<p>Today I recieved a letter from the University of Delaware that thanked me for my interest in being considered for the class of 2018 (I applied for the class of 2019). It stated that due to volume of highly qualified applicants and the competitive nature of the major I have selected (biology), it will take additional time for them to determine the shape of this years class.</p>
<p>As an in-state applicant with a high GPA (96 unweighted), great EC's (a number of clubs and nationally ranked in a health competition), a pretty good essay (I've had it revised numerous times by many teachers and have heard that it's strong), 2 amazing recommendations, and a pretty decent SAT score, I expected to be accepted (especially because in-state applicants have a 92% acceptance rate according to their website and the woman speaking at the information session at UD).</p>
<p>There was a section in the letter that said I could submit senior-year grades, additional test scores, and the optional essay(already done) if I wanted to but it wasn't required. Then it said,"We hope to give you good news by mid-Fevruary." I don't know how to feel. I was beginning to get excited this week because it marked 8 weeks since I submitted my application and UD said to expect a decision from 8-12 weeks. Does this letter mean that I'm on the borderline of acceptance/rejection. Does it mean that I'm not as strong of an applicant as they're looking for? Or does it simply mean that there are a ton of applications that they need to go through and it's going to take a little longer than expected to hear back. </p>
<p>Should I send in the extra info or am I fine with what I have (I sent all of my scores except my one ACT that I took recently, in which I got slightly but not significantly higher scores).</p>
<p>The main reason I'm freaking out is because I didn't really expect this letter as an in-state applicant. UD is one of my top 3 schools and it would kill me if I didn't get in!</p>
<p>What do you think? Am I psyching myself out over nothing or should I actually be worried?</p>
<p>Thanks! </p>
<p>It would seem to me that the letter you received was probably a form letter (and they haven’t changed the freshman class date yet). Ordinarily with the info you presented, and considering that you are in-state, IMHO you should be accepted. What is the make-up of your Sr. year HS courses (Honors/AP courses etc.)? UD tends to take a somewhat negative view of applicants who decide to “coast thru” their Sr. year of HS by taking a large number of courses outside of the major core academic areas. UD has been inundated with applications and this may be delaying the process somewhat. Also last year UD experienced something unique in their history in that 15-20% more of applicants they offered admission to decided to attend UD, resulting in a larger freshman class than they expected (they did not even accept anyone off the wait list as a result of this). Perhaps they are waiting just a little longer in order to get a better feel for the overall number and quality of the applicant pool before making their final decisions, so they don’t end up in a similar situation to last year. Perhaps they are getting a larger number of applicants than usual applying for admission as a biology major and therefore the competition for available slots is a little more intense (but you certainly appear to be highly competitive to me).</p>
<p>It probably would not be detrimental to submit Sr. course grades once you have them (assuming they are at least consistent with, or above, your previous HS grades). Also I don’t feel it would be detrimental to send UD your newer ACT score, even if it is not significantly better than your previous score. They really only look at the highest score. With all the above being considered it would be my perspective that your chances are still good for acceptance, so I would not anguish over it any further (I realize this will be hard to do but give it your best shot). Best wishes to you. </p>
<p>Thank you so much for your response! When it comes to my senior year courses, I wish it was easier! I’ve heard from students in the past that senior year was supposed to be the easiest year of high school. They were so wrong. I’m taking AP Literature, AP Statistics, Physics (my 5th science course in the last 4 years), Spanish 3 (I wasn’t given the option to take it freshman year), and a few other courses (including a dental assisting class). Thank you very much for the response. I definetly feel a little better now! After midterms I may send in my senior-year grades just so they can see that I haven’t been slacking off this year!
Thanks again!</p>