Drexel University

The negative aspects-
The amount of money spent to come here is way too high. I'll be frank. I recieved over twenty thousand dollars in scholarship money and was still hesitant to come to the university with the amount it would cost. Lucky my parents are covering half. I am halfway through my freshman year and may not have been on coop yet, but I still feel insecure about paying these debts once I am out of the university.

The next thing that bothers me is the living conditions. I'm not talking about the dorms. I'm talking about the urban conditions. This includes massive amounts of smoking, no peaceful scenery or relaxing parks, tons of traffic, and litter everywhere. Granted, the University does its best to clean the place up, but it is of little avail.

This University is NOT a place to be for undecided majors. I originally came into the university undecided, and it has been a very difficult process finding my major. To be honest, I felt like I was forced into one. There was so much stress to find a major before coop starts that I may not have made the ideal decision. The quarter system moves so fast that it doesn't take much to fall behind.

The sports teams and clubs are not easy to join. I am part of the tennis club, and it took hell to become one of the members. There are only two outdoor courts unless one walks all the way down to Penn's courts. So it goes.

The positive aspects-
The University seems to get a bad rap about its faculty. But I disagree. At first, some of them seem unapproachable. And some of them are. But a majority of the professors and faculty I have interacted with have been helpful and student focused. It just takes a little time to get to know the person. For example, my current biology professor calls students by name in a class of over 200. My career advisor was very supportive of me and my academic counselor is laid back and aproachable.

The facilities are state of the art. If anything, this is where the money is going. The gym is absolutely brilliant including a ton of literally brand new equipment. The armory has brand new multi use courts, the dining center has choices, and there are multiple places to eat on campus. The new residence halls are beautiful and security is fairly tight on campus. ID cards are necessary for virtually everything.

The friends I have made on my floor are very original people and it is not too difficult to find people who have vibrant personalities. Many people may seem depressed or lifeless on the outside, but a little bit of talking and they usually turn out to be really nice people.

The academics will be what you make of them. If you put the time and effort in, you will get the same out. There seem to be a mix of very difficult and very easy classes depending on the professor.

Lastly, transportation is abundant. It is the city, o there is everything from bus transportation to septa or amtrak train services not to mention the subway.So I'm fairly neutral. There are times I think I made the right choice coming here and at other times I feel that I may be faring better elsewhere. I'm keeping my options open for other colleges, but I want to see what the coop program is like first.