For those of you who reside out of state, how easy is it to get to the philly airport? Do most students use Amtrack? Are there shuttles? I am freaking out at the possibility of my daughter getting back and forth to Chicago (I know, rookie mom here - can’t help it). Do you need a car at this school?
Use shuttles or a bus. Amtrak doesn’t go directly from Newark to the PHL airport. By train, you’d have to go from Newark into Philadelphia (30th street or Suburban Station) and then switch onto a local Septa R1 line that goes directly out to the airport. Doable, but that’s like doing two lines of a triangle instead of taking the direct route. So the most common way to get to the airport is a shuttle van (Delaware express shuttle is a local company, see their website) in a straight line right up 95 or share a ride with someone. The airport exit is 13 miles north of the DE/PA state border. You can also take a bus (there’s a major bus station across the street from the Wilmington train station - take the local Septa R2 line to Wilmington, walk across the street, take the bus to the airport. In terms of flights, you’re in luck. Philly to Chicago is a highly active air route - you can get to Midway or OHare lots of times per day, PHL is a hub for American, and the competition keeps the flight costs down.
See also: https://sites.udel.edu/transportation/shuttle-bus-policies/
and the Local/regional transit links there (Megabus, SEPTA, etc)
You most definitely do not need a car. The train station is adjacent to campus!