People across the Des Moines Metro area may have differing ideas of how they view Drake. How people in the local community see the University varies widely, shaped by their own unique experiences and backgrounds.
Jalyn Best, a sophomore at Drake’s Bright College, grew up in Des Moines. Best will graduate from the two-year program in May and plans to attend Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications in the fall. But Best never thought she would be able to attend Drake.
“I was originally going to go to a trade school and I was going to be a welder because I thought I couldn’t afford [Drake],” Best said. “Then I heard about the Bright College, and it was far cheaper than the trade school I was looking at.”
Best believes people’s perceptions of how expensive a Drake education is are shaped by how separated the Bright College is from the rest of campus. The Bright College contains Drake’s two-year associate degree programs.
“I had never heard of Bright College, and I feel that they didn’t really advertise that opportunity well when I was in high school,” Best said. “We’re in one classroom for two years, so we don’t really have to interact with the rest of campus that much.”
Throughout her time at Lincoln High School in Des Moines, Best often heard Drake called a “rich kid” school, but when she came to Bright College, her perception of Drake changed.
“I can see why people see it as a rich kid school,” Best said. “At the same time, I’ve met a lot of people who do not fit that category or stereotype of being rich. I know a lot of poor people who go to Drake.”
On the other hand, Reighlee Sowden, a freshman at Valley Southwoods Freshman High School in West Des Moines, has never heard Drake referred to as a “rich kid” school. Sowden’s family background and growing up in Iowa also shaped her perception of Drake.
“My dad went to Drake, and I know of a lot of successful people in Iowa who went to Drake,” Sowden said. “I’ve also been doing college research of my own, as I’m getting further into my high school career.”
Aiden Volp, a sophomore at Drake, attended Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines. Volp has also never heard of Drake being called a “rich kid” school.
“At Dowling, a lot of people didn’t talk about Drake much at all,” Volp said. “I think one of the main reasons for that is that Dowling was very big in the areas of math and science, and less of a focus on writing or other liberal arts subjects. A lot of people ended up at Iowa State or the University of Iowa, and not as many went to Drake.”
Best echoed this sentiment, saying that she only knows a handful of people in the Bright College who went to Dowling Catholic. Best also highlighted that many Bright College students end up joining the SJMC rather than other colleges at Drake.
“A lot of people in Bright went to Des Moines Public Schools, like East, Roosevelt and Lincoln,” Best said. “Out of our class of 20 people, only three or four people went to Dowling.”
Best doesn’t believe the University is doing enough to try to break down the stigma that surrounds its image as a “rich kid” school.
“I think that Drake is a lot more focused on other things, like showing their inclusion, rather than highlighting affordability,” Best said. “I think that they’re focused on a lot of other things, especially hyping up their sports. I just feel like they’re not very concerned about that stereotype.”
