Philadelphia, PA: I visited Drexel University for an open house focusing on their engineering curriculum. While there, I became familiar with the campus and student life. Since Drexel is in the middle of Philadelphia, I expected it to be dirty and crowded, but from the second I entered the campus, I could see I was wrong. A huge copper dragon (the mascot) welcomed us as we parked and walking to the gym I could tell that the campus was exceptionally clean. And to my surprise, there was actually grass everywhere!

The three hundred other students and I gathered in the gym for an orientation and a meet-and-greet style program. From this I took away lots of information and the realization that the staff and students were very helpful and friendly.

Next we heard from a number of important people from the University and split into tours according to our specific major. I am interested in Chemical Engineering and during this part of the day I learned a lot about Drexel, including their great co-op program. In this program you attend five years of college, but your first semester of your middle three years are spent working as part of a co-op program. This really stood out for me: gaining a year and a half paid job experience while still in college.

After this session, it was off to lunch to evaluate the college food. Much to my surprise, it was delicious! After our filling lunch we had a student-led tour of the dorms, which were clean, quiet and spacious with an amazing view overlooking the city!

All in all, I was very impressed with Drexel. I was quite surprised by how nice it was and will definitely apply. I could tell that the students were there to work hard and get a good education, which was the final thing that impressed me about the school. Oh, and don’t forget to tell your parents that 800 incoming students each year will have their applications reviewed for scholarship money.

So if you are (or even if you aren’t) considering Drexel University as one of your college choices, I suggest you visit - you will be very impressed.