for T with Honey!

I'm so excited!!! Thanks to T with Honey I have my first topic.

How I ended up at Drexel...
Once upon a time, many moons ago... (more like sophomore year of high school) I really had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up. Well, I supposed my dream of being the Philly Phanatic didn't really count. My Chemistry teacher sent me to an Engineering workshop just for girls at Widener University. I had a really great time at the workshop!

jump ahead two years...
Senior year of high school, I loaded up on the AP math and science courses... I took all 4 that were offered at my high school (2 science and 1 math... I threw in AP English just for kicks). Over the summer and during the fall I toured a number of different schools and their respective engineering departments. I didn't know what type of engineering I wanted, so I was looking for schools that had many options. I narrowed down my options and applied to Bucknell (although I wasn't quite sure I'd fit in if I went there), Lehigh, Penn State (only if I could go to main campus), University of Delaware, and Drexel. I was NOT impressed at UD... so that hit the bottom of the pile. Bucknell wasn't offering merit based scholarships... huge turnoff! Lehigh, Penn State, and Drexel were in the running for top 3 on my list. Lehigh and Drexel were in the lead since I thought Penn State's engineering program might be too large for my liking.

It was a georgeous day when I visited Lehigh (not like I hadn't already been there). The campus was lovely, but several faculty members in engineering gave me the distinct impression that they were not keen on having girls in their program... Flag! Another professor practically told me to go to Drexel.
I couldn't have picked a stormier day to visit Drexel. A security guard met us at the car to advise us to hide anything in sight before leaving the car. I loved every minute of my day at Drexel. I submitted my application before leaving campus. Drexel waived my application fee and my essays because I filled it out on campus! (This gave them super bonus points after having attempted the book of essays that Princeton calls an application.) Drexel came through with a decent scholarship and the opportunity to apply for additional scholarships. I signed the acceptance and it should have been in the mail by the time Lehigh called with their scholarship offer. My mom hadn't mailed it yet... argh! Lehigh's offer was somewhat better than Drexel. I decided to go with the decision I had already made.

In the end, I'm glad I did... and I'd do the same thing again if I could. I graduated from Drexel with two degrees, one of which I wouldn't have been able to persue at Lehigh. Drexel's co-op program was a big help in confirming what I did not want to do for more than 6-month at a time. I graduated with engineering work experience and I had a job in line before graduation. In fact, I like it so much that I'm continuing as a part-time night school student to persue a Master's degree.

BecaHawkette... dreams of Philly Phanatic... Drexel Dragon... maybe I'll write about mascots one of these days...