Drexel vs Albany ?

[Paws]

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I like both of these schools but was wondering what sorts of differences people might see in them? They seem pretty similar in alot of ways, too. Any thoughts on their strengths and weaknesses?

 

[Kashue]

Originally posted by Paws
I like both of these schools but was wondering what sorts of differences people might see in them? They seem pretty similar in alot of ways, too. Any thoughts on their strengths and weaknesses?

Hi Paws.

IMHO, Drexel is INCREDIBLY expensive. The average debt of students was around 140, 000 dollars last year and one 3rd year mentioned that he'll be in 250, 000 dollars in debt when he graduates. Their financial aid packages are pretty bad(USnews reports only 5% recieved grants/scholarships).😱

Also, Drexel doesn't have any dorms for their students. So, you'll have to find housing on your own. Drexel's student body is very large (250) and from what I can tell from my visit, not very cohesive/close if you're looking for that in a medical school. Everyone does their own thing and my student interviewer told me the faculty is "whatever" when it comes to their students. She also said she was very depressed which didn't leave a positive impression on me. 🙄

Philadelphia is an OK place to live.

A pro to Drexel which I liked is that they are VERY state of the art: everything is wireless, all lectures/notes are on the web. Their curriculum IFM is pretty cool too.

I haven't interviewed at Albany (will in 2 weeks) but the only con I can think of Albany is the location - it's going to get very cold! Their financial looks better according to Usnews.com(lower debt + more recieving grants/scholarships).

 

[Mylaina]

You may have to find your own housing at Drexel, but there's a ton of apartments around... Besides, most people in medical school are 20+, so it's about time to get an apartment.

If you do the PIL program, you have a cohesive class and the teachers are very caring and helpful.

 

[babinski bob]

I made this post a while back so I'll just cut and paste what i wrote earlier...

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).

 

[babinski bob]

btw... 250,000 dollars sounds way too high... the expected total costs for 2003-2004 are $52K.... about 33K tuition, 12K living expenses, and the rest for books, health insurance, etc etc etc

 

[snapdad]

Just a note on the cost of Drexel. Unless you go to your state school, it seems to me that the tuition, fees, living expenses of attending Drexel are roughly comparable to going to most out-of-state/private institutions. Relatively speaking, 33K tuition isn't outrageous. For some perspective, look up the cost of attending UVM or Colorado out-of-state (although to be fair, CU does change your status to in-state after a year).

 

[Kashue]

Originally posted by snapdad
Just a note on the cost of Drexel. Unless you go to your state school, it seems to me that the tuition, fees, living expenses of attending Drexel are roughly comparable to going to most out-of-state/private institutions. Relatively speaking, 33K tuition isn't outrageous. For some perspective, look up the cost of attending UVM or Colorado out-of-state (although to be fair, CU does change your status to in-state after a year).

The tuition/etc are comparable to most private schools, but what I was trying to point out is that Drexel isn't that great when it comes to financial aid packages (and why it so expensive) if only 5% of their 250 students are getting grants/scholarships and are going under 140k in debt.

 

[Paws]

Thanks guys, these are great comments. I am defintitely aware of the expen$e of Drexel, but then alot of schools are way expensive. Aren't most private schools around $50,000 per year. It seems ourtageous but then what can you do?

As for the students, I know - my student interviewer seemed depressed and he even admitted to those feelings. I think some of that could be from the crunch of classes and being swamped with work and worry. Studying can be very isolating I have found, and I would get depressed too sometimes just doing ugrad stuff.

I got into Drexel so I am inlcined to like them ALOT ! But I will be interviewing at Albany soon, plus I'm waiting to hear on a ton of schools who have been completely silent - 😕

I think the two schools have different reputations altho they overlap in many ways. I guess time will tell ...

 

[Mylaina]

Congrats Paws! Interviewing at Drexel, or any med school, has a time factor... That is... when you come here after exams students are care-free and relaxed, but when it's the week before exams... watch out!! Unfortunately, some applicants see us during that time! We're not always terribly stressed out... don't be afraid of that! ;-)

 

[maugham]

Albany is actually more expensive than Drexel. I believe it's one of the most expensive med schools in the country in fact, only a little behind Tufts and BU. Their website lists their tuition as close to 39 thousand while Drexel's is about 33 thousand. Drexel's tuition, while high, is average for private schools. I can't compare financial aid packages of either school, but you should be aware that very few students actually get much in the way of grants and scholarships when it comes to medical school, unless you qualify as an underrepresented minority. It's mostly loans, sorry to say.

 

[AndyDufrane]

my impression is people who go to Albany either are in some 7 year program that they got stuck in and have no choice or are there because they couldn't get in anywhere else, I mena, why else would you want to go to there

 

[AndyDufrane]

ok, I was kidding around in the last post, its just that the first time I visited albany, so many things went wrong, I got my brand new cell phone stolen, etc... as far as the school goes, i still think its a back up school

 

[mackaikai]

it's ok.