The Report Card: A Review of Temple University

The Report Card series gives an insider’s view into college life at local Philadelphia institutions. Here at Tutor Delphia, we take a lesson from our tutors and explore their alma mater from their perspective.

The Basics:

School: Temple University
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Website: www.temple.edu
Undergraduate Students: 28,068
Public/Private: Public
Setting: Urban
Average SAT Score: Reading and Math Total 1010-1230
Average ACT Score: 22-27

Meet our tutor Darien:

Once I began getting really serious about school, I started looking at what was available to me at local state colleges. Temple was the best choice for my needs as a student and an artist. I was blessed enough to be actively recording in a studio where artists like Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men had recorded. Someone in the studio told me to go to school for audio and video. So my major at Temple encompassed all of those things.

Campus Life:

Temple’s campus is unique and diverse. The student body has a real connection to not wanting to be isolated. They have an idea of the real world. It’s pretty cool there.

In the Classroom:

I went to a pretty small high school in the North East. When I went to my first lecture hall class, it looked like a concert to me. I felt very intimidated by that. Having that big of a class made me think, “How could they talk to me and know who I was?” On the other hand, as you got into classes specific to your major, the class size seemed more intimate.

Once, I had a professor that did not believe in books. She only did lecture, and we only took notes. That showed me how to get the most out of class. That made me a student for life – not just a student in the classroom. One of my instructors was even a local news woman, who I am still in touch with now.

The professors at Temple are constantly extending their reach. They are very supportive.

Room and Board:

I was a commuter student. I think that the benefit of commuting is that it’s cheaper. But the advantage of living on campus if you’re not familiar with Philly is that it’s a great introduction to the city. It’s safe and a great environment. As the years went on, more and more freshman began to live on campus, hence the expansion of the new buildings. But it’s not weird or foreign to be a commuter.

In the Dining Hall:

The best veggie burger I’ve ever had was at the Student Activity Center (SAC). It tasted so much like a real burger that I told them they gave me the wrong order.

Extra Credit:

Go to class every day. Even if you are tired, just go.

Find a buddy in every class. Get their number and talk about the class. You will be surprised how much you retain just by talking about class.

The correlation of how much you don’t understand should be connected to how often you visit your teacher. If you don’t understand something, go to your teacher during their office hours.

Temple has a great arts scene. And there is a lot of school pride. It’s not superficial. It’s a sincere, deep-rooted pride.

Darien graduated from Temple University in 2003, with a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media (B.T.M.M.).