All About Drexel

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babinski bob

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I thought I'd do this just for all the premeds interested in what goes on at Drexel from a second year IFM perspective. I made this post last year so I?m updating it since I have more insight now as a second year. :)

Pros:
1. we have awesome module guides and all our lectures are recorded and can be accessed online. we also have a student-run transcription service which types up lectures (word for word) which is available for purchase. What does this mean for you??? Class is an OPTION so you can use your time as you choose.
2. wireless internet access throughout the school is awesome.
3. the professors are fantastic and most of them are strictly there to teach and not affiliated w/ research (which means they're accessible and you can talk to them at any time. For example, our physio prof routinely stays at school and answers questions until midnight the night before exams).
4. the area is very good relative to other med schools in the area (Not to name any names...).
5. the professors are totally responsive to our input... for example, after a weeklong exam fest, we were scheduled for a cumulative biochem final the following monday... we voiced our concerns and got the final pushed back to tuesday.
6. the class totally pulls together. everyone helps each other out and teaches each other.. for our last gross practical, the top students got together w/ the profs and put together a review for the rest of the class.. for microanatomy, the class compiled a huge list of concepts/definitions that were going to be on the final, and distributed them to the entire class... we have a class website where students always post their notes/study guides for all to use... for our pharm class, we all contribute to make pharm charts for all to use? these are just a FEW of the examples of how our class always pulls together to help each other out.
7. totally noncompetitive environment. classes are graded honors, high pass, pass, marginally unsatisfactory. The professors set out guidelines at the beginning of the class so you know what you have to do to earn a given grade. For example, many of the professors set honors at 90-92%, high pass 88-91% and pass is anything above 70%. So you're competing against YOURSELF and not anyone else.
8. we have a great ceac facility which we use for standardized patient interviews.
9. class size is large (~250 people) which means you?ll have TONS of opportunities to make friends. This is NOT some impersonal school where people don?t like each other cuz they?re competing against each other. Rather we all pull together, help each other out, and it?s totally easy to make friends and meet people.
10. campus is in a safe, quiet, residential area so there?s a strong sense of community on the campus since all of the students are med students along w/ some grad students as well.
11. many people live within walking distance or simply across the street.
12. excellent clinical training with 2 major university hospitals (MCP, Hahnemann hospitals) and many other affiliated hospitals in jersey, Pittsburgh, and other parts of PA.

Cons:
1. gross anatomy lasts way too long (mid september-mid may)... but there are other med schools around the country with this same deal?
2. att wireless sucks at the school... If you have it, you're assed out. I would suggest dropping them (and forking over the $175 early-termination fee) and getting verizon (which is best) or sprint (which runs a close second).
3. research opportunities, while available, aren?t as readily accessible/available as they are at other schools.
4. last but NOT least, it's expensive like ALL other private schools. I think for 2003-2004, it's about 33K for tuition. However, on the bright side (if there is any), philly is a relatively cheap place to live (you can get your OWN apartment close to school for ~450-700 dollars depending on how nice/large of a place you want).

Other considerations:
1. Our incoming class (2002) had the following stats: 3.45, 30 mcat.
2. the school accepts TONS of out of staters (particularly california students).
3. Our interviews are very kickback and friendly.
4. graduating seniors for 2003 had a fantastic match, with quite a few ending up in very competitive specialities at great locations(derm, ent, ortho, and one plastics).
5. we also have the pil program which is for small-group, self-directed learning (which i don't know much about since i'm an ifm student so i won't say anything else).

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awesome....THANKS! :D
 
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Thanks. Out of the schools I've interviewed at so far, I have gotten a good feeling from Drexel (and they accepted me). Plus I am currently living in the area and wouldn't mind staying.
 
I am a FL resident but Drexel is definitely in my top 3 choices of med schools.
 
I interviewed at Drexel last month, and was very impressed by the school. The facilities seemed very nice, and I appreciated the high-tech approach of the school. I didn't get much chance to look around the area immediately surrounding the school, but at a glance it looked nice.

One thing I recommend if you visit Drexel and stay downtown is to ride the school's shuttle to your interview, which you can do if you show the driver your interview brochure. I did this multiple times (I did a dry run the day before), and it gave me a chance to talk with a variety of current students in a non-interview environment. This, to me, is a great way to get a feel for the school. Everyone seemed very happy with the school and gave it a thumbs up, which to me speaks very well for Drexel.

One thing...Drexel has a bit of a bad rep because of the bankruptcy. I don't consider this to be a bad sign personally; as I understand it, the bankruptcy was due to a poorly-managed merger several years ago BEFORE Drexel took over the school, which happened to a lot of hospitals in the late '90s/early 2000s. The thing to look at is how the school and hospitals are being managed *now*, and my impression is that they're very much on the right track.
 
I sent in my application in early August and have been completed there since then...AND I really am interested in Drexel....so please...get me an interview. Thank you. ;-)

You can PM me to get all my private info. I am joking...but not.
 
Originally posted by babinski bob

5. we also have the pil program which is for small-group, self-directed learning (which i don't know much about since i'm an ifm student so i won't say anything else).

Does anyone know someone who is in this program or a similar PBL program? When I visited Drexel, the PIL program definitely seemed like something I would want to consider.
 
Two things... for people who read this for future interviews

First of all, you can't ride the shuttle anymore without a pass. They have cracked down on random people taking it (I don't know why).... if you need to go to the hospitals from the school for interviews, they will give you a temporary pass.

I'm in the PIL program.
 
Yeah, it did seem like not many interviewees were using the shuttle, which made me wonder what was up. It was weird...when you get the pre-interview packet in the mail, there's a brochure in there that tells you that you can use the shuttle. It says to "bring this booklet as your boarding pass for the shuttle," so I figured it was ok. I went ahead and showed it to the drivers when I got on the shuttle (I used it between Center City and Queen Lane twice), and never had any problems, although I did get the impression that the drivers hadn't seen the brochure/pass before.
 
Yeah-- that is a newest instituited policy... so the brochures are a little behind! ;-)

I just think most applicants opt for the taxis! It was very clever for you to take the shuttle in!
 
hey babinski or anyone else at drexel: what opps are available for students to get involved in the community...like working at free clinics
i wanted to write a letter of interest in hopes of snaggin an interview...if you could give me names of clincs and opps available that would be awesome!
 
Howdy, thanks for the info!
Also, does anyone know what the chances of interview/getting in are for those of us on "hold" currently, or in past years or anything?
 
there really are TONS of outreach projects available at drexel.

1. HOP (health outreach program). there are three separate clinics that I am aware of.. We have one running at Salvation Army (serves poor, substance abusers/recovering addicts), another in Chinatown (serves Asian population), and another at Eliza Shirley (serves women).

2. Streetside Health Project (basically a needle-exchange program for drug addicts, but also provides basic care like hepatitis/HIV screening, draining abscesses, etc)

3. Pediatric AIDS Benefit Concert (concert put on once a year by students and faculty... all proceeds go to Pediatric AIDS care)

And there's a bunch of others that are slipping my mind at the moment... Basically, there's plenty of opportunities to get involved here at Drexel. Good luck.
 
thanks man that was money!
 
Our hold list has pretty good movement. I think the adcom starting looking at those applications after January sometime. Good luck!
 
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