What is the atmosphere like at the Drexel ACE program, just got accepted.

nanagose · Apr 28, 2009

Congrats!! I'm in the third quarter of the program right now. The gender ratio is pretty skewed, although there are some men. If I had to throw out a wild guess as to numbers, I'd say maybe 10% men. So yeah... probably a bit different than what you're used to! I like the atmosphere overall - the program's intensity makes it easy to bond, and it's small enough that you get to know people well. I've made a lot of great friends.

If you have any other questions, let me know!

engineeringdude · Apr 28, 2009

Thanks nana! Also I have read quite a bit about the level of difficulty associated w/ the program. Can you please give me an idea of what kind of grades people are coming out with (is there grade inflation/deflation)? I ask because one day down the road I plan on attending graduate school and as we all know grades count.

nanagose · Apr 28, 2009

I wouldn't say there was inflation or deflation with grades. The means on tests hover around a B, so I'd consider that an average grade. There is no curve, but the professors will throw out questions if certain ones don't test well (meaning, the few people that got it right aren't the people with the highest grades). You have to get a 76 in each class to "pass" it so it's impossible for grades to go too low!! (I'm assuming you've also heard about the weed-out rate?) I have lots of friends with nearly straight A's - it's not impossible. I've known people that have bombed exams and failed out of the program entirely, and people that have gotten 100's. There are some very high GPAs here. Most people in the program are interested in getting more advanced degrees down the line.

Your chances of doing well increases if you are realistic about what you're getting yourself into, have fewer commitments than other people, and are used to a certain level of academic rigor. You need good study skills and the ability to adjust your style of thinking to "nursing-type" questions to get through the program with a good GPA.

fayemotuy · Jun 5, 2009

hey nanagose, thank you for your clarifications. Are the grades all letter graded or are there some classes that are P/NP?

-fayemotuy

nanagose · Jun 5, 2009

All of the classes award letter grades. Clinical courses have more credit hours attached to them and carry more weight in the cumulative GPA than, say, an ethics or informatics class. However, there are assignments within each course that are P/NP. You must pass these to pass the class, and what is considered "pass" will vary (most of the time it's a 76, but we've had to pass assignments with 85s before). Those tend to be assignments that your clinical or lab instructor grades - the rationale is that each instructor will be a bit different with grading and it wouldn't be fair to a student that had a more harsh instructor. Clinical is also P/NP.

The upside of this is that some instructors really ARE more harsh. Also, it enables you to bang out silly little assignments with less effort so that you can concentrate on more important things. The downside is that there isn't anything padding your grade - if you don't do well on your exams and quizzes, there's usually nothing else to save you. You may spend a lot of time preparing for a pass/fail practical exam and it never gets factored into your grade. Lots of people here don't like that.

fayemotuy · Jun 5, 2009

I think in that way, its a little like some medical schools where first and second year grades are based solely on exams. It seems more objective but I can see the frustration of this as well when there are only 2 or 3 single factors that calculate the grade. thank you for the clarification!

06CaliforniaRN · Feb 25, 2010

nanagose-

Can you please comment on the "weed-out rate"? I've heard about 30% drop out. What's your take?

How well do the professors lecture/teach? A tough, hard-ass teacher doesn't bother me, as long as they are good teachers and challenge you.

jrj1979 · Feb 25, 2010

I am currently in the 2nd quarter of the program and I am one of the few males in my class (maybe 15 out of 180), however as crazy as this program is I love it. Alot of people want to complain about it but honestly you know what you are getting into before you start. You have to be organized and you have to be commited to getting done the work it takes to pass. I will say I had no medical experience at all before I started the program and have done just fine so far, and as far as being male I have had no problems other than some patients at clinicals not wanting a male student as their nurse. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer them.