rankings.
Patrick Sophomore
The people at Drexel are the best! Due to half the student body always being on co-op the 20000 student body seems like a very small school -- just the way I like it. Students complain a lot about financial aid and Drexel's red tape. Although a lot of progress has been made in the positive direction, DU still has a long way to go. CHE professor are awesome if you can get past the annoying general engineering classes. These general classes would be a lot better if 10 chapters weren't crammed in ten weeks.
Ishtiaque Sophomore
One of the best things about Drexel is the co-op and the location. There isn't anything I would change. The size is just right, smaller campus with medium population makes it so you know a lot more people. Many are somewhat impressed, a few have never heard of it. I spend most of my time on campus, either in class or hanging out with friends in the office. The whole area is somewhat like a college town but since it is in the city it is more of an urban version of a typical college town. We are next to a few university to this entire side of Philly is like one giant college campus. The administration is pretty decent, they do the job that is needed of them to the best of their ability. There has not been anything terribly controversial on campus we have had some minor things happen, with someone being arrested for identity theft and that is about it. There is a ton of school pride, everyone always gets hyped for the basketball games. Drexel runs on the quarter system which is a little unusual for colleges. One experience that I will always remember is when the Democratic Presidential Debate was held at our school. The most frequent complaint is the traffic in order to get to class.
Stephanie Junior
The best things about Drexel are the Co-Op program and being IN Philadelphia. If I could change anything I would add football since that seems to always be a way to increase school spirit and the tuition is ridiculously high for what it is. I feel the size is great, its perfect for me. I know people, but not everyone. When I tell people I go to Drexel I usually get a "So you're an engineering major?" followed by "thats a rigorous engineering program." I usually spend most of my time on campus in North where most of my friends and myself live. I also spend a good time in class...lol, usually in one of the engineering buildings or friends live a few blocks away from campus where I spend a lot of time as well. I wouldn't say Drexel is a "college town" because it is in Philadelphia which is a major city. You feel like you're in a city not really even on a college campus at times. I like it that way though. I went to a school with a real campus and really did not enjoy it. Even with the schools around it I wouldn't call it a college town, just a school in a major city. Drexel administration has been great for me. They have never messed up my billing and when I transferred back here (I transferred in and out) they really helped me to get back on track and get back into the swing of things. I cannot really think of any controversies on campus. There is a lot of school pride. I am a member of the DAC Pack, the school's spirit team for mainly basketball and I love it. Most people have school pride. Drexel is unusual because of the quarter system as opposed to the semester system, some people hate it, I love it because classes go by quicker and you take more different courses. It is challenging to keep up sometimes though. I think being in West Philly is unusual also, but I love not being constrained by a campus setting or boundaries. You really need common sense to ensure safety. My greatest experience at Drexel was moving into the Engineering Learning Community in Myers Hall. We really became great friends almost like family. We ate together, hung out together, spent our weekends together, took trips together, lived together, and studied together...everything. Although we are spread out now, we still all are great friends and do a lot together. The most frequent complaints from students are definitely tuition, its really pricey here.
Amanda Sophomore
The best thing about Drexel is that it is an already respected university, ranked 108th in the country, and it is also climbing in the rankings and continuing to improve in every way. It is fun to watch things around you getting better and better. One thing that I would change is to focus some of the sooner infrastructure improvements on student life issues, such as outdoor recreation, retail, and housing, rather than on academics. The northern part of the campus has been improving quite as quickly as the rest. The school is just right. It is large with 20,000 students, but it feels like a small school because many students are commuters and many are on co-op, so you see the same people every day. Most people are impressed when they hear I go to Drexel. Some who are not familiar with the city will judge it based on what they hear on the news or on "Fresh Prince of Bell Air", but that is bound to happen with people who don't give cities a chance. I spend most of my time in a lab that I work in. There are plenty of opportunities to work on campus, even doing research within your own major, as undergraduates. This is a great opportunity. Philadelphia IS a college town, with 80+ colleges, and West Philadelphia has Drexel and University of Pennsylvania right next to each other and is called University City. Many people hate Drexel's administration and complain of red tape, but I have never experienced it, which is weird because most complain about the financial aid office but I have plenty of financial aid and have never had problems dealing with them. One thing that is frustrating and that the bursar's office and financial aid office don't work together as closely as they should. Recently there was a student who was arrested for identity theft. She and a boyfriend from University of Pennsylvania moved into a Center City Philadelphia condo and stole people's identities. The story had little to do with Drexel except that she happen to go here, but it was a pretty high profile story. The amount of school pride isn't as high as I would have hoped, but it is definitely growing, and rallying around our sport's teams is what is starting it. Drexel also hosted a Democratic Debate in Oct. 2007 and and in Jan. 2008 the Olympic table tennis tournament for the U.S., two things that students can pride themselves in. Also, as the campus aesthetics improve, students are becoming more and more proud. Students are rallying for change in all of aspects of the university like I've never seen before and it is bringing plenty of positive change. I think Drexel is unique with its location being close to Center City and walkable and also next to University of Pennsylvania. Most frequent student complaint is probably the administration, but I believe even that is improving, and I've never had any issues personally.
Jordan Junior
Reviews provided by: UnigoOne thing I'd change is the food service at Drexel. It's greasy, expensive, and inconvenient. If you can't make it to the dining center for a grilled cheese or some soggy chicken breast, you can head over to Kelly Deli or Ross Commons for more quesadillas, burgers, fries, or pizza. Vegetables? Fruit? Oh, they have some fruit...but it'll cost more than that double cheeseburger with bacon. I'm not sure how it works at every other school, but at Drexel, all of the administrators get to be Senior Interim Associate Directors of something. I'm really not sure what some of the higher up Administrators doÉI know our President is probably on campus only a few days a month (if that). We send him to India and to California so much (on the student's dime), that they actually just hired a "Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff. Seriously, can I just have someone answer a phone call when I call the main office or someone to help me process my transcript request? Greek Life at Drexel is probably the best thing to have ever happened to me. I've found a great group of guys to call my brothers for life, but besides that, I've networked for jobs, developed great public speaking and time management skills, and enjoyed college life.
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