<p>UDel is in-state for me and a guaranteed admit; I am also confident, based on grades and test scores, that I will be accepted into the Honors program. It's my ultimate financial safety, though not the best (or even a better) academic or social fit.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I will be applying and I may as well make the best of it. For those on CC better acquainted with and less biased against UDel: how useful is the Honors program (seems lacking in comparison to an actual honors college)? How common/easy are double-majors in unrelated areas (perhaps an adcom question, but based on perception/anecdote)? Any information on the departments of English, Computer Science, French, and/or Linguistics? I am not remotely interested in ChemE or education, which seem to be UDel's strongest majors. Is it possible for a mildly introverted teetotaler--I'm the kind of person who voluntarily goes to school dances but doesn't actually dance--to have a non-partying social life?</p>
<p>What are UDel's best attributes? Seems to be not an unpopular school OOS. The campus is pretty enough, I suppose, if you stay around the Green. As you can see, I'm having a hard time thinking of significant GOOD things about UD. The closest would be having a decently sized library.</p>
<p>Please, sell me on the University of Delaware!</p>
<p>(P.S. I apologize for my habit of abusing parentheses.)</p>
<p>I dont know about honors but I know two kids who went there and loved it. One is now working on a PhD in BioChem at Maryland. In these scary financial times, saving money may be a really smart thing to do.</p>
<p>Thanks. If I were interested in the sciences, I think UDel might be a better fit; but its humanities appear unremarkable across the board. Correct me if I'm mistaken--please. I would love to be mistaken on this particular point.</p>
<p>Since you live in the state, I suggest you go for a visit. If you know people who attend UDel, you could arrange to stay for a nite. If you have friends who live on-campus in the dorms, even better; you'll get a chance to talk to students informally on their floor. Spend a day visiting classes, getting a sense of what it feels like on campus, and especially talking to students to see what <em>they</em> think. You'll find out much more than you will here on CC. I must say, though, that introversion is going to hurt you here if it makes you reluctant to talk to kids on campus.</p>
<p>My nephew (a freshman at TCNJ) considered Delaware and visited. He and his parents were impressed by some of the facilities, but had a very luke-warm feeling about the school overall. I think it has some pretty good academic areas, but overall I think there are better state universities in the area. It's sort of an also-ran in terms of athletic culture, too- it's a state u with D1 sports, but nothing terribly exciting.</p>
<p>^^ mikemac, I will definitely visit (as soon as I convince my parents that even though it's just UD, I really do need to visit) but I'm also reluctant to approach random kids on campus. I don't have a problem with public speaking or presentations, but spontaneously talking to strangers is difficult.</p>
<p>St. Mary's College of Maryland is a LAC Honors College for the state of Maryland; do Delaware residents enjoy tuition reciprocity with Maryland?</p>
<p>^ Only through the Academic Common Market, and as I'll be entering as a prospective English major, that's a dead end. I wish we had tuition reciprocity! MD and NJ both have decent public LACs that would be safeties for me. DE, alas, doesn't even have enough students to fill the flagship (IS admission at UDel is openly non-"competitive").</p>
<p>Anyway, I will have other (private but full-need) safeties that I actually like. This thread is about UDel, which I want to stop hating. I'm having trouble looking at the half-full glass rather than the half-empty glass. </p>
<p>What is unique about UDel? Why are OOS students attracted to it, other than for ChemE?</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't have a problem with public speaking or presentations, but spontaneously talking to strangers is difficult.
[/quote]
It's understandable, and not uncommon. However there is something you can do that may help. Turn it into a game of role-playing, a game you play for a while and then it's as if it never happened. Your role is college applicant, the kids you talk to are college students. As a college applicant your job is to approach random students sitting around the quad, perhaps asking if you can join a group of kids at their table at the cafeteria, etc. You introduce yourself as an applicant and ask if they'd mind talking about the school. Maybe even talk to some of your friends in HS and have them help you figure out which situations you can approach people at UD (eg. studying in the library -- no. Sitting on the steps of a building -- yes. Making out on the lawn -- no) Have some general questions prepared ahead of time that are important to you. Even if you end up going there it will be so far down the road they will have forgotten you, so for all intents and purposes you'll never see them again in your life. In other words, it doesn't matter what they think of you. And one other tip -- at the risk of sounding sexist, when a girl approaches a guy or group of guys with a question they are usually flattered and will try to be helpful and kind. So use this to your advantage.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the advice, mikemac. It doesn't ease my nerves much, but I will try my best to put it into practice. Maybe without my parents hovering in the background, heh.</p>
<p>northeastmom: Yes, I was referring to TCNJ (not technically an LAC, I know, but feels more like one than a flagship). Ramapo College of New Jersey is another less-selective option, but if I lived in NJ, I would probably compromise with TCNJ. However, DSU--Delaware's only other four-year school--has a terrible academic reputation and is/was historically black.</p>
<p>I see. Oh, and TCNJ is a very good school. It is more difficult to get in from instate if you are not within commuting distance, IMO.</p>
<p>Ramapo is nice too. Why not apply to both of them. The OOS and instate tuition has about a 5k difference I think, but I am writing this off the top of my head (did not look up the differences). If money is an issue, how about looking at a SUNY LAC for a safety?</p>
<p>northeastmom: I have some issues with the suitcase reputation of TCNJ, but I'm definitely going to look into it more closely. How high do merit awards go for OOS? Tuition difference is ~8k; I would need at least 14k to make it equal to UD's sticker price, but probably more because I expect some merit aid at UD. Is Ramapo worth considering as well if TCNJ is a safety for me?</p>
<p>What SUNYs are considered LACs/LAC-like?</p>
<p>legend.dracula: UDel is in Newark, a bustling college town with a great Main Street and lots of cute shops. Not exactly the safest area, though. As a short and weak female, I wouldn't want to walk down any street alone at night, except maybe Main Street proper.</p>
<p>I don't think Ramapo is worth considering if TCNJ is a safety for you, but that is just my personal opinion. I don't know about TCNJ's current merit aid. They used to be very generous, but I know that there have been budget cuts throughout the state, so I don't know how that has changed merit aid. If I were you, I would just contact admissions and find out.</p>
<p>Hey, same situation as the OP (except I'm OOS)!</p>
<p>I mean, I'm already pretty sold on UDel, especially for a "safety," because I spent five weeks there the summer after my sophomore year and loved it. But I'm having a bit of trouble writing my "Why UDel Honors Program?" essay, which I thought would be easy 'cause I already really like it there, since I don't know a whole lot about the school academically.</p>
<p>pierre, thanks for the reminder of Geneseo! On the large side for an LAC, but so is TCNJ. However--with the huge NY budget cuts, how will SUNY tuition be affected? I suppose only tie will tell, and I do have another year.</p>
<p>Poseur, I still need to visit UD formally (as in take a tour); and I can't help you much with your essay, since I think it may be one of my hardest next year--applying, but it's not a good fit, so I don't have many good reasons why. Thus the original reason for this thread: why UDel, for someone whom the traditional parameters do not fit?</p>