Accepted in Drexels ACE Program Spring 2009

just_cause, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2008

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_

**CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN** · Nov 4, 2008

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.

AtomicWoman · Nov 4, 2008

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

http://discoverstudentloans.com/

walkerj · Nov 26, 2008

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

princesssajama · Dec 12, 2008

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?

yeedee · Dec 25, 2008

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.

**CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN** · Dec 25, 2008

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)

**CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN** · Dec 25, 2008

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?

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.

AtomicWoman · Dec 25, 2008

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.

What Loner said. :)

If you're going to start your search soon, you might want to post potential addresses here and get opinions about the area. Don't overlook Craig's List as a source of rentals. A lot of people I know in Philly will post on CL if they have a room in their house they rent to students.

Anything in Center City will be expensive, but there's always stuff to do in CC. You might want to check out Manayunk, which is a pretty happening area that doesn't have the crime issues that some other areas of Philly have. Manayunk isn't cheap, but it isn't the most expensive place to live in Philly, either. Here's their rah-rah site:

http://www.manayunk.com/

I live in NJ. You might be able to find a decent apartment in quiet towns like Collingswood or Oaklyn. They are very close to the Speedline, and that train can have you into Center City in 15 minutes. From there, you would need to either walk or take the subway. I'm not sure what campus the ACE courses are held on? I am familiar with the medical school campus downtown on Broad Street. But if ACE courses are held at the main campus in West Philly, you'd have to take the El or the bus once you got into center city on the Speedline.

Good luck! I really do love Philly!

AugustRain · Dec 26, 2008

Have you considered living in Stiles? Right across the street from Hahnemann, lots of ACE students there. Since clinical assignments aren't based on where you live, we tend to do a lot of commuting together anyway--picking people up at trains, staying with each other the night before. We also pretty much live in the library, and the students who live in Stiles can at least run home between classes & study group!

just_cause, BSN, RN · Dec 26, 2008

August,

Does the health campus have a library and computer center (with printing capabilities) that students are able to use?

Thanks!

AugustRain · Dec 26, 2008

August,
Does the health campus have a library and computer center (with printing capabilities) that students are able to use?
Thanks!

ACE students take classes at the Center City Hahnemann campus. The library is open from 7:30am-11pm on weekdays (slightly modified on weekends) and has everything you need, including computers, scanners, printers, copiers, and even laptops you can borrow (though I usually end up bringing my own). After regular hours, there is a 24/7 study room in the library. The labs also have available hours to practice skills 7 days a week.

The people who choose ACE tend to be very focused and hardworking, and the resources and hours available to us reflect that. This is definitely a difficult program, and it makes me crazy sometimes, but I really am glad I decided to do it. If there's any questions I can answer, let me know!