Drexel University Acceptance Rate, Ranking, & Tuition – 2024

Rated second in the country in placing students in internships, practicums, and cooperative education experience by U.S. News and World Report, Drexel University is a great fit for students who are looking to jumpstart their careers. Students take part in the Drexel Co-op, which “provides them with opportunities to gain up to 18 months of real-world work experience with respected organizations from around the globe,” according to the university. The Drexel campus is located in the heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, providing access to opportunities in healthcare, biotechnology, tourism, and several Fortune 500 companies. We’ll explore the Drexel University acceptance rate and more, but first–some history:

Drexel was founded in 1891 as the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry by Anthony J. Drexel, who was a financier and philanthropist. The school changed form several times before officially becoming Drexel University in 1970. Throughout its history, the university has always been privately controlled. 

Today, Drexel is one of America’s many private, non-profit, R-1 research universities. Other examples include Carnegie Mellon University, Villanova University, and Emory University. 

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In the early 1990s, Drexel was facing historic lows in enrollment, even boarding up dormitories because of a lack of students. 

Starting in 1995, however, Drexel underwent an era of “unprecedented growth and excellence,” under former university president Constantine Papadakis, according to the school. In Papadakis’ 13-plus years, total enrollment at Drexel grew by more than 130 percent. Full-time undergraduate enrollment increased by more than 144 percent. At that same time, selectivity in admissions also increased; freshmen applications grew by nearly 700 percent. The median SAT score rose to 1202 in that same time. 

In its “Papadakis era,” Drexel also merged with the then-bankrupt Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, creating the Drexel University College of Medicine. In 2005, Drexel became the first top-ranked doctoral university in the U.S. to open a law school in more than 25 years. 

With major changes to the university landscape in the last few decades, Drexel is a compelling East Coast choice for competitive students.

Drexel Acceptance Rate 

In the fall of 2022, there were 37,040 undergraduate applicants. Drexel has a generous 80 percent admissions rate, however, just 10 percent of accepted students enrolled. The 2022 incoming class contained 2,914 students. In terms of general enrollment, Drexel reports its population in the following way. There are: 

• 22,344 total students
• 13,977 undergraduate students
• 8,367 graduate and professional students, and 
• 4,029 online students. 

In terms of diversity, the 2022 racial and ethnic incoming class profile looks like this: 

• Native American: 0.1 percent
• Asian: 25.2 percent
• Black or African American: 8.8 percent 
• Hispanic: 8.8 percent
• International: 8.9 percent 
• Pacific Islander: 0.1 percent 
• More than one Race: 4.8 percent
• White: 40.6 percent 
• Race or Ethnicity Unknown: 2.7 percent 

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Drexel is an SAT/ACT optional school. Among the 41 percent of students who submitted scores in Fall 2022, the median SAT scores broke down like this: 

• SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 660 
• SAT Math: 670 

Among the 7 percent of students who submitted ACT test results, the median scores broke down like this: 

• ACT Composite: 29 
• ACT English: 30 
• ACT Math: 28 

The median score signifies that 50 percent of students scored higher and 50 percent of students score lower than these numbers.

Drexel University Ranking 

Drexel is ranked no. 98 by the 2024 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges.

U.S. News and World Report also put Drexel in the top 50 of private U.S. universities in 2023. 

Perhaps Drexel’s most notable ranking comes from its previously noted Drexel Co-op program. It was ranked no. 2 in the nation for Co-op and Internship Programs in 2023 by U.S. News and World Report. 

The Times Higher Education ranking puts Drexel at no. 115 for the U.S. Rankings in 2022. 

The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings put Drexel as no. 6 on their list of schools in Pennsylvania in 2024. That same ranking also put Drexel at no. 31 in the nation under private institutions. 

College Transitions ranks Drexel among the 25 Best Colleges for Construction Management.

Drexel University Tuition 

Because Drexel is a private institution, prospective students should expect to see a slightly higher price tag than what they might see at Penn State or Pitt (considering other schools in Pennsylvania). It’s worth considering, however, that the typically higher cost at a private school is often offset by higher private financial aid from the school’s endowment. This, however, will all depend on your individual economic and academic situation, and the scholarships, grants, and loans for which you qualify. 

The following estimated expenses for Drexel’s 2023–2024 academic year come from the National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator Database. 

Estimated Expenses for 2023–2024 Academic Year

Tuition and Fees	$60,663
Books and Supplies	$1,700
Room and Board	$17,550
Total On-Campus Estimated Cost of Attendance	$81,413

So, what kind of financial aid can a prospective Drexel Dragon expect? 

Well, the average amount of aid awarded in the 2021–2022 academic year was: 

• $33,861 in grants and scholarships, and 
• $10,865 in student loan aid
  • This meant an average of about $5,000 in federal student aid, but 
  • Nearly $30,000 in “other” (meaning: private) student loan aid. 

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Why does this distinction matter? 

Well, remember: grants and scholarships are types of financial aid that you do not pay back. Loans—both federal and private—must be paid back eventually. Federal student loan aid (otherwise known as student loans from the federal government) have more freedom and flexibility in terms of how you pay them back. There are also options for public student loan forgiveness, depending on the type of field in which you work. 

Private (in this case “other”) student loan aid repayments are much more rigid, and there is currently no discussion or option for private student loan forgiveness at a public or private level. 

So, it’s worth noting that the average student at Drexel did need to take out a significant amount of private loans to cover the cost of tuition. And remember: these are numbers for one academic year at a time—not all four years (or more) of school. 

Drexel University Notable Alumni 

Paul Baran	Engineer, inventor of packet switching
Malik Rose	Former NBA player
Chuck Barris	Game show host (The Gong Show, The Newlywed Game)
Jesse Willcox Smith	Illustrator during Golden Age of Illustration
Christopher Ferguson	Retired NASA astronaut
Lex Friedman	Computer scientist and podcaster
Dorcas Bates Reilly	Invented the green bean casserole while working at the Campbell Soup Company
Harold Shaub	Former CEO of the Campbell Soup Company
Chris McKendry	ESPN anchor and journalist
Katherine McNamara	Actress, Clary Fray in Shadowhunters
Violet Oakley	First woman to receive the Gold Medal of Honor from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Meinhardt Raabe	Actor best known for role as the Munchkin coroner in The Wizard of Oz
Alia Sabur	Child prodigy and Guinness World Record holder for World’s Youngest Professor
Rebecca Cole	The second African American woman to become a physician in the United States
Matilda Evans	First African American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina
Lillie Rosa Minoka HIll	Second female Native American physician

Where is Drexel University? 

Drexel University is located in the heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which means you have access to the entirety of public transit and city life within this vibrant and diverse American city. 

Drexel’s programs are split between three campuses: University City Campus, Center City Campus, and the Queen Lane College of Medicine Campus. But where are they? 

• The University City Main Campus is just west of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia’s University City district. This is Drexel’s largest and oldest campus and is the center of administrative and academic life. The residential portion of the University City campus is in the Powelton Village section of West Philadelphia. 
• The Center City Campus is in the middle of the city of Philadelphia and straddles the Vine Street Expressway between Broad and 15th Streets. Students can take a shuttle from the Center City Campus to both the University City and Queen Lane Campuses. 
• The Queen Lane College of Medicine Campus is in the East Falls neighborhood of northwest Philadelphia and is used mostly by first-and-second-year medical students and researchers. The same free shuttle service connects this campus with the other two. 

Philadelphia is also within reach of cities like New York, Boston, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. by bus and train. There are many international airports in the region, allowing international students to travel home easily—or domestic students to simply see the country for spring break. 

Drexel University Majors

At Drexel, the most popular set of majors fall under the Health Professions and Related Programs category, with Nursing consuming the bulk of those enrolled in the Health Professions, followed by pre-med. 

That’s followed closely by Engineering, with the largest number of students enrolled in Mechanical Engineering, then Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering, and Computer Engineering. 

The third most popular group of majors is Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services. Within that category, Accounting and Finance is the most popular major, followed by Marketing, and in third place, Accounting and Business/Management. 

The student-faculty ratio at Drexel is 9:1, and more than 50 percent of classes contain fewer than 20 students. 

Drexel University Acceptance Rate — Review 

Drexel University has the second-best cooperative internship program in the country, making it an excellent choice for students to study in a major U.S. city while gaining exposure to their chosen field. If you’ve got your sights set on a specific major that would benefit from access to the city of Philadelphia, the East Coast, and structured work-study experiences, Drexel might be the right fit for you. Don’t make these mistakes, and get started on your college applications today.