I wouldn't want to take the gal at Jefferson out to lunch...that's for sure.
If you had a bad experience with the admissions staff at Jeff, at the end of the application cycle (i.e. when she's not so busy), send a quick email to the director of admissions outlining your experience. They're pretty receptive to constructive criticism of staff, interviewers, and students.
My classmates and I are not blind to your concerns and to the statements we read here on SDN. We are passionate about our school, and we care about our classmates and our school's image.
It's very tiresome to read the negativity that SDN generates about Drexel. A lot of things I read around here are a gross misrepresentation about this school. I can go into further detail about that, but perhaps this post is already long enough. The final thing I wanted to say is that there is a lot of hearsay. I'm sure you're all independent thinkers who can use objective reasoning. The only thing I ask is that, if you are going to form an opinion about something, do not allow hearsay to be the only thing that leads your thoughts.
To those of you who make negative and/or insulting comments about my school, I think you should ask yourself how that reflects on you and your level of maturity.
I think that it's wonderful that you're so passionate about your school. But you're not helping Drexel's image either. It's fine to vent your frustration on the "negative stereotypes" that exist about Drexel. But it would be even better if you helped actually address the source of these stereotypes.
Look, when I applied to med school a few years ago, I had the same complaints about Drexel. They lost my 2ndary application - and YES, I applied very early in the cycle. (Maybe that was the problem.) And this was a few years ago, when Drexel was receiving fewer applications than it did this year. When I called to ask the admissions office about what the delay was, she couldn't have cared less - her answer was "Well,
you obviously didn't send it. Or else you did, and it's lost."
Now maybe I asked a stupid, frequently asked question. But, under the circumstances, I think that I had a right to ask it! - it had been months without even a confirmation that they'd received my application. That, by itself, would have been bad enough, but what really left a bad taste in my mouth is that,
even though the rest of my application had vanished, the check that I included to cover the application fee was still deposited. What made it even better was that, a few months after my application had disappeared, Drexel had the gall to send me a brochure, inviting me to apply to their other health science graduate programs, like it was some kind of great consolation prize. (The brochure said something about since I was unsuccessful with my med school app this year, I should try the other health sciences. Something along those lines.) What was even weirder about that was that I hadn't even received a rejection letter. (I never did receive one, actually.) Under the circumstances, yes, I was very glad that I was not going to Drexel.
But you know what's really bad about the situation that I've just described?
In the intervening couple of years, things have clearly not changed. I am sure that you are passionate about your school, and that you're not turning a blind eye to all this. But, by complaining that it's "tiresome" to read negative comments about Drexel, and never asking yourself if maybe there's a valid reason for this, you're not helping your cause - it just comes off as defensive, without being interested in improvement. That doesn't speak well for Drexel either. Furthermore, based on what I know of the school, that does not describe the general atmosphere/overall student attitude at all, so I feel that you are doing your school a real injustice.
Since you clearly have an "in" with the school, maybe a better approach would be to share insider tips on how to successfully navigate the admissions office. I'm sure that people would be really grateful for any advice you can share.
