<p>Hi everyone, I'm an honors freshman at Delaware, and I remember going through these posts just a year ago with a million questions. Feel free to ask me anything you want about Delaware, I absolutely love it here.</p>
<p>Is there a really big lack of diversity? And even if there is, does it cause any problems for minorities? I don’t mean to come off strong, I’ve just heard rumors lol.</p>
<p>The waiting almost feels cruel! Is there any reason for my daughter to start doubting herself since we haven’t heard yet?! She submitted her application at the end of October! University of Delaware remains her #1 choice (even though she’s gotten into 4 other great schools, including the honors program in 2 of them).</p>
<p>The waiting is tough!</p>
<p>Did you like the honors housing freshman year, or do you wish you were with other freshmen?</p>
<p>How is the honors college different and how does it prepare you for further education, such as preprofessional schools?</p>
<p>hi everyone! spazztastical, I would say Delaware is predominately white, but I’ve never heard of any problems for minorities. I know a lot of people who would be considered a “minority”, and it never seems to be an issue. Don’t let it turn you off!</p>
<p>@Ithacamom, the wait really is cruel! I applied to 9 schools, and I think Delaware was one of the last that I heard from. Unfortunately, I don’t think it matters how early you apply (I applied in October as well, and didn’t hear back until mid-March). I think everyone hears back around the same time, so don’t let your daughter doubt herself! Good luck!</p>
<p>@Volleyball51, I was worried about housing with honors at first. I’m a very studious person, but I am also very social and like to make friends and go out. I was afraid that honors would be “nerdy” and everyone would be studying ALL the time. After my first week at school, I realized that I made the right decision living with honors students. There are a ton of people similar to me, who get their work done, but also have a good time. We also do a lot of fun floor activities, and I feel like my floor has really become my family. I recommend living with honors freshman year if you can!</p>
<p>@HanConWas, The honors program offers a lot of opportunities to students that they couldn’t get elsewhere (like trips, activities, classes). Taking honors classes enables students to receive certain awards in the future, and scholarships. Honors classes are usually smaller, so it is easier to interact with professors. And of course, honors looks better on resumes for jobs, or for grad school.</p>
<p>Hey! I have a few questions. Do you ever feel unsafe on or around campus? I ask because a few years back a girl from my neighborhood was followed back to her apartment (right outside of campus) raped and killed, and since then I’ve been hearing a lot of stuff about the safety of students at UDel. I’m a guy so I’m not as worried about it, but it’s certainly on my parent’s minds. </p>
<p>Also - are there many connections for graduating seniors?</p>
<p>Hi Skyzord! Safety is definitely important when applying to schools, my mom is a huge safety freak so she was always asking questions. Personally, I never feel unsafe around campus. Of course it is never a good idea to walk alone at night no matter where you are (especially for girls), but if I ever walked through campus alone at night I always see other students nearby, just in case I ever needed to yell for help. We also have the blue light system here (which I’m sure you’ve heard of), and cops are always around. That being said, there have been some robberies right off campus, and some robberies have been armed. Since I live on campus, this doesn’t bother me too much yet, but I still am careful to walk with other people when I go off campus. Newark is a relatively safe town, but I wouldn’t go walking alone too far off campus! I’m not quite sure what you mean by your second question, could you be specific? Thanks, hope this helped!</p>
<p>I mean do a lot of big corporations look to UD to recruit?</p>
<p>Are the honors courses very hard? In addition, what is the honors housing like? How many honors classes are you required to take?
Thanks</p>
<p>@skyzord, I’m not exactly sure, but I know that UD has been becoming increasingly popular, harder to get into, and has been rising in the ranks. So my guess is that by the time you graduate, corporations will be looking at UD more and more.</p>
<p>@Joshrylin, I don’t find the honors courses to be much harder than my regular courses, but they are more focused on writing than other courses. Luckily, honors classes are smaller, so it is easier to establish a relationship with the professors and to get help if necessary. In order to be considered an “honors student” you must keep a certain GPA and I think you have to take at least two honors courses a semester, although you can take more. I also believe if you take one honors course one semester, you can take three the next to make up for it. Freshman year, honors students are required to live in honors housing. Next year, honors freshman will get to live in the new buildings they are putting up (they look amazing! I’m jealous!) I loved living with other honors students because they are respectful when it is time to do work, but most of them are also very social and fun! After freshman year, it is not required to live with honors, although some people still choose to do so.</p>
<p>When you were accepted to the Honors College, did you receive this notice in the first package that stated that you were accepted to the regular college?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>@joshrylin, yup, everything came in my first package, but I think I actually found out online first on my portal, and it included honors.</p>
<p>Jerseygirl - Can you elaborate on the trips and activities? Are the honor classes after freshman year focused more in your major? How many students would you say are in your honors classes this year? What was the final factor that made you decide to pick UDel? Thanks!</p>
<p>Weaver, my junior d is on an honors trip today. It’s not a standalone honors course, which means that there is a regular class with honors students who have a discussion group with the teacher and do extra work. Since there are honors kids in it, the honors department paid for the bus for the entire class. There are a lot of nice honors perks. From my daughter’s point of view, the best one EVER was the honors play date with the service puppies. May. I suggest that, if you haven’t already done so, take a look at the honors section of the website. It has lots of info and a catalog of all the honors courses for each semester.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. My D is accepted in the Honors Program and the Nursing Program. Her strength is not writing (it is not bad but she excels more in math and science) so I wonder if Honors would be best for her, especially with Nursing as her major. After reviewing the Honors web-site I was unsure how relevant it would be for Nursing. Do you know any Nursing majors in the Honors Program. I appreciate any thoughts.</p>
<p>Hey I’m seriously considering UDel but I have one concern. I definitely like to have a good time but I’m primarily focused on academics and don’t necessarily like to drink. Do you find that maintaining this kind of lifestyle is possible at UD? Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes you can have a good time without being a serious partier. Most UD students are serious about their academics.</p>
<p>murphy2:
There are about 6-10 Nursing students in the Honors Program in each class. So it can be done. The benefits are in the eye of the beholder. As noted previously on this thread there are certainly a number of fringe benefits that make the Honors Program beneficial. Our D graduated from UD in 2010 with her BSN. She decided not to apply to the Honors Program for a variety of reasons. Writing is also not her strong suit and she had a major interest in joining a sorority. However she decided to take a number of Nursing Honors courses in her clinical years (you can take Honors courses if you have a high enough GPA and spaces are avialable-they usually are in Nursing). These Nursing Honor courses provided her with some additional clinical experiences beyond that provided to students taking just the regular classes (but they did require more work-in Nursing this meant writing more research papers). Besides the educational benefits she felt that having the Nursing Clinical Honors courses on her transcript looked very good and helped her land a great initial Nursing position at an academic medical center in NYC following graduation. However, the most important thing in being competitive for these types of positions are a student’s undergrad GPA. Congrats on your D’s acceptance to the Honors Program and Nursing. IMHO the overall benefits of being in the Honors Program (even with being a Nursing major) probably outweigh any possible negatives. But the key thing is maintaining as high a GPA as possible, especially if your D plans on pursuing Grad School in the future. Good luck to your D.</p>
<p>Thanks so much mwallenmd…I do think it would be best to accept the Honors. I worry about if she would want to pledge a sorrority or get a job while in school, if that would be too much. I do like what jerseygirl said about living in Honors housing, that they get their work done and also have a good time. We are looking forward to the Admitted Student Day in April, my daughter has UD as one of her top 2 schools.</p>