I am not so sure about the rep thing. I have talked with some physicians in Philly that rank the schools as UPenn>Jeff>Drexel>Temple. Bad points for Drexel (for some people) include the potential to have to travel all over for clinical rotations, some issues with recording all patient cases on a PDA during clerkships (don't know about the other schools), the high tuition (but most Philly schools are very expensive), and the newness of the school (in reality it isn't totally new, since it resulted from a series of mergers and name changes). However in its plus side are the innovative curricula (both PIL and IFM), the benefits of impressive technological integration due to the strengths of the main Drexel campus, and the warm interaction with instructors (from what I have heard). That being said, I think it would be worthwhile to give Temple a look unless one is absolutely convinced that Drexel is the place for them.
Drexel blows Temple away in the first 2, much less important years of med school. Their curricula are superior to Temple's and they do a good job preparing students for USMLE Step 1. I heard from a friend that this year (2007), Drexel has a 99% pass rate among the roughly 200 students who have already taken the exam. Temple recently changed their curriculum, so maybe those changes have leveled the playing field somewhat.
However in the much more important clinical years Temple really does shine. Temple hospital is a great place to train, where students can and do get a ton of responsibility and exposure to different things. From what I've heard from Drexel students, there is nothing in the Drexel system that compares. As other posters have mentioned, Temple has more sites in the Philly area than Drexel does, so less travel will be necessary in 3rd/4th years on average.
Both schools are good places to be and I'm positive you will get a good educational experience at either place. And one other thing - Temple is building a new med school building which should be completed in the next year (or so they say).
And to address the reputation issue - from what I've heard from attendings, the order is:
Penn >> Jefferson >>> Temple > Drexel >>>> PCOM
But in the end, don't worry about reputation too much. If you crush the boards, get great 3rd year evals, do research and otherwise dominate life, you will get into any residency you want.
