Would you go to Temple or Drexel?

I have the same dilemma -- Got the call this AM. I asked her to give me utnil Friday. And my pros and cons list looks suprisingly similar to yours. Ever call and get the total bitch secretary?? And the fin aid guy was a real jerk! There are even threads about that...

Anyway - I have a feeling that the probation will blow over, but it is scary because I am one of those people who always wonders what if.

I liked Temple better during my interview day -- and I got to meet several students in class becauseI appraoched my tour leader and she took my to her afternoon session of Fundamentals of Medicine I think it was called --- they were practivcing on each other. Anyway -- they all raved about the clinical experiences that they get there and I also asked Dean Unkis to email me the match list so that I can look at it.

The students stressed that they aren't competitive with each other. There is also that scholarship that is good about Temple and that you can get an MPH in the evening.

Anyone else have any input?? Advice? Thanks!

Yeah, I thought the financial aid guy was a prick, too. He went on and on, over and over again, about if we buy an expensive car with our loans and run out of money, the only thing he'll do is tell us to call mommy and daddy. WTF??? Definitely had a stick up his @ss. And the bitchy secretary, too, what is her problem? Unforgiveably rude every time I ever spoke with her, which was only 3 times.

I interviewed at Temple and hated it. Drexel seems to be a much nicer school, in terms of facilities, location, and reputation. A friend of mine had that same choice and chose Drexel without any debate. I probably would have done the same. But I don't really know that much about drexel, so maybe I'm biased.

I don't know that much about Temple, but at an interview I had in PA, when I told my interviewer (one of the deans) that I had an upcoming interview at Drexel, he went on a 5 minute rant that was rather negative about the school. I ended up declining the Drexel interview (for multiple reasons besides the negative response from the dean).

Oh, and I don't mean to offend anyone associated with Drexel... just sharing what I've experienced when talking about Drexel.

I'd pick Drexel, but I never did interview there, so mine isn't the most informed decision. My dad did do part of his residency at Temple, and didn't like it too much at all.

I think that Drexel gets a lot of negativity left over from their whole financial situation a couple years ago, and when I went there I was expecting to find a pretty crappy school. I was amazed at how much I liked it. And I'd rather live in East Falls than by Temple any day.

Either way you guys go, good luck and have fun in Philly!

If it is any help - Temple sent me their match list for 2003, I will post it up for you. I picked Temple, btw. lemme see if i can convert it...

Ok... I hope this isn't too late for you guys...

I just graduated from Temple and am starting my residency at Drexel (though I can't comment on their med school), but I came very close to staying at Temple - by choice. I loved Temple. All schools have pluses and minuses (yes, Temple's financial aid dept can be frustrating), but the school itself is excellent. The atmosphere is very chill among students - not cut-throat, the faculty is very supportive and available during all 4 years, and the clinical education is stellar!

Temple has a fantastic reputation, both in PA and out of state, for training excellent clinicians. We have fantastic residencies in Medicine, Surgery, Emergency Med, and OB among others. The clinical rotations really are top notch and we have well known attendings in each field. My class did really well in the match, with most people getting their 1st or 2nd choice.

About the probation: no, our facilities are not cush. That is the strongest point that LCME made regarding the accredidation issue. This is being remedied by building a new school... which should start construction in the next few months. Likely, this will not be in use for the next few incoming classes, but the probationary status should be lifted by the end of this year. Even though the classrooms and library aren't great, they aren't terrible.

Housing? Noone lives around Temple. But, there are several options... most people live in the suburbs (East Falls/Roxborough/Manayunk) or in Center City. The commute from either area is less than 20 min depending on where you are. Our class was pretty cohesive with a lot of people hanging out socially... lots of parties.

Enuf of my rambling... overall, I loved Temple and would definately go there again! If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me, and good luck!

I'd take the Temple challenge! Bill Cosby did!

[if you lived in philly in the 80s and 90s you might remember those commercials w/ Bill Cosby advertising Temple . . . if not, please ignore]

anyway, seriously, Temple does have a great reputation for clinical training. in fact, the first time i heard of this reputation was from a bunch of Harvard faculty members. not that whatever harvard says goes, but i think they're in a pretty good position to make that call.

unless you are seriously interested in women's health or CAM (which i believe are Drexel's strengths), go to Temple.

I'm currently a student at Temple. Class of 2006. I am very very happy with Temple. The probationary status is a little scary, but it's understood that it is only in effect as a result of the facilities, and that the education is still top notch, especially the clinical years. I can't think of a more important reason to choose a school than the clinical experience. This year's match list was one of the best ever, so residency programs understand the probationary status and feel that it's no reason querstion the education that Temple students are recieving. The neighborhood is rough, but this is all the more reason to choose Temple. It is medicine at its best and you get the chance to really make a difference in a community that could really use it. The pofessors are very understanding and supportive, and the facilities aren't nearly as bad as some may have you think. If it were up to me, the money for the new medical school would be better spent helping the community. My class is incredibly tight, and very excited to take the class of 2007 under our wing. Sorry if I'm rambling, but I really love Temple, and highly recommend it.

I got accepted to temple and would have gone there if I didn't get into my state school. In other words I liked it alot, for its reputation, relaxed noncompetitive atmosphere, cool gym, and the fact that they have electives in preclinical years you can take (e.g. intro to ophthalmology or intro to diagnostic radiology etc.) before you start rotations to get an idea of what specialty you might be interested in. I thought these electives would be a benefit because I have know idea for a specialty, and by the end of third year we are supposed to pick one, so any school that can give you an early experince in a certain field would be a plus. I was invited to Drexel but declined my interview so I can't tell you much about drexel. I also declined finch, so that can give you an idea of my opinion on drexels reputation.

*Hoping it's not too late to respond*

Last year I too had to choose between Temple and Drexel. Here are some of the reasons for my decision.

(btw, I also had a happy Berkeley grad on my interview day!)

The tour of the two hospitals at Temple was very convincing. The hospitals looked nice (especially the Children's - I do hope they get a peds residency going eventually) and the students raved about the clinical experience I'd get. By contrast, I never got to see Drexel's hospitals at all, so like generallobster I knew little about how good the clinical years were. I was concerned the past bankruptcy might still have an effect in terms of clinical staff. A non-medical acquaintance from Philly also told me Temple had a better local reputation.

The students were relaxed, and the Berkeley grad in particular emphasized the lack of competitiveness. At Drexel I had a happy student interviewer, but I just didn't get the impression that the student body was as happy on the whole (there were some complaints over some superfluous work that needed to be done).

Temple was said to have higher board scores and I felt safer with their more traditional curriculum. This is definitely a personal thing - others might certainly prefer Drexel for their organ-based curriculum and PIL option.

Finally, Temple had what seemed to be a very supportive minority office (the RAR). I also had the chance to take part in a pre-matriculation program, which helped me get settled in Philly.

Now that said, I really liked Drexel's med school building and their high tech aspect was a bonus (though Temple's fine in terms of computer availability). If med school was just the lecture years that might very well have pushed me to attend, especially since I'd have the possibility of walking to school. Temple's location is definitely both its best and worse (cost aside!) aspect. I'm at Mayo right now for a summer program, and I know it'll be painful to return to Kresge after seeing the Gonda building. But it's only med school and lectures in particular are only two years, and in the meantime I have no doubt I'm getting the education I need at Temple. I absolutely believe its as good as any ranked school out of the top 15 or so, and in some respects (ex. anatomy conferences with Dr. Schneck) as good as any.

Hope this helps!

I know one person in my class who chose Drexel over Temple, but she said it was more due to her feeling like East Falls was a little safer than the neighborhood around Temple.

That being said, as a Drexel med student, my personal opinion is that Temple may enjoy a better reputation, as far as medical schools go...which is not to say that I am not happy at Drexel, as far as the classmates or the learning environment goes.

Originally posted by Deuce 007 MD
I was invited to Drexel but declined my interview so I can't tell you much about drexel. I also declined finch, so that can give you an idea of my opinion on drexels reputation.

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Mighty proud of that MCAT, aren't we deuce? Maybe instead of putting into your biography, you should incorporate it into your name? I'm thinking "Deuce 007 MD36" has a much better ring to it

ttac