This is really interesting. I haven't yet met a Drexel student who didn't love the school, and considering that I'm currently typing this from within the Drexel library, I work at Drexel, and my husband is a student, that's saying a lot. In my opinion the students are almost all very enthusiastic about the school and happy to be here.
There was a thread about Philly schools a while back in which I listed my pros and cons for Drexel. I can try to list them again:
Pros:
- Nice students, very diverse student body
- Professors are absolutely dedicated to education and to the students; Drexel has actually been recognized for this by the LCME
- Pre-clinical curriculum is, IMO, unsurpassed by any other (I'm really talking the IFM curriculum here; I don't know much about PIL; IFM is sort of symptom-based, which is systems-based with a twist, and it's absolutely amazing)
- Preparation for clinical rotations is outstanding
- Philadelphia is a great city. The campus itself is nice, even if some parts of the surrounding area aren't the best (and they really aren't bad)
- Resources are amazing; online videos of lectures (which you can speed up or slow down), online notes, etc.
- Wide variety of rotation sites, so very diverse patient populations
Cons
- Reputation isn't too great, although people often match well (but where don't they?)
- You can potentially do rotations all over the state and into New Jersey; they make exceptions for special cases (childcare, etc.), and some people like this while others don't as much
- Main teaching hospital isn't really so nice. Debatable how important this is, as you don't necessarily have to spend too much time there. Unfortunately, most residents are FMGs (this is unfortunate for language barrier reasons)
- Expensive, like any private school. Only need-based aid available
- If you're interested in basic science research, this isn't the school for you. There are opportunities, but funding is scarce.
There is a divide between the PIL students and the IFM students during the first two years. PIL is such a small minority of the class, though, that it's not a big deal -- IFM students don't notice much, and the PIL students I've talked to have generally been glad to have the opportunity to become very close to their fellow PIL students. Personally I am not a fan of the PIL curriculum (for reasons I've stated before in PBL threads), but the students seem to like it.
I'll probably end up at Drexel, though it's by no means certain. The faculty and staff are just amazingly dedicated to helping the students. It's a very accomodating school, and I think the students get a great education. My only two worries in choosing Drexel are the reputation and the cost. Since my other choices aren't much cheaper, it comes down to reputation. But I love Drexel, and I encourage anybody who is interested in the school to really talk to lots of students and visit to get a feel for how warm and friendly it is, and for what a great education they offer.
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