Accepted in Drexels ACE Program Spring 2009

Hey All -

So, i finally received my financial aid package as well, and just wanted to double check with everyone, since their letter was not helpful AT ALL. It sounds like the tuition listed on the financial aid letter is for HALF of the program - $18,000. I'm assuming that is for Spring and Summer '09, and that we will go through this whole process again for Fall and Winter quarters next year. My question is - is the "Other Expenses" ie travel, room and board, etc also split that way? And then also, are we sure that the federal loans are split into the two years? I was offered the $6000 or so in fed loans, but am really hoping that comes through again with the next round of financial aid (Part II).

Overall, it sounds like tuition is still $32,900 for the 11 months, and then they estimate another $26,000 in other living expenses. Financial aid is really only loans, and $12000 is the limit for federal loans, with the other $48,000 coming from private loans. Do I have this right?

Thanks everyone!

L&DNurse_to_be,
I think you're right. The Spring & Summer 09 semester falls in the 2008-2009 academic year. The Fall & Winter 2009/10 semesters fall in the 2009-2010 academic year. We should receive a bill for those semesters later, where we'll be expected to fill out another FAFSA and find private loans. The Stafford offer we got would be for 1/2 of an academic year.

Less helpful than the letter was calling up people at Sallie Mae and getting information. I plan on stopping by the Drexel Financial aid office one of these days to make sure what I _think_ I am doing is really what will happen. I believe I fill out the loan request from Sallie Mae and request the tuition, plus the "additional fees". I'm hoping Drexel will let me know that that amount is correct. The terminology is slightly different between the letter and the loan request thing on Sallie Mae (plus, Sallie Mae mentions 12 months, rather than academic year). I figure if all else fails, Sallie Mae one year, something else the next. I'd really like some input from earlier years, though..

Yup: to caveat...
The letter we received is roughly 1/2 the cost. I called financial aid and was told when I fill out next years FAFSA I will receive my other half of 'allotted' money for me to borrow.. meaning I will have been allowed the maximum Stafford total of 12.5k total and enabled to borrow the approx 50k remaining through private loans (can i get a wahoo!?!)
The resource they recommend is via their financial aid website.. it will link you to drexel's "simple tuition.com" portal.. where you enter your loan amount, dates of loan, dates of graduation, etc and they provide you with X number of lending institutions which you then complete an online application to sign yourself away.. I mean sign up for the loan. So at this point in time we can sign up for the approx 6k through stafford loans and up to 25k of other private loans.... then next fafsa season (early jan) we submit fafsa and repeat this process
_Wahoo_

Thanks for the info. I'll probably get a *much* better rate from a different lender than Sallie Mae.

Heh.. Just tried a loan from Citi. They wanted to charge a 5% fee, and then a 4.75%+base interest rate. I'll look in to applying for the others first. If they all suck, not sure what I'll do.

Check out Discover Student Loans. They offer a 2% principal rebate ("Graduation Reward") when you graduate.

http://discoverstudentloans.com/

Congrats!

I also applied for the ACE Program. Will you live in the dorms or off campus?

I have applied to the following and trying to decide which is the best.

Drexel University
University of Pennsylvania
Thomas Jefferson University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Maryland
New York University

I didn't get accepted to Villanova, but Drexel just sent me a reminder that they didnt have my transcripts (they misplaced them). Does anyone know if the class is full for Spring?

Greetings everyone. I too will be starting the ACE program in Spring 2009 and am so glad I found this site. Thank you everyone for all the info posted. As I will be relocating from the west coast, I am stressing a bit about where to live in Philly. Any suggestions on what areas to live and avoid will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Well, there are a LOT of different neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Drexel's main campus is about 4 blocks from City Hall. I can give you some advice with where to live depending on your interests:

Center City (Wash West and Rittenhouse Square) : Living here is either in 3 story townhouses (or apartments in them) or apartments. The rents can get expensive (but there are some bargains you can find). There are tons of restaurants and coffeeshops and trendy places. There is a mall downtown (near Wash West). Rittenhouse Square is more expensive than Wash West (named after Washington Square Park).

To the east of Wash West is Old City. It extends to the river. These homes are oftne older, and there arne't too many high-rise apartments (there is a group of Condos, though). It is expensive. Again, restaurants, some movie theatres (that play foreign and artsy films), and a lot of historical buildings. In Wash West (not the whole thing) is also the Gayborhood.

Above Old City is Northern Liberties. It's a trendy "artsy" area. There are many starving artists, and new apartment complexes being built. There are restaurants, coffeshops, bars. It isn't quite as safe as the other areas. Living quarters there are either the new apartments, trinity townhouses, and some remodeled warehouses. There are, to my knowledge, NO supermarkets in Northern Liberties.

Below Old City is Pennsport. It is a residential area that is found just past South Street (where there are a lot of shops). Pennsport has it's "good" and "bad" blocks in terms of crime. There are mostly houses to rent here. I don't think there are too many restaurants, but it borders Delaware Avenue (renamed to Columbus Blvd), which has some big shops like Home Depot and Office Max.

South of Wash West is Bella Vista. It surrounds the old Italian Market which still has outdoor (and indoor) sales of produce and other items. There are some Italian, Vietnamese and Mexican restaurants (others, too) in the area. It is relatively safe, but I don't think it is as safe as Center City.

South of Bella Vista and Pennsport is the rest of South Philly. The rents can be inexpensive here. The relative safety is block by block. There are a few places to eat, and some shops, but it's mostly residential.

Northwest of Rittenhouse Square is the Art Museum Area. This is an area that neighbors the Art Museum as well as other museums. There are some restaurants, and it's very close to a biking/jogging trail (4.2 mile loop - 8 miles rt around a river). This can also be reached from the Rittenhouse Square area.

Chinatown is north of Wash West, towards Center City. There are, as expected, many Chinese (and other) restaurants and shops, as well as outdoor food markets. I believe it is difficult to find a place to rent there if you are not Chinese (although, I've heard that other East Asian people can more readily get apartments).

Crossing the river, you get to Drexel's Main campus, and the University of Pennsylvania. These neighborhood areas are touch and go. The rents can be cheap or expensive (depending on how far you look). The neighborhoods closer to UPenn are safer. There is stuff to do (if you're a young college student). West of UPenn (West Philly, or generally University City) is generally students and hippies.

Outside of walking/biking distance:

If you prefer to live a bit away from center city (a few miles), you can try Manayunk (trendy, more expensive) or Roxborough (Just above Manayunk that borders the river).

There is the Northeast, where you can sometimes find houses with parking spaces, but I'm not sure how easy it is to get into the city from there.

Then, there are the suburbs north and west of the city (East is New Jersey, and south is Delaware). They vary in price, but usually offer things like safety, quiet, trees, and parking. Public transportation into the city varies by location.


Wow, that was a mouthful. It probably deserves it's own post.

Finding a place can be done on Craigslist or Philly.com (I'm sure other ways, too)

I don't know if Spring is full, but it likely is (Harcum made their decisions by the end of December for the Spring semester). Drexel lost one of my transcripts, too. I received the "missing items" letter, and a nice e-mail stating that they received some information (probably the missing transcripts), but I had no application. The items and application were never reunited. I just submitted, by hand, another copy of my transcripts.