Home to more than 1,000 medical students, Drexel is responsible for the medical education of 1 in 83 doctors across America. So it’s a powerhouse when it comes to health education!
Stating in its guiding principles that it aims at “excellence, collaboration, community, and growth”, let’s find out if it delivers.
Interested in learning more about specific medical school pros and cons? Check out our Medical School Guides here – we cover all osteopathic (DO) and allopathic (MD) schools.
Is Drexel Medical School Good?
Drexel Medical School is a suitable option for aspiring allopathic doctors (MDs). It may not have the top reputation (No. 85 in Research and No. 94-124 in Primary Care, according to US News), but its 92% match rate, coupled with an encouraging 5.1% admissions rate (est.) and lower-than-average MCAT (511), could make it a good option for the average pre-med.
Where Drexel does shine is in its future move to a new Philadelphia city center home, addressing existing issues with rotations.
Related: Best Medical Schools In Philadelphia (Ultimate Guide)
Why Drexel Medical School? Major Pros
1. Admissions Requirements & Track Record
Drexel’s average MCAT and GPA scores are more favorable than many other medical schools (read on further for more). They also have an acceptance rate that’s close to the 5.5% national average (Source).
Bottom line: Drexel is NOT super competitive.
2. City Center Relocation
As of 2023, Drexel Medicine will relocate to join the College of Nursing and Health Professions at a 450,000 sq-foot Philadelphia city center location (uCity Square).
Bringing all the allied health professionals together under one roof is a huge pro in terms of centralizing rotations and teaching.
That eases the stress (and potential expense) of complicated educational commutes!
3. Extracurriculars
Drexel Med offers a ton of extracurriculars. From their community outreach programs that aid the underserved in Philadelphia, to random hobby clubs like Stitches, Board Game Club, Gardening Club, etc., there’s a lot to do outside of studying medicine.
There’s also a lot of scope for research, especially with the following internal organizations…
Journal Club
Student presenters who choose journal articles, evaluate hypotheses and lead the discussion on the clinical application of the work.
Medical Student Research Initiative
A student-run organization leading research symposiums, opportunities for showcasing research projects, and providing a platform for collaboration and presentation.
Associations & Interest Groups
Other groups open for participation include:
- Med-Peds
- Ob/GYN
- Primary Care Progress at Drexel
- Global Conflict and Medicine
- Transplant Surgery Observation
- Wilderness Medicine
A full list is available here.
4. Help with Financial Planning
Drexel’s College of Medicine provides students with financial planning services to help manage money and the stress that comes with it.
For most, this is a major pro.
Here are some of the topics they teach
- Debt – Marriage
- Credit – Budget
- Taxes – Children
- Risk – Retirement
Good things to keep track of!
Related: How Do Medical Students Pay For Living Expenses? (Crucial Money-Saving Tips)
5. Integrative Curriculum
I really like the integrative curriculum here as well (recently updated) and the faculty here care so much about mental health/ building a community
– u/unepetitecantaloupe (2022)
Drexel Med’s curriculum (Foundations and Frontiers) is focused on Team-Based Learning that focuses on cases.
This integrative approach is fairly unique in teaching medicine outside of the classroom (especially in clerkship years).
For students not keen on solitary at-home study, this could be a massive plus.
They also give over 6 weeks for USMLE Prep.
Why Drexel Medical School? Major Cons
1. Rotations
As many Drexel Med students online suggest, current rotations can be somewhat tricky.
Although most students manage to secure rotations at Drexel’s nearby affiliated hospitals and clinics, class sizes are so big that ultimately a small number of students may be assigned spots elsewhere. It is also rumored online that as well as their teaching hospital Hahnemann, they also lost sites at Abington, and ER and inpatient services at Mercy Philadelphia.
Of course, these problems should theoretically be fixed by its future relocation to uCity Square (mentioned in the pros above).
And most students mention it as not being a major problem.
2. Class Sizes
Because of its big size (1000+ students), classes have been reported to feel a little packed.
For students looking for one-on-one prolonged teaching attention, this could prove difficult.
Such a large student cohort also leads to some students reporting cultural issues with cliques etc.
Key Drexel Medical School Data
Drexel Medical School Requirements
Getting into Drexel Medical School is very similar to most other allopathic schools.
You’ll need:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Lab experience
- Statistics and probability
- English literature/communication/writing experience
- Behavioral and social sciences
- Service orientation/community service
- Meaningful clinical experience
The school also recommends following the 2010 Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians authored by the HHMI and the AAMC.
Despite its positive admissions rate, you’ll still need to do a lot to be considered for enrollment.
Average MCAT
Drexel Med’s average MCAT was 511 for the Class of 2025. Its mean GPA was 3.57.
Considering 2021-2022’s average MCAT score average was 511.9, that makes meeting the requirements fairly doable.
Another major pro!
Drexel Medical School Class Profile
Drexel Meds’ mission statement promotes a “culture of diversity, spirited inquiry, collaboration, and opportunity.” But what does the actual data say?
According to Drexel’s Meds Class of 2025 data (taken from 303 students), its class profile breaks down as follows:
- 57% Female
- 43% Male
- 19% Black, Hispanic, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- 19% Nontraditional Students
- >1% MD/PhD Combined
- 24 years average age
- 69% out-of-state (31% Pennsylvania residents)
That’s a pretty diverse class profile, but not quite the 1:1 male-to-female ratio seen at other major schools.
The 57% lean to the female cohort may make it more competitive if you’re of that sex.
A >80% white class profile could be considered diverse, however, given national demographics.
Drexel Medical School Match List
Drexel’s 92% match rate, for the Class of 2022, is close to the NRMP PGY-1 Match Rate average of 92.9%).
Not a huge con by any means, but other med schools definitely score better.
Still, if matching into primary care is of interest, Drexel Med may be a good option. 38.7% of the Class of 2022 matched into the specialty.
Is Drexel A Good Medical School? Reddit’s Opinion…
Of course, Reddit has a lot of interesting things to say about Drexel Med. Here are some of the best of them…
PRO: Community Service
When I was looking at Drexel they do a TON of community service. They have like 7-10 free clinics all accross Philly. They have a very strong community almost 280’ students!
– u/klybo2 (2022)
PRO: Amenities
‘There are a ton of clubs and a gym that’s free to students. Use all the free resources. There is also a food pantry that most students don’t know about, Mario’s Market. Stop by if you’re struggling to pull together grocery money.
– u/freakinmackerel
PRO: Free Tutors
‘Use the free tutors. You are paying for them with your tuition and you get no cost help for math and most other sciences. International students have a bunch of clubs as well.
– u/Mikemo05
CON: Difficulty
[Classes] start off really easy in the beginning generally, but very quickly get difficult and it’s hard to catch up once you’re behind.
– u/Sadsapphohours
CON: Clinical Rotation Locations
One downside is that clinical rotations are all over PA since they lost their teaching hospital. I have heard of complaints that the faculty doesn’t care much about the students since there’s like 300 per class.
– u/yolo2106 (2022)
Conclusion: Is Drexel A Good Medical School?
Drexel could be a good option if you’re in Pennsylvania state and find yourself outcompeted for more competitive med schools with higher MCAT requirements and more demanding admissions criteria. Its large-size classes also push its acceptance rate up, helping make your chance of being admitted to become a doctor all the more realistic.
Go to Drexel and have something to add to this article. We’d love to hear from you!
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Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.