Drexel University

Before going to Drexel University I read all of the reviews on this site. I pretty much had my mind made up about attending Drexel and the reviews I saw on here scared me. Phrases like "Going to Drexel was the biggest mistake of my life, etc." Well I spent one trimester at Drexel (3 months) and it was also the biggest mistake of my life. There are some good things about Drexel such as the co-op, etc. but the things that make quality campus life are just not there. First, the VALUE at Drexel is horrible. For the amount of money you pay, the dorms are old and unmaintained (except Towers), the classrooms are old and unmaintained. Some classes literally would be held in areas where in the hallways you would see pipes and electrical wires, etc. (not during construction either). The TV in the lounge in my dorm stayed broken for a few weeks, the pool table was lopsided, etc. They just didnt seem to care much about these things. There are some quality professors at Drexel, but many classes are taught by underqualified TA's (teaching assistants). They are gradute students, mostly oriental or Indian/Pakistan. I could literally not understand what they were saying half of the time and they were not cut out to be "teachers" at all. The worst thing about Drexel was the staff in general. If you had ANY sort of problem that needed to be resolved, you would get the run around from office to office. The staff was generally ALWAYS rude and seemed like they really didnt care (It was hard for me to believe that this many rude/arrogant/condescening people could all work for the same organization). I think what it was is that there was no accountability. Anyways, anytime I needed to resolve a problem, I would get the run-around and the problem would takes weeks to resolve, just for the smallest thing. Financial Aid was the worst! First, I would go into their office and leave without having anything solved. Drexels financial aid was ranked 7th worst in the country by the Princeton Review (which surverys students of each particular university about that university). The policies of the Office of Residential Living are crazy. One time somebody broke a chair or something in one of the lounges in the dorms and since the University couldn't find out who did it they charged everybody who lived on the floor! Also, recently they tried to impose a policy saying NO OVERNIGHT GUESTS! We are paying $10,000 a year to live in these dorms (tuiition is $20,000 for a total cost of $30,000) and we have to deal with this, white the president is making big bucks. Drexels President (Papadakis) is the 5th highest paid university president in the nation which just doesn't seem right. Student Organizations can barely survive because of the outrageous rules the univeristy imposes (charging absurd fees for use of areas, etc.) TONS OF RED TAPE AT DREXEL! The athletic facilities are horrible. First the weightroom/gym is so small for the amount of students at Drexel and was jam packed almost anytime I went there. Also, I could hardly ever play basketball in Drexels one gym because of teams practicing all the time, etc. These types of things are acceptable from time to time but when you pay the kind of money you pay at Drexel, you expect more. Take the cafeteria food for instance. You'll definately get sick of it after the first week. I guess this could be a problem at other schools too. THe things I listed are all relatively small problems I suppose, but it just adds up and is just one big frustration. The quality of life here is just so low. During my 3 months we had a stabbing/robbery about 75 yards from where I sleep at night and only 5 feet from Drexel property (yet when Drexel released a press report about it, they tried to distance themselves sayint it occured at an "off-campus" location. It was literally 5 feet from Drexel property and it was a Drexel student. Oh, we have Public Safety (security) but they dont do anything. They jsut ride around on their bikes and look official. Most of the people I know at Drexel are fed-up with all this stuff now. There is so much to say, I cant possibly sum it up in this writing. Just be careulf before coming here. Theres absolutely no school spirit (no mens football or baseball teams either), very limited Greek Life (almost a joke), its very hard to get a problem resolved with staff (although there were soem very nice, helpful people mixed in), the univeristy has many policies which restrict students freedoms, etc. During my stay they had to install sprinklers on my floor so for about 3 or 4 weeks I would have workmen in at 10am drilling when I was trying to sleep. What it all boils down to is Drexel (the administration) just doesn't care about the individual student. They want more freshmen students and more money and once you get here, they don't care. Oh, the trimester system is bad too. If you try to transfer your credits to another school you may have a problem (as I did).

1st Year Male -- Class 2006

Surrounding City: B+, Collaboration/Competitive: F