(Drexel) First and foremost Drexel has been the worst experience

How this student rated the school

Educational Quality	C-	Faculty Accessibility	D+
Useful Schoolwork	B-	Excess Competition	C+
Academic Success	C+	Creativity/ Innovation	D+
Individual Value	D-	University Resource Use	F
Campus Aesthetics/ Beauty	F	Friendliness	C-
Campus Maintenance	D	Social Life	F
Surrounding City	C-	Extra Curriculars	F
Safety	D

Describes the student body as: Arrogant, Snooty, Closeminded Describes the faculty as: Condescending, Unhelpful

Male

Quite Bright

Lowest Rating University Resource Use	F

Highest Rating Useful Schoolwork	B-

He cares more about Extra Curriculars than the average student.

Date: Jul 25 2003
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
First and foremost Drexel has been the worst experience of my life, and if I could take it all back, I would in a heart-beat. If you are not an Engineer, or IT person don't come to drexel.-Most people come here because of the COOP opportunity, which isn't what you may think. Truthfully, you have to compete with the whole school, for a very small pool of employers, not to mention whoever else is trying to become employed by these particular companies. Coop is not guaranteed. You are on your own when it comes to finding a job, so its no need to come to Drexel. An addition, while your on coop you are still getting billed, and paying on school for the 6 months that you are out of school. So Drexel is basically, pimping you.- Don't rely on Financial Aid, because its non-existence, if you can not afford to come here, don't. They will jerk you.(Drexel Shaft)is real. -QUARTER terms trap you at drexel, makes it harder to transfer, because you basically have to start all over.- Harder to really grasp concept and understanding on an individual level, because everything here is group base. -The SOCIAL SCENE at Drexel is non-existent, unless you are frat-boy(White Frats) - The ratio here has to be 7 to 1 guys to girls, So as a guy the scale is against you. In all honesty, as a male, coming to drexel may lower your standards, because majority of the girls here are not attractive(But they think they DIMES). Soon enough, you'll find yourself, looking at a girl you would have never considered talking to in you life as starting to look good to you. A lot of people think thats its better to have surrounding like this to focus on grades, but i disagree, because college isn't just about school work, you have to have a social life too. And I think this surrounding can have a worst impact on you grades, because you are constantly searching for that outlet, which can take away from your focus on school work. This school will screw with you head in all aspects of college life, and what is necessary for a quality college life. -The CAMPUS is very minimal when it comes to everything. - For the money, Drexel should be buying up property in the surrounding area, to add to beautify the campus, which they got a "F" on, amongst other colleges in the nation. To add to the lack of facilities, Drexel has ONE facility to house all of its extracurricular activities, where most colleges has multiple facility for its students, so get used to sharing this one facility with Athletic teams(which suck), if at all they allow you to when they are in the facility.- WORST ADMINSTRATIVE processes, and internal communicaton(Drexel Shaft)- TEACHERS are average, the ones you can understand-SPORTS, and SCHOOL SPIRIT sucks at Drexel, majority of the students hate it here.- CAFETERIA has the worst food, ever. Which they cook with laxatives, so if you are backed up, you won't be anymore. You will be crossing your fingers, hoping you making back to your dorm.- The LIBRARY sucks, it is the noisiest place on campus.- CLASSROOMS suck, no AC in most of classrooms.- Too much DIVISION, amongst population.(Everyone kinda sticks with their own)Most people here are snobbish.-PEOPLE at Drexel are not really that bright, most people here cheat there way through college-namely White Frat Boys(with their archive of old teacher test), and Student Athletes- - Drexel has to be by far the WORST institution of higher learning in the country.- This school is only worried about getting new student, not retaining the students that they already have. It is quite clear that the students here don't like it here, but Drexel has not made any effort to correct this problem. One of the biggest problems is Papa Dick, the chairman of the board at Drexel, he is so busy trying to run for mayor, with his political affairs, that the students suffer. If you come here, you will have to get use to non-sanitary lunch trucks surrounding Drexel, as well as the filthy surrounding of Philadelphia. Olde City is the best that philly offer. The Minorities group of a few get it the worst, at a predominantly indian, and white school. Coming from the African American prospective—I would advise another school, maybe an HBCU, if your going to pay, you might as well be happy too. Even if I were white I wouldn't come to this school, this school is lacking, for you too, you might want to check out school's in the surrounding area—my advice—UD-.

Responses

I disagree. It seems that you are just one of those idiots who cannot make your own achievement and always end up relying on others.

Your grammar, punctuation, and spelling is so far off, I think you should go back to grade school.

You're an adult now. Understand that you are better than those "white frat boys" you talk about. Don't just pout about it. Myself and a lot of my friends have gone on to get great co-ops and since coming to Drexel, I've found what career path I want to take.

You should be ashamed of yourself. You are the epitome of why Drexel is always ranked so low.

I was thinking about going to this school but am now reconsidering for my biggest concerns about it have been confirmed once again.

To the person who wrote first response you have no idea what the hell your talking about. I'm guessing that you live off your parents money. Drexel is garbage, it's extremely superficial. I swear that they invest more money in real estate than their students. It is Drexel's administration that completely tarnishes the University. Take my response what you will.

Drexel is overrated. Once they have your money, they don't give two shits about you.

The environment is poor, the prices absurd for what you get. Don't bet on coop to help much - you pay Drexel even while you are away working! Administration seems to care more about Drexel image than the campus and its students. Our son has HATED every year of his expirience - no longer even wants to visit Philadelphia when he's finished. And as a parent you are screwed - the admin hides behind 'confidentiality' yet they do not hesitate to talk to the parent when they want their money. I suggest looking for another experience.

I agree with a lot of what has been said. We took our son to visit Drexel and were not impressed. The accepted student's day was terribly disorganized and left a bad impression with us from the get-go. The staff were arrogant and condescending to both the parents and students. In fact, one family got up and walked out because of a rude comment made by the staff in regards to their question about job opportunities in their child's chosen field. The freshman dorms and kitchen area were disgusting. For the amount of money Drexel charges (nearly $60,000/year with books and supplies), one would expect the ceilings to not be rotting and peeling. The upper classroom dorm rooms were small and not much better. When shown a few of the dorm rooms, the students seemed very snobbish and bored. Nobody really appeared to be having fun on the weekend. I made a comment about a cool poster one of the students had in his room, and he looked at me like I was from another planet. LOL Off-campus living options were limited due to lack of safety in the surrounding areas and/or overpriced rents for roach-infested high rises close by. I attempted to speak with administration about a few transfer credits they arbitrarily "forgot" to accept, and was told they couldn't speak to the parent because of confidentiality. OH REALLY? LOL Since when does the parent who is footing the bill not get to inquire about credits? I guess Drexel doesn't want to speak with a parent who is asking the hard questions that force them to admit they are trying to screw you into another year of paying their outrageous tuition. Here is another drawback: I looked at the Philadelphia homicide map for several years back, and to remain "safe," students are really limited in where they walk. There is about a 5 block radius around Drexel that is "safe," when compared to the rest of the city. Outside of that radius, homicides are frequent. Overall, I would give this school a very low rating and my son is not going to attend. Even with a $15,500/year scholarship, the tuition far surpasses any real benefit of attending. The curriculum wasn't impressive or even challenging for that matter. In fact, I think the reason Drexel is easy to get into is because it's hard to get people stupid enough to pay tens of thousands more(per year) for an education that is inferior to many other less expensive well known and reputable colleges out there.

I disagree with most of your guys. I'm a student at Drexel and my last 4.5 years (5 year program) have been some of the best of my life. I've discovered what I want to do with my life, pushed myself beyond my limits, tried working in many different fields in my major, and found friends that I hope to stay in touch with for the rest of my life.
College is what you make of it. Not everyone will put in the necessary effort, and it seems to me that the first poster definitely did not.

I can't believe I dropped 100 grand on an education that I could have got from $1.50 in late fees at my local library. Drexel professors are lack luster at best. Especially in the Lebow College of Business. Every teacher is fresh off the boat and there is a major language barrier. Don't be fooled with Drexel's whole "top schools to watch" and co-op nonsense. It's bad and ugly for a reason.

So true on so many levels, I’m still attending Drexel do to the fact that I have invested too much money and time in to it. As a transfer student, the two year college that I went to is so much better. I’m glad that I transfer into their school and not started out fresh at Drexel. I would have never got a college experience, for this school really have no campus nor is the class any good. The people there are so arrogant it’s ridiculous. The transferring process to the school was a nightmare. If I could take it all back I would transfer to another school in a heartbeat. P.S. the school is so overprice.

Hit the nail right on the head. Had an almost identical experience. Fuck Drexel, fuck pig headed fratboys, greedy greeks, and the rest of this entitled slimey institution.

Quite bitching and do something about it then. Pussies

I'm a African American female from a middle class home. My cost for the year was estimated at $70,000. But I was told not to worry because there is plenty of aid. When I got my fin. aid package, they just referred me to a bunch of loans and $2000 scholarship. They didn't have enough dorms for the freshman and so I was put with my RA, then in a sophomore dorm that I told them i could not afford. Luckily I was not put in a hotel like others were. As far as their coop program. It's nothing as they say it is. Usually you r on ur own when finding a job. And depending on what major ur in not even your professors will be able to help you. At Drexel student life is kind of divided by race and creed. But there is a place for everyone if they look hard enough. Black people have gospel choir. All the International students live in their world. And the white people have the rest. Socially awesome if ur personable. I had great professors and made awesome friends. I was highly involved in student life. Drexel is a great place to befriend people who are just like you (not saying it's good or bad though)I loved the food and the food trucks were cool. But it was all over shadowed by the DREXEL SHAFT. It is real and painful. Every Drexel student has encountered it. Even if you do have the money to attend the BURSUR office will still find a way to fuck ur shit up. DREXEL is good at marketing and advertising to overwhelmed wide-eyed highschool students. Once you are admitted and have acquired debt. They could care less about u. Your better off going to another school.

Agree with these posts! Don't send your child to Drexel! It is a nightmare! And it is so true about confidential info! The also black ball you if you ask too many questions or want answers - especially housing - they screw you over in a heartbeat! MORE DREXEL SHAFT! These people think they are gods!! They put people in wrong rooms on purpose or mark your file and wait list you - swear they get a cut if you go to an apartment! This school is not worth the money - wish I had known it sooner - to hard to transfer out! Housing and Finance all need to be investigated!!! The screw with your housing and grants!!

Well, you guys are complaining about it so overpriced. Maybe if you got good grades in highschool or college before you transferred it wouldn't be that expensive. I got $30,000 financial aid not including $10,000 stafford loan. If you ask me, $4,000/yr is not a bad deal. You are just a bunch of losers that will never succeed in life so you blame it on someone/something else.

LOL - $4000 a year and a Stafford loan? You must be joking - Drexel is over $52000 a year. Do the math! That's AT LEAST $22000 a year cost out of pocket! and only a $4000 loan?(probably per quarter or what did your parents have to borrow) and at what APR when you get out? I wasn't a slacker and "got" close to that in Drexel grants and I will still owe over $80,000 in loans! It's not worth it, and watch your endowment, cause bursur will keep changing that one on you!

I don't know about that statement about if you got good grades in college, it wouldn't be overpriced. I had 14 As, 3 B s, and a B at community college (had some courses when I was younger that dropped my GPA to 3.52). When I transferred to another college, I got a 4.0 the first year. For all that I got $8000k in scholarships since the considered attending community college as part of my financial aid.

Here is a question. If you boast about how inexpensive Drexel is because of your grades, what are you doing there in the first place? The 50 percentile of Drexel students had a GPA of 2.74, that is certainly not good enough to get into better programs.

I was an engineering student at Drexel in the 80's and am glad to hear to the Drexel Shaft is still alive and well. First of all, I can't believe it now costs 60K a year for the Drexel Experience. Definitely not a very good investment. My Drexel Experience, over 20 years ago, was a nightmare. It is not real surprising that things haven't changed much in sunny Philadelphia. I agree with everything that the OP have written and will add that the whole thing have left such a bad taste for me that I can't even visit Philly since then.;

I am at Drexel on scholarship. I am a transfer from Community College of Philadelphia. So going to Drexel costs me next to nothing. You know what? It's not worth it. I have found nothing about Drexel that is worth $40,000 a year. The quality of the instruction is often on par or well below that of the Community College of Philadelphia, where the cost of attendance is far less.

Co-op gives you the opportunity to make some cash and get real world experience but Drexel charges you for it. In one of the most highly paid majors, Mechanical Engineering, you can expect to pull in close to $16k in 6 months, but Drexel is charging you close to $12k for that 6 months. So you net $3k in 6 months. Please.
So, in closing, Fuck Drexel.

Do you people know the difference between "your" and "you're"…?
I suggest you correct your grammar before you get into the real world, students!

My Goodness people. I graduated from Drexel in 1984. I must say from what I have read that it has not changed one bit. I graduated in the top ten percent of my class in Engineering and could not wait to get away from a loser school that lost the meaning of what A.J. Drexel founded this school for. To give an opportunity for the blue collar individual to excel. Essentially, the American dream. I have had two daughters graduate from school and I have purposely made them apply to Drexel. Each got just about the max scholarship of $23 and $26,000. Each with SAT score around 2200. They were all excited and then I told them NO! They were accepted into Penn, Carnegie as well as Lehigh and Lafayette. If you want to pay, go to one of these schools. Oh, with regards to the professors, I would have to once again agree with a comment that was posted earlier. I literally went to the class, found out what the assignment was (usually from a TA student from India whom no one could understand) and left. I showed up for the exams and Aced each one. The library was a better place to learn. What a shame! My alma mater!

I'm just going to give the facts about my experience. 1. They recruited me at a college fair. 2. They convinced me that I would graduate with barely any debt. 3. They admitted so many freshmen that some had to live in nearby hotels, I in my RA's room. 4. I found out that they did this because they knew that most of us would not be able to pay for it. Thousands of us withdrew after the first semester. 5. Barely got any financial aid so now owe the college $20K . With interest added on each month. 6. They admit freshmen not to go to school but to owe them money later. 7. I can not go to another school until I find $20k to pay them. Even if I could get transcripts, non of my credits would transfer because they decided your first classes. 8. They do not work with you on financial issues. 9. I regret ever stepping foot on that campus. 10. I had a really good English teacher.

It all comes down to how much work you put in. One thing I learned over past few years is no matter where you are it will always be bad if you don`t put in the work. i find it funny how bunch of you are complaining that it easy but your gpa is not saying that. No matter where you people go it will suck for you and you know why, because you are all lazy. Drexel is a great school with bunch of opportunities you just have to know how to use them. Please if you dont like it leave so people who actually like it here and are grateful to be here can live in peace.

My Drexel story is pretty similar to most that I've heard. I'm part of the first generation of my family with the opportunity (if it can accurately be described as such in its current form) to pursue a college education. My parents, unaware of the predatory nature of the higher education business, and I, wide-eyed and eager for the utopian future awaiting me, were immediately drawn in by the clever advertising and promotional tactics employed by Drexel. Being a good student of relatively low economic family, I received a great deal of scholarship and aid, but was still left with a sizable gap. The gap, for my freshman year, was closed by loans cosigned by my parents.

As I pursued education, I maintained a 3.6 GPA with relative ease. Many classes were challenging, but most classes that were not strictly dedicated to science, business, or mathematics seemed to be ignored by the university at large. Some professors that taught the humanistic subjects of philosophy, literature, etc. were passionate, knowledgeable, truly dedicated teachers in the most classic and organic sense. These were exceptions to the rule. Most in these areas were glorified opinion column writers, weaving tirades of ideological bias, every moment of which gives off a sycophantic stench; most lessons derived purpose from the hierarchy of faculty or the pursuit of tenure and personal academic glory than benefiting students. There were some good experiences, but many left me wondering where that $40K was really going.

The answer, to the discerning eye, was found easily. Corporate restaurants rose around campus, buildings were erected on newly acquired real estate, and many other fun and flashy additions to the classroom were formulated. A thriving city of enterprise and pedagogical trends rose amid a sea of bewildered high school graduates and disillusioned young adults wondering what their newly acquired debt was really delivering. It is fascinating to see now that Drexel had accumulated $467M in debt due to their physical growth. It makes a bit more sense that many other people that entered the university with me are being charged exorbitant interest for balances they ended up owing the university directly. Seems a bit like the real estate business, or the predatory stock investment games of the generation before, etc. (You could go on and on to find forms of mass extortion and financial scams that fit a similar description. A good place to start research is

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

by Charles Mackay. But I digress…)

Eventually, I received an email through Drexel's faulty messaging system (which was notorious for flawed service and failed delivery) that alerted me to the fact that the term I had just completed was not paid for. After a bit of research, I found that my parents could no longer be approved as cosigners for my additional loans as well as the fact that Drexel had taken away some loans and other funds for seemingly no reason. A couple of not-so-kind and not-so-qualified workers in the Student Resource Center and Financial Aid Office basically told me, over and over, to figure out some way to pay, immediately, or said that I would have to drop out. My records would be put on hold and I would no longer be allowed to attend. At the time, I was unemployed for a 2 or 3 month span, so even the possibility of swearing fealty to another predatory loan system such as pay day or title loans was not an option, and my parents were in such a poor position of credit that they could not offer any help.

After nearly TWO YEARS of navigating a maze of unqualified and aloof staff at Drexel University, one man (who I assume now is in charge of collecting funds from unfortunate students like me who are allowed to slip through every crack, and who also, hilariously enough, is an esteemed faculty member in the LeBow School of Business) gave me a somewhat definitive answer. Essentially, I was told that I could pay a small sum back to the university every month to prevent them from reporting me to a collection agency. I was also told that after a period of six months, Drexel would stop charging me interest on the balance. Like nearly everything else I had heard from this organization, this statement was a half-truth. I am still being charged a exorbitant amount of interest on the balance that I owe as I simply throw enough meat to the lions, periodically, to stop them from tearing me asunder financially. My records are still on hold, and even when I get them back, if I ever decide to return to school, I will most likely not see many of my credits transfer for various reasons discussed above.

Although a part of me wishes to one day do more with my professional life than wait tables, my experience with Drexel has lead me to have a strong distrust for all universities and the higher education system in general. Is it all just a scam, and is Drexel University just shit at covering it up? Or is DU just a massive exception to the standard, a malicious organization among others in the higher education industry that also stands alongside truly benevolent institutions that actually seek to benefit their students? Or is it that we are seeing higher education evolve in a fashion that most other industries have, turning to a mode of thought where the consumer, the student, the people, mean nothing in comparison to the profit, the expansion, the shareholders?

Please do not attend this school unless you already know all of this and are willing to risk your financial future and, essentially, your independence to advance toward your goal. Also, you will most likely be protected if your major is something along the lines of business or engineering. I, personally, do not like the way they do things. I think they are based on lies and a system that is shockingly similar to slavery, both with failures (like myself) and success stories (which usually turn out to the equivalent of unpaid internships, with even the most enormous wages mostly going to paying back the money-hungry university).

Also, to those of you who call others lazy, or mock others for being unintelligent, none of these messages are for you. You are most likely fortunate enough to have an opportunity in your life, most likely rich or educationally experienced parents, that puts you on the winning end of this. Good for you, but keep in mind the struggle is real.

Can I please agree with OP also? Not only is Drexel sub-par in terms of teaching and funding, but the atmosphere and scheduling has brought me so far away from who I was before Drexel that I am now depressed. DEPRESSED. I don't want to admit it to my parents, and I have been putting off the symptoms for 1 year because I can't afford to think about taking time off and focus on healing mentally. I can't afford to do this because my grades, and hence my scholarship, is on the line. I can't withdraw either because I still have 2 more years until I get a degree. I can't just withdraw and leave this hole in the ground because it would be a waste of money - such a waste. Not only did I waste my (and my parent's) money here, but I wasted my life, my mental stability, my health. Please be careful where you decide to go to university. Make sure you are completely satisfied and make sure it has no potential of becoming a nightmare. Please be careful.

"Your grammar, punctuation, and spelling is so far off, I think you should go back to grade school." - really? Think about what you just wrote there and criticize yourself. You are a bloody idiot!

Drexel University is a great school for the right person: one who knows what he or she wants to study before applying, and above all mature and independent.

Drexel is fabulous for technology and engineering, but not for a liberal arts major. However, the good news is that engineering and technology are in demand with employers. If you can do either one, then you will have great co-ops and bright future.

In addition to depression, which was admitted in student's original post, I sense bitterness, too. No matter WHERE one attends college, mental health issues can have a negative impact. I wish you the best and encourage you to get help.

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