Campus life at Drexel University

• It is not difficult especially for Indian students as we are familiar with cramming all the things for the exams(Here you have to just be with the time & follow the guidelines of the professor in order to get a good grade)
• Positive I personally think about the course is that even if you don't want to study or feeling less interested about any topic, they make it that way that you end up liking the topic)
• Negative is that for introverts, it is difficult to complete the course, as for my degree, there are lots of Team Projects & Class Activities that you have to take part in. So for some people that's a different challenge. You have to take 3 courses per quarter, so 3 Lectures per week. Generally lectures are of 3 hours(You get a short break in between). Generally, lecture timings are 9-12, 12-3, 3-6 & 6-9. It depends on you now which course you take & what time of the day it's offered, mostly 6-9 in the evening is the preferred time for everytime.
• The most number of students I have seen in my class is 15-17. The max strength never goes above 25 & even 15 for some Professors. There are actually many, but depends on the students of choosing which courses to study in a particular quarter, so even if you are doing same degree, they might be in some other class & you are in other class. But I have met 7-8 Indian students in my 1st quarter 

• Choosing Drexel:

Co-Op Opportunity 
Good Scholarship compared to others
Good Location(Philadelphia-Historic City)
Industry Connection of the University 
Course System & Professors

Admission Process: Applied on their Official Website(Transcript, 3 LORs, IELTS 6.5 Overall, SOP)
Got acceptance letter
Applied for I20 Document paying 300$(Which is adjusted during your tuition fees)
VISA process & then started studying

Exams: IELTS(Overall Minimjm 6.5 Bands),GRE(Not required for my Course, may be required for some other courses)

Challenges: I personally found no challenges as such; the process was very smooth & timely for me

• Colleges I applied to: Georgia Tech, Atlanta(Waitlisted, asked for me to comply with the IELTS bends minimum Requirements), Penn State(Rejected, Not having enough IELTS bends), NYU Tandon(Waitlisted, asked for me to comply with the IELTS bends minimum Requirements),Drexel University(Admitted),Rochester Institute of Technology(Admitted), University of Maryland at College Park(Admitted),Arizona State University(Admitted),University of Texas at Dallas(Admitted),Rutgers Camden Campus(Admitted)
• Fall Intake'2025(I wanted to go for the Masters straight after completing my Bachelors, I completed my Bachelors in May'25 & applied for the September Intake). I applied around end of the March'2025, got acceptance letter in 15-20 days from applying, paid the I20 fees 10 days after receiving acceptance, got I20 in next Few days, I was pretty much done around May starting, then booked VISA Slot for June starting.

• Faculty to Student ratio depends on the Faculties. Some allow 15 students, some 25. But mostly never goes above 25. I personally liked the Teaching Methodology so far & they try to engage the students with some class activities related to the study topics in order to make the class feel lively. Most of the professors are very timely in replying your mails & gives positive answer when you ask anything in-person as well
• For getting a Job, not only what Professors teach during the class is sufficient, but the articles & other things they provide for us to read is also an important thing
• I personally have no idea about professor helping anyone get a job as this is my 1st quarter only, but yes what my gut feeling says is, I have seen many Professors having lots of contacts in the industry and also with their past students, so they may help you contact them if they see potential in you. I personally liked Prof. Dr. Ram Arthanari, I completed one course under him in my 1st quarter & registered for the other courses under him in my next quarter. His accent & the way he speak is easy to pick. Also the knowledge he has & the kind of helping nature he has is very helpful so far

• My university has only one campus, but that's the City Campus so it's significantly big.
• There is a Library which is open till evening everyday. There is also a Big sports complex in front of the Library which has a 2 storey gym, basket ball courts, Swimming Pool, Squash Rink, Running Path & Table Tennis Tables and many such things. Medical Services I have never used so far but I heard there is a student medical Centre in the campus. But what I personally like about Drexel is their Police. Drexel Police is there for 24/7 support & they constantly do patrolling and also comes wherever you are on campus if you feel scared.
• I have taken part in Orientations, there was nice food & also nice engaging activities for the students to engage with each other. Also there are many clubs that organize events for the festivals of here & our festivals as well. They provide free food, many fun activities & Good memories. I have taken parts in many of them as a Volunteer as well. Also Drexel does organize the Career Fairs for the students to direct contact the company members & can present their resumes in-person. For sports, you have a Very good & well maintained Sports Centre where you can go & present your College ID & can ask for the equipments. Also for the extracurricular activities you have many clubs & student chapters which you can take a part in as I mentioned above.

• I currently have no idea about TA/RA as this is my 1st quarter & I will be exploring about these things from the next quarters.I think there is 13-15$/Hour pay for a TA/RA positions(Though I can't confirm it as I have not applied to any of these or never even contacted any of such kind of persons)(But 13-15$/Hour is what you usually get for some good positions in Drexel.There are quite a few, but Main Desk Assistance, Parking Lot assistance, On-Campus Food places workers are some of the things that you can do. Generally the pay varies between 10-15$/hour depending on what the job is. Maximum 20 hours of On-Campus job is allowed as per the International Student Guidelines.
• I personally think it is very difficult to get an On-Campus job especially during this market times.

• Generally the student gets around 10-15$/Hour according to what job he/she is doing. To get The Part Time job employement is a bit difficult nowadays as there are tough times going on for international students & many restrictions are also there. I am not denying the opportunities to get one, but there is a luck factor also. And you have to be active in this search & keep applying & taking the follow ups when you find any ooportunity. You can find job openings on the official College Portal, you can apply by uploading your resume. If you get an interview call, you have to give the interview(Be it Online or Offline depedning on the organization.) If you get selected after giving the interview, there is a process of Social Security Number which you have to do & then you are good to go with the work.

• I am not so sure about the ratio of the students getting full-time jobs after completing the course. But there is a Co-Op opportunity in my university so that way you can atleast have a platform to apply for the jobs & if you are lucky then you can also get a Pre Placement Offer while working on a Co-Op during your Academic Years. According to my Academic Advisor, she said there were almost 85% of students who got a Co-Op this year. 
• One is the PPO that you get while doing Internship or a Co-Op during your study. The other is LinkedIn & similar platforms(Difficult but can't deny). Also you can ask for referrals to some of your seniors who are working in the industry already. Also you can ask professors that you have a good bond with for some opportunities or contacts in the industry.
• One of my friend is placed as a Grid Distributing Engineer in an electric company named PECO. He is doing his Co-Op right now. My other friend is working as a Machine Learning Engineer in Connecticut(Co-Op). Aramark, Delloite, Johnson & Johnson and many other good companies are there where you can find some nice opportunities.

• I am living Off-Campus. I found my accommodation through my friend who was already living here.(You can use Facebook & WhatsApp groups for finding the accommodations)(Also there many Google Sites which can give you some good options if you find). I am paying 800$ per month including Utilities. 24/7 support, Gym, Indoor Games & many other things included)
• The main challenge was to gather people if you find a good 4b4b or 3b3b houses, as I was not socially connected with anyone coming to drexel. Houses are easy to find but to gather people to live in that house is what I think was difficult
• Try to live in some Serviced Appartments around & near to the campus, don't go for the cheaper & far ones atleast for the 1st year. You may figure out later where to live & with whom to live going forward in the 2nd year. My accommodation is just 15 minutes walk from my study building & just 3 Minutes walk from the Main Building. Many Indian students live a bit far from the campus compared to me. Like they are having a 30 minutes walk to the campus if they don't get the public or on-campus transport

• IELTS(6.5 Bends Overall | You have to check minimum of each section like according to what I could remember is, 6-6 for Listening & Reading and 5.5-5.5 for Writing & Speaking).
• Statement of Purpose, 3 Letters of Recommendation, Official Transcript of the Bachelor's Degree till the last semester in which you are applying for the Master's.
• There was no interview for my Admission(Atleast for my course, may take for some other courses, but I personally don't know & never heard from anyone that they have given any kind of interviews for the admission)
 

• Tuition Fees:

1360$/Credit(My Course is 45 credits, so around 60,000$ accordingly)
Tuition fees are to be paid quarterly, International Students are required to take minimum 3 courses per quarter, 1 Course is for 3 credits(for my Degree). So around 10k-12k Dollars per quarter(May be less if you get the scholarship)
 Fees structure is credit based, the more amount of Credit you register for, the more fees you have to pay.(Minimum 9 Credits per quarter for International Students*)

• Monthly Expenses:

 I am living Off-Campus & paying Rent around 800$(Including all the Utilities)
You may find cheaper ones but may be those are a bit far from the campus(You have to have a Bicycle or a Motorvehicle to transport if you go far)
Transportation Bus System is there but for limited routes(That works for Drexel Students for free on ID cards)
 Grocery expenses come around 100-150$ per month if you cook at home.(If you are an outside eater, it may cost a lot than this)
 I prefer walking & my residence is nearby college buildings so there is no transpiration cost for me(If you travel or go for a trip, you may require some money depending on how frequently you go, has a strong public transport structure though)

• I received Dean's Fellowship(It is based on how strong is your profile when applying, how strong background you have for the course you're applying for). I received 16k$ for full course
• Many of my friends received various scholarships, but the amounts for everyone is different(It may vary based on the time & your profile). I personally don't know about that ratio, but it may be around 30-40% according to what I have seen so far