<p>abmnj1: Hi again. Just answered your other question on the Parents Thread. As for this question…</p>
<p>There is a lot of school spirit at UD. The football team made it to the championship game in the FCS last fall (lost in a heartbreaker); DD was invited on a road trip to TX for the game (but didn’t go). They have lots of great concerts/entertainers at UD – Tosh O was there on move-in weekend; Jason Mraz was there in the fall; MTV’s The Buried Life (I had to look it up) was there last weekend; Kenan from SNL was just there; there’s some other big concert coming in April that DD is excited about. Then there’s the regular - movies, etc., on campus. My DD was looking for an active campus with rah-rah spirit and is happy at UD.</p>
<p>UMD is definitely bigger, but UD is big also - about 15,000.</p>
<p>Just a note about trains…Septa is adding more stops to Newark starting like next week or something. Philly should be a bit more easy to get to now.</p>
<p>A couple more questions about Winter Term: how long is it and is it only use to take “regular” or major courses, or make up credits or does Delaware, like some other schools also have some “quirky” courses, the kind where you always wanted to learn about something or try something but were afraid to take for a whole semester.</p>
<p>Looks like we’ll be going to Delaware Decsion Day on April 8th. Anyone else?</p>
<p>Hi mhc48,
Winter session is from right after New Year’s (about Jan 3 this past year) and lasted 5 weeks. As far as I could tell there is a wide array of classes offered. My son, who is an athlete was required to stay on campus during break so he took a required class for his major. It was a pretty hard class so he was happy to have only that one subject to concentrate on. He hung around with most of his teammates and had practice every day but was pretty happy for all the kids to arrive for spring semester because he said campus was pretty desolate! Also because Delaware’s fall session ended pretty late and he had to be back at school early January he is pretty burnt out right now. Feels like he has had no downtime from school and is very much looking forward to spring break.</p>
<p>Hello. I am trying to factor in as much as I can in helping to lay out the pros and cons of my D’s choice of school. UDEL is on her short list. I read on this board that UDEL’s winter term would cost ~$5K (credits/housing/meals/insurance) for four (4) OOS credits. This significantly adds to the COA. Will taking ‘winter term’ classes be necessary to complete a degree in 4 years (assuming no drastic changes in major … I can hope, right?)? And, if my D comes home, will her existing dorming arrangements be left intact? But, if she chooses to stay and work locally in Newark (I can hope … right?), can she still reside in her UDEL dorm and have meals at school even if she isn’t taking classes?</p>
<p>OneProudDad: Great questions. Here’s what I know.</p>
<p>You can finish in four years w/o taking classes winter session.</p>
<p>Your dorm assignment is for the entire academic year - Fall through Spring. For most res halls, there is an additional charge if you want to stay over winter session (jbevang can say more about this as she had this experience). I don’t know about not taking classes and staying in the dorm. You can also call housing to get more details.</p>
<p>UD is huge on study abroad (yes, I know an extra cost) - and there are a TON of programs over winter break. There are scholarships - haven’t gone down that road yet as DD just applied so I don’t know how many kids get them. There are special scholarships for study abroad just for freshmen. The study abroad website has a lot more info on this.</p>
<p>OneProudDad, From what I understand, taking winter session is not necessary in order to graduate in 4 years. It was required that my son be at school in January so it just made sense for him to take a class while there. Not sure of the upperclassmen policy but I do know as a freshmen you cannot be in the dorms over winter session unless you are taking a class. You are charged room and board and for the class so it does come out to about $5000 for the session. My daughter also a freshman wants to take winter session next year but I can’t seem to justify the cost when the local community college offers similar classes at much less. 7 weeks is a long time to be home especially when your friends start leaving about 2 weeks before you do so we are trying to figure out some options for her that arent quite as $$$.</p>
<p>Thx LINY & JBE - Very helpful info. Knowing this now and managing expectations (mine and D’s) on this topic will help down the road by avoiding a big surprise (if she ultimately chooses UDEL). I have a great feeling about the school, but I can’t simply overlook the practical/financial aspects (like many kids seem to want to these day) … especially, because, my S1 is currently a HS sophomore. Yikes … the dreaded overlap city!</p>
<p>Not sure if ‘abroad’ can work for an engineering student (that’s the ‘major’ plan at present), but will keep that in mind too. </p>
<p>I’d appreciate it if you could let us know of any other potential landmines that I can plan around/for.</p>
<p>OneProudDad, I want to add that Delaware was my daughter’s #1 choice from the moment she stepped on campus her junior year of high school. She (and we) were elated when she was accepted. I worried a bit that the school would not live up to her expectations. In her mind this was it - THE PERFECT SCHOOL- greek life, tons of school spirit, beautiful campus, large array of classes since she is undecided on a major- basically everything she was looking for in a college. Well, my worry was for nothing because other than a few minor issues which were quickly resolved the school has exceeded all of our expectations. To say she loves it there is an understatement. I’m afraid she is never going to want to leave! </p>
<p>We have our twins there and with a sophomore in High School who is already talking about applying I certainly sympathize with the financial aspect of your decision. We laugh (better than crying) at our house that the college costs at this point have made us so numb that it feels like we are dealing in monopoly money.</p>
<p>OneProudDad, when my engineering son was a sophomore, he took a study abroad session during the winter break. It is hard to take a spring or fall semester abroad with all the required courses that have to be taken in sequence, so the winter gave him the perfect opportunity.</p>
<p>My freshman has found a ton of school spirit at UD. She is in the marching band & loved the football season (until it was bitterly cold). </p>
<p>She is also an engineering student and has applied and been accepted into a study abroad for next winter session. Even though the break was long, a kid who could pick up some hours at a job would probably not be bored. My d really enjoyed her break.</p>
<p>The study abroad is kind of expensive, but with her scholarship help during the rest of the year, we will be able to swing it.</p>
<p>I’m not a good one to compare UDel to UMD. My Blue Hen didn’t apply to UMD and my high school senior likes both schools about the same, although she is leaning toward Pitt as the right choice for herself. One nice thing, both schools offer great educations, so you can’t go wrong with either of them.</p>
<p>OneProudDad – I think the UDel advising team is focused on getting kids through their programs in 4 years. So unless there is a drastic change in direction for your student, I wouldn’t think summer nor winter sessions will be necessary.</p>
<p>I understand that there is a summer orientation for freshmen. Are dates assigned or is there some scheduling flexibility? Is this a one day program or an overnight? </p>
<p>Any help on how this works will be appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Thx for all the insights. I didn’t even consider that the long winter break is really an opportunity for an engineering student to go abroad. At other schools, that is almost a ‘no no’ due to the tightly woven coursework in engineering.</p>
<p>The warmth of the parental support on CC/UDEL is fabulous. I might feel ‘left out’ if my D chooses some other school. Sigh …</p>
<p>I hope the accepted students day tips the scale!</p>
<p>CSSIdad, you’re assigned a date, although you can change it if you have a major conflict. The program is one day, but begins first thing in the morning (well before 9 am, if memory serves), so depending on how far away you are, you may want to get there the night before. We live only an hour away, so imagine our surprise in our still-sleepy state when we pulled up to the parking garage and were greeted by a series of <em>very</em> chipper UD students who directed us where to go. Their enthusiasm was amazing, particularly at that hour!</p>
<p>Once there, there is a session for parents and students together, and then the students go off to appointments with their advisors, general orientation, get their ID cards, etc., while the parents have tours of the campus and other information sessions. You meet back up for lunch, and then there are more sessions. I thought we’d be pretty bored (we have an older child, who didn’t go to UD, but these sessions tend to be similar), but it was actually interesting and very informative.</p>
<p>We have been impressed with UD from day 1, and are very glad our S is there.</p>
<p>There used to be a Dart Bus (Route 6) which stops at UD and goes to the Wilmington Amtrak station. Maybe your D could check at Trabant -they have brochures for all the bus routes at the counter across from the bank branch inside.</p>
<p>Mattmoosemom / pamom2daughters - Tough question to answer but … have your students (and have you) been happy with the engineering program/coursework at UDEL? Is there enough time to study engineering ‘well’ and to do extra-curriculars? Also, what swayed your student (and you) to UDEL from other engineering programs?</p>
<p>First, they assign you a date. If you can’t do that date, you give them three dates that you can do and hope they have availability.</p>
<p>Between my DD finishing HS late, her working out of state for the summer and my business travel alst summer, it was difficult but UD really worked with me (and I changed a plane flight) and we got it done. Did I post the Priceline tips here? We’ve done great getting very “cost-effective” hotel rooms! ($50-$60 at Marriott or Hilton properties)</p>
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<p>I told her to check at Trabant. She may still have tax a cab because it will be a tight time frame. Do you know how long it would take to get from UD to Wilm Amtrak in the middle of the afternoon?</p>
<p>PS - My DD likes UD for all the same reasons as jbevanglista’s DD, including the fact that DD didn’t know what she wanted to major in and UD has so many interesting majors. I think DD would have been happy at all the schools she applied to (she probably would not agree with that), but UD is really the best academic fit for her. Like jbe’s DD, she loved it from the first moment she stepped on campus (Feb of junior year). She turned to me and with that look on her face said, “Mom, do you think I can get in here?” It just felt right to her from the beginning.</p>
<p>LINYMOM, you may have looked into this already, but if your D will be traveling on a weekday, either early in the morning or late afternoon/evening, she can take SEPTA from Newark to Wilmington. The trip only takes about 20 minutes; I’m not sure of the price, but I can tell you that it costs $10 to go to Philadelphia, so Wilmington must be less. You can see the schedule here: [SEPTA</a> | Wilmington/Newark Line Regional Rail Schedule](<a href=“Routes – Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority”>Routes – Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority).</p>
<p>Thanks for the link, Booklady, but those times won’t work. The one-hour bus ride won’t work either. She won’t have that kind of cushion. Looks like she will be cabbing it. I am so tempted to tell her to skip the afternoon class for the hoiiday (I’m sure it will be excused) but, for what the cost is, I hate to suggest she miss a class!</p>