<p>This just came on our radar for DS and, although I'm in the region, I really don't know much about this school (other than the obvious admissions-type statistics). What are the kids like? What is Newark like? Professors? What do you love about UD? What do you hate about UD?</p>
<p>I’ll tackle your question from the perspective of parent of an OOS student. The usual caveat applies: YMMV.</p>
<p>UDel appealed to my D for the following reasons:
(1) Beautiful and well-organized campus
(2) Majority of students are OOS
(3) Nice kids
(4) Appealing commercial district (i.e. Main Street) that runs through campus
(5) Good location, near Wilmington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.
(6) Temperate weather</p>
<p>Though she didn’t know it when she applied, these also turned out to be important:
(7) Honors Program
(8) Study Abroad programs during Winter Sessions
(9) Train service to north and south
(10) Nearby shopping malls
(11) Located right off I95, for ease of travel … just not during rush hours!</p>
<p>When my son first toured this school (the winter of this jr. year), it was love at first sight. it was everything he wanted for many of the reasons NewHope mentioned, and more. We found it very personal for a large school, from the tour through the admission process to the orientation with all the communication in between. </p>
<p>My son also wanted a school with a sports teams to root for, and games to attend. When the tour guide said football tickets are free, and easy to get, that was a big selling point. UDel also had a program my son was very interested in that we didn’t see similar in any of schools (a Math/Economics dual program within the math dept). He’s taking his first economics course and absolutely loves it. </p>
<p>I know it’s only the beginning of the semester, but so far all of us are very pleased with this school.</p>
<p>Can parents comment on class size outside of the honors program? tx</p>
<p>I think the class sizes are representative of a large school, 200+ students in the intro classes, smaller in the advanced. My son did manage to get into a freshman only section of one of his classes (maybe International Relations) that “only” had 80 kids (although he was not in it originally, he happened to notice there was an open seat a couple of weeks before classes started and he called the department to get in). Between that and his honors classes I think is only mega-class is Intro to Psych.</p>
<p>My son also seems very happy. He seems to have several friends on his floor, which is likely a result of the RA’s having the entire floor go to the first few meals together (plus meeting a few kids at Freshman Fest). I’m really surprised that he is not hanging out with his friends from high school. He says he sees them all the time on campus but to the best of my knowledge he hasn’t even had a meal with them.</p>
<p>He also likes the football games. He pointed out to me last week that this was a big difference from SUNY schools that have no decent football teams. Since he is in Sport Management program, he volunteered to sell seat backs last week and was given a field pass for the game (he had to sign up for one game). This week he volunteered to give out t-shirts, but alas no field pass for anyone this week. He actually missed the honors dorm pizza party because he had to leave early for the stadium, and the party was at 1pm.</p>
<p>He says the food is pretty good. I asked if he had tried another dining hall and he told me that kids from other dorms come to his dining hall (Russell) because the food is supposed to be better and the portions bigger.</p>
<p>“He also likes the football games. He pointed out to me last week that this was a big difference from SUNY schools that have no decent football teams.”</p>
<p>Not a true statement from your son, Misterbill. We have one in Udel one in SUNY Buffalo; Buffalo are MAC Div Football champs with full season ESPN2 coverage, incredible energy on the field and in the stands, and dozens of cameras all over the place. Stadiums are similar size. Student fan energy is quite comparable, we had one child in UMD where the fans are legendary and our experience has been that all of these schools have tremendous spirit. Non student fans upstate are heavily involved in local sports as well.</p>
<p>As far as class size, from what my son estimates, his Math 242 lecture (calc B) has around 70-80. His ECON 151 lecture has around 150ish. I think the discussion and lab groups are smaller. He hasn’t mentioned sizes of his other classes (GEOG 102, HIST 206 and PHIL 100). He’s not in honors.</p>
<p>I think as the courses become more advanced the classes shrink considerably.</p>
<p>He also told me Russell has the best cafeteria on campus (he lives in Lane which shares that cafeteria). He’s particularly pleased with the soup, which came in handy, because last week he had a touch of a cold and had his chicken soup fix.</p>
<p>Just to add to Newhope33’s list: 1.reasonable price tag compared to similar schools like Maryland and Penn State.(I know I’m going to get hammered on that one) 2. The students seem happy there.
3. Such an easy drive compared to some of my D’s other school options.
4. Compact campus making the school feel smaller than it is.</p>
<p>I can’t think of anything I hate about the school. I’m not crazy about the meal plans but that is only a minor complaint.</p>
<p>My son seems ok with the meal plans (he took the block plan) but it would be nice if they let the kids use swipes for meals at Trabant after a certain time (at SUNY Albany they accepted them after 7pm) instead of having to use points.</p>
<p>And the honors program seems to be really good. No one else from my son’s school applied to get in even though he thinks that some would have qualified. I’d definitely recommend applying if you think you have a chance of getting in.</p>
<p>I dislike many of their administrative things. I strongly dislike the inability to charge tuition to my credit card (I know they claim it saves money but most other colleges manage to do it). I dislike how they won’t save your bank information on their site and let you just schedule all of your payments in advance (other places manage to do it and are secure, I have faith they could figure it out). I dislike how they nickel and dime you on stuff, like charges for Delaworld which they just put on your bill even though there was no overnight stay (I was told they charge, I have not acutally looked), or charging $5 for the privilege of ordering free tickets for Parents Weekend events. Honestly, my $20k+ tuition payment isn’t enough to cover that? I never thought I’d come to appreciate the way that Albany did things.</p>
<p>My son transferred to UDel this year from a small private liberal arts college. We reside outside the State of Delaware. My son seems to be very happy at UDel for all of the reasons noted above. UDel offers the best of both worlds: compact, picturesque campus with all of the academic and social advantages of a major university. My son is enjoying his professors and classes and he says there is always something to do on weekends - - this was not always the case at his former school which was a little remote and more of a ‘suitcase campus’ that became very quiet on weekends. All in all, my son’s transition to UDel as a sophomore transfer student seems to be going well, and I would definitely recommend UDel to parents/students who tend to prefer smaller college campuses but want the course selections and other advantages of a major university.</p>
<p>couldnt agree more with sopranodad and browneyes. D is a freshman and has a heavy schedule (between a demanding major and playing a sport). To comment on what Sopranodad already said, the size of the campus is great! Large enough that they are not claustrophobic and small enough that you can get anywhere on foot in a reasonable amount of time. As far as academics, D is a biochem major. Other than a criminal justice class which is large, most of her classes have between 15 and 30 students. Hard to believe that there were more kids in her high school classes when her whole high school was about one-tenth the size of UD. Finally, the help that is offered outside of the classes is surprising and impressive. My D receives emails on almost a daily basis regarding help sessions and free tutoring. Unfortunately her practice for her sport consumes several hours a day at this point, however, at some point, when she becomes more acclimated she will be able to take advantage of all that. I guess what I am getting it is that UD, although not small in terms of number of students, offers so much on an individual level that you almost forget you are at a large state university. I agree with Brown Eyes that you get the best of both worlds. D is a bit overwhelmed at this point, but happy, nonetheless. We are thrilled with our decision and think the school is doing a great job.</p>