please please please don't judge a school by it's location...it makes absolutely no sense. Drexel is a 20 minute train ride from center city so really it's not a big deal being a little out of the city (besides you will be studying most of the time anyway). Second off, you should definitely do some research on the curriculums rather than listen to the rankings and what the "reputation" of the school is. I can honestly say that I am completely satisfied with my education at Drexel (actually I am getting above and beyond what I expected) and the teachers are amazing....they really care about the students, not just PhD's that don't give a crap about lecturing and would rather being doing their research. If you have any questions about drexel please PM me...i am more than willing to share my experiences with you about the school, area, etc. Take it from someone who has talked one on one with the professors, been to dozens of lectures, studied for their exams, hell i practically live at school...I was offered other acceptances as well and never once have I regretted my decision to come to drexel...even though they are not ranked highly on some ranking system that obviously needs to be abolished being since it is mostly concerned with the amount of finances the school receives...they have no idea how well these schools do on their boards (being since this is private information). Anyways, I just wanted to throw this out there being since drexel was being underrepresented 🙁 If i wasn't satisfied with drexel, i wouldn't care to take the time to post my thoughts
I go to Jefferson, so I'm biased the OTHER way.
🙂
I agree though - if you choose a school's location based on nearby recreational opportunities, it's a moot point. You won't last long at either school.
Still, I personally prefer Jefferson's CLINICAL location. We can see such a huge variety of patients, even in our first 2 years of school.
Specifically:
* Chinatown is 5 blocks north. The Asian students assoc. runs blood pressure screening clinics in Chinatown. (A lot of the patients there don't speak English.)
* North Philadelphia (mostly poor, African-American families) is a 10 minute subway ride away. I help run a youth outreach at a teenage homeless shelter. Most of the kids there are black.
Plus, JeffHOPE has one of their 4 homeless shelter clinics in North Philadelphia, at Ridge. This is the largest men's homeless shelter in the city, and Jefferson students go out there 4 times a week. There are other homeless shelter clinics throughout the city that Jeff students go to.
* South Philadelphia (15-20 minutes away) has a growing number of Mexicans and Hispanic clinics.
* The "Gayborhood" is 2 blocks away. You can work with a lot of gay patients, many of whom (unfortunately) have HIV/AIDS.
I like being exposed to such a variety of patient populations - that way, if I do decide to do primary care, I can say that I have experience with a diverse patient group.
The professors are really nice and very accessible. They definitely don't stand on ceremony at Jefferson: I know that some people have worked with Dean Clara Callahan when she sees patients. (I love, love, love Dean Callahan. She's so cool.) Dean Nasca (the dean of the med school) teaches 1st year renal physiology and 2nd year renal acid-base balance. The head of the endocrinology dept. teaches 1st and 2nd year diabetes lectures, and the head of the neuro department does a grand rounds on MS.
Still, you should choose a school for the right reasons: the curriculum, the opportunities, etc. Definitely do some more research into Drexel's and Jefferson's curriculums. Maybe you like PBL, or maybe you don't like the "blocks" system. There are a lot of factors in this decision.
Good luck!
