Drexel v. Penn State

[TxC]

Hey, all,

I am having a hard time deciding between Drexel and Penn State. Unfortunately the two schools have Second Look on the exact same day...so any advice/opinions would be appreciated! I'll be the only person in my family living in the US while I go through med school, so "being close to family" is not a concern.


Drexel
PROS -
Close to Center City, Philly (lots of things to do)
Students there seem happy based on what I saw on interview day
Quite a few free clinics at which students can volunteer
Diverse patient population
CONS -
Higher cost of attendance
Not Pass/Fail

Penn State
PROS -
Everyone seems really nice there
Pass/Fail for the first two years
Primary care oriented (apparently) and as of right now I'm interested in peds
Required research which I can see being helpful eventually
CONS -
Hershey is kind of in the middle of nowhere
More PBL than other schools according to a current student


Thanks in advance!

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[Psai]

Drexel
PROS -
Close to Center City, Philly (lots of things to do)
Students there seem happy based on what I saw on interview day
Diverse patient population

CONS -
Higher cost of attendance
Not Pass/Fail

Penn State
PROS -
Everyone seems really nice there
Pass/Fail for the first two years
Required research which I can see being helpful eventually
Hershey is kind of in the middle of nowhere
CONS -
More PBL than other schools according to a current student

fixed your list for you
seems like penn state may be better for you but who knows? take a chance

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Is being in the middle of nowhere really that much of a con for you? IMO, a more comfortable location might be worth the higher COA and the graded pre-clinical coursework.

 

[TxC]

Is being in the middle of nowhere really that much of a con for you? IMO, a more comfortable location might be worth the higher COA and the graded pre-clinical coursework.

For me, it's the fear of being bored. Having myriad things to do by living in a big city sounds pretty awesome.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

For me, it's the fear of being bored. Having myriad things to do by living in a big city sounds pretty awesome.

It's super important to have motivation while you're in med school. And if a big city environment provides that, then Drexel might be the better choice.

Edit: You'll also have more/better food choices if you pick Drexel 😀

 

[Sandmeezy]

I also think that a diverse patient population is extremely beneficial. Also, if your idea of fun post exams is going out to bars/clubs/city things, then Philly would be the better option. If it's grabbing some froyo or whatever with some friends in a "dead" environment, then Hershey is where it's at. I believe he also told me that they occasionally go out to a nearby town with some bars (I believe Harrisburg? My mind is drawing a blank) but that's like close to a half an hour away. If I'm wrong about my last statement please do correct me.

 

[Tman90]

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[TxC]

Really appreciate the input, guys!

I also think that a diverse patient population is extremely beneficial. Also, if your idea of fun post exams is going out to bars/clubs/city things, then Philly would be the better option. If it's grabbing some froyo or whatever with some friends in a "dead" environment, then Hershey is where it's at. I believe he also told me that they occasionally go out to a nearby town with some bars (I believe Harrisburg? My mind is drawing a blank) but that's like close to a half an hour away. If I'm wrong about my last statement please do correct me.

You're right, it is Harrisburg. I always felt like that Harrisburg should have fun things to do given that it is the state capitol, but it seems like that's not really true haha. I think I might spend the day before second look driving around to see what the place is actually like. There's no doubt that Philly is a fun place, and there would be so many things that one can do to de-stress there.

Personally, I would probably pick Penn State (although I'd probably make the sacrifice and actually go to Drexel for the sake of my S.O.). I liked their humanities in medicine focus and their global health scholars program. I also thought their whole sim center was pretty cool given that it is set up in the layout of the actual hospital. Pass-fail is also something that was important to me when making my decision. I also think working with the Amish population would be pretty unique and cool. Living in rural PA doesn't bother me too much either. I think they are both great schools and can't go wrong with either. As for Drexel, I spent a lot of time there so I know it is a great institution and you would get all the benefits from living in the city, i.e. more diverse patient populations, I'm assuming more opportunities for away rotations, great food and nightlife, etc... Also Philly is up and coming and will be a cool place to live! Without putting Drexel down too much, the students didn't seem too thrilled when I interviewed, but I understand that there are so many variables in that opinion that it should not truly reflect the quality of the school. I also know a few people who go there now and absolutely love it!

There are definitely quite a few aspects of Penn State that I like, but the idea of giving up the chance to live in a city like Philly and all the advantages that come with it just makes the decision so hard.

 

[Tman90]

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[JPA178]

Just to play devil's advocate, you would have exposure to a more diverse patient population than you might expect at Penn State. Although it's not in a major city like Philly, it does cover all of south central PA and is a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center for the region. Philly has 5 medical schools and so many hospitals. Penn State's ER had around 64K visits last year whereas Hahnemann (Drexel's main hospital) had 47K.

That being said, quality of life is a huge factor and it's hard to beat Philly. Tough choice!

 

[Tman90]

.

 

[Sandmeezy]

Just to play devil's advocate, you would have exposure to a more diverse patient population than you might expect at Penn State. Although it's not in a major city like Philly, it does cover all of south central PA and is a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center for the region. Philly has 5 medical schools and so many hospitals. Penn State's ER had around 64K visits last year whereas Hahnemann (Drexel's main hospital) had 47K.

That being said, quality of life is a huge factor and it's hard to beat Philly. Tough choice!

But I'm sure it'd be possible to get exposure in the other philly hospitals as well through shadowing/research no?

 

[Kemosabe]

I wasn't impressed by drexel, so I'd say Penn State and I'm going to be very blunt about my reasoning: My interview day at drexel was very disorganized and uninformative, the hospital was inconveniently far away from the school, almost every student I talked about spent way more talking about skipping lectures and partying (I'm not saying all students are that way but it left me a very bad impression) than the school and couldn't give me really good reasons about why they chose drexel, and the campus seemed more like, no offense, a high school or junior high school, than a medical school. Also, research opportunities are very limited at drexel. I know this for a fact because my interviewer who was a dean or admissions coordinator or something gave me a really odd look when I talked about my research interests that I wanted to pursue at drexel, and basically said what I just said. The PBL vs. more lecture based curriculum is pretty gimmicky too. My overall impression of drexel was "meh".

I also know some docs who went to Penn State and are amazing docs too, so that's another reason why i'd say penn.

 

[pink/\floyd]

Follow your heart. Where do you feel you would be happier?

 

[TxC]

Follow your heart. Where do you feel you would be happier?

I am an inherently happy person so that question is hard to answer haha...but I do feel like both places can make me very happy.

I'm just hoping financial aid packages come out soon because I think that'll be an important factor.

 

[Blue Blood]

I am an inherently happy person so that question is hard to answer haha...but I do feel like both places can make me very happy.

I'm just hoping financial aid packages come out soon because I think that'll be an important factor.

You probably know this by now, but Drexel is P/F now as of like 2 weeks ago (still has a few aprovals to go through but the way they made it sound was like its a done deal) and I don't think they gave financial aid out until mid may since forms aren't due for a few days.

I personally hate cities so if I get off the wl at Penn state I'll take your spot gladly 😉

 

[snowflakes]

I am an inherently happy person so that question is hard to answer haha...

Haha I don't have any advice re drexel vs penn state, but just want to say, I love your attitude and perspective!

 

[TxC]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I ended up choosing Penn State; I was really impressed by the school during Second Look and the idea of constantly being surrounded by chocolate is pretty awesome lol.