Drexel University, Philadelphia

Drexel, like every university, has its pros and cons. I attended the school for both my undergraduate and graduate studies, a total of seven years. Perhaps the best aspect of Drexel's undergraduate program is the co-op experience. With most majors, you would attend three co-op experiences, each where you would work full-time six months at a time. After my first co-op, I switched majors. After my second two co-ops, I knew I wanted to get my MBA. My co-op experiences proved to be extremely beneficial in helping me decide what I wanted to do in life. The atmosphere of the school can vary depending on what you make out of it. For my first two years, I hated the school. I was always encountering negative experiences with the administration, I felt like there was no night life, and I hated the campus. However, I changed that around by becoming active on campus. I became an orientation leader, joined numerous intramural and club sports teams, and joined a fraternity. There is an extremely diverse crowd, and everyone can find their own "click" where they fit in. My campus life went from extremely dull (to the point where I considered transferring), to some of the best years of my life, mostly due to Greek life. For my last three years in the undergraduate program, I think I had a little too much fun at certain times. Perhaps the worst aspect of Drexel is the price of tuition. Although the school is now considered a Tier 1 school by U.S. News (#109 on the ranking), I feel the tuition is overpriced. Yes, it is a private school, however, there are many better ranking schools that offer a much lower tuition. All in all, I do recommend Drexel to any student who is seeking to gain real world experience in addition to in-class learnings. Like any school you attend, you will encounter your share of problems and your share of horrible professors. But there are also many great things about the school, too much to mention here. Furthermore, if you intend on staying in the Philadelphia area after you graduate, you should know that Drexel has a very well established name with many of the businesses in the area. Nightlife on campus and especially in the city is also great, especially once you're 21. Drexel can either be the best time of your life, or the worst... that's ultimately up to the decisions you make while you're there.