Academics
A large private research university, Philadelphia’s Drexel University draws many students through its cooperative education (“co-op”) program, in which students take major-oriented classes in their first year and then alternate six-month studies with six-month full-time employment. Drexel “moves fast,” and students love the feeling that “our work makes an impact in real companies.” As a research-driven university, the school has found a “really strong area within the sciences” and also does very well in challenging students with “a fast-paced curriculum” that prepares them for a working environment and helps them to get “a hands-on look at what [they] can do with [their] degree.” Though students find the schedule “very different compared to the normal college experience,” they are well-aware of the track they’ve signed up for: “a lot more challenging and a lot less down time.” One student explains, “If you are not a very self-motivated, hard-working student, you’ll fall behind.”
Most Drexel professors work in the industry that they’re teaching and “are beyond knowledgeable on the subject” (a good number of professors are also Drexel alumni). Professors are all “extremely intelligent,” but many students admit that “sometimes there is a language barrier.” Still, teachers here are “resourceful and ready to help solve a problem or redirect to someone who can.” The quarter system keeps students on their toes academically, but it “makes the year go by faster.” “I was skeptical at first, but it was worth it,” says one quarter-system fan. At the end of the day, students say that you “can’t beat 21 months’ worth of full-time experiences,” and the school succeeds in giving students “a rigorous, great education that almost guarantees a job or place in grad school after graduation.”
Student Body
This work-oriented university is filled with highly-motivated individuals that “consistently challenge themselves and are willing to push themselves so that they can tap their full potential.” Most people at Drexel are pretty transparent about their reasons for being there: They’re “looking for a good job.” Since the “very stressful” curriculum keeps the pedal to the metal, students “rely on one another to ensure they understand and complete the tasks that are assigned.” Everyone here is “generally in a state of caffeination or exhaustion (or both),” depending on their schedule for that day. The student body is very diverse (with a large number of international students), with “lots of colorful and unique characters on campus.” The community can be fairly “clique-y,” but the suite-style rooming “really helps with making friends.”
Campus Life
Students generally spend their days “in class, in our gym, or working on co-op.” Everyone here “works extremely hard”; due to quarter system, “there is never a time where students aren’t hitting the library or studying with friends.” There are plenty of open areas of the campus that you can find students studying (“especially the quad in the spring or summer”), and though students are “not big on structured extracurricular activities,” they “do occasionally party.” Food trucks are a very popular source of grub, particularly “the Food Truck Alley” behind the Main Building. For fun, Center City Philadelphia is just a short walk or subway ride away, and has everything from the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pennsylvania Ballet to “a variety of clubs, theaters, and bars.” The campus is perfectly placed so that “all the conveniences and exciting things about city life are in your backyard, but all the comforts of being on a college campus (security, familiarity) are also there.” In those rare periods without midterms or finals, people also “go to the gym frequently and play intramural sports.”
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