UD Decision Days: When and Why?

<p>I realize that many students are still waiting for a decision (Best Of Luck) but I thought it might be useful to start a thread regarding reasons for deciding to attend one of the Decision Days on Saturdays, April 12 and 19. I'm sure that at least some students attending will have already made a decision to attend UD and are just going to get some additional information to help them prepare to attend and to begin to establish an identification as a new "Blue Hen"</p>

<p>I suspect others are attending because they are leaning towards deciding to attend UD but have not made a final decision to attend UD or are still very much "on the fence". For these individuals - what are you hoping to learn about UD that will sway your decision in one direction or the other? I think these issues would be of possible interest to all those attending.</p>

<p>So how about it. What day will you be attending, what is your intended major, and what do you want/need to hear?</p>

<p>All I can say right now is that “It depends.” Son (Physical Therapy) is down to three schools including UD and we have an accepted student visit at one of the other schools this Friday. UD was proactive with their FA package and merit scholarship so we have all we need from them.</p>

<p>Since he has visited his sister numerous times on campus, he really doesn’t need to attend. But if he makes a decision to become a Blue Hen, I’d recommend that he attend just to start making himself at home in Newark.</p>

<p>Hard to believe that this process is only weeks away from completion. </p>

<p>I’m right with you @Fauster, My son does not really need to go but I need him to go to something that is all about “him” rather than just visiting the school his sister and cousin go to. I know I felt at home at the event when I attended with my daughter so I hope he does when he goes too. </p>

<p>Taking our son on the 12th. He has not decided yet, but if feel UD is his top choice. He’s just concerned about the minimal merit scholarship and FA. </p>

<p>GOOD LUCK TO ALL!</p>

<p>My son has not received an itinerary yet for his 4/19 Decision Day. Can anyone who has attended one of these in the past tell me what the general format is and did they find it worthwhile? We are local DE residents so attending is no problem for us.(Quite a change for us from our older daughter who attended PITT 6 hours away!)</p>

<p>@pgddad you arrive to a lot of fan fare… Blue hen ambassadors all charged up on the streets of UD waving and welcoming you in. You sign in and they give you your personal schedule for the day. For example my Daughter was business… you get vouchers for breakfast and are assigned a dining area to eat at. After breakfast you go to your meeting area. My daughter’s was in one of the business school buildings. You have a general presentation as well as an intro to the business faculty. After that the group was broken down to smaller groups by major and more discussions as well as Q&A session. Lunch was served on the south green. There was also many table sets up similar to when freshman move in. They had all the info for the school’s departments such as safety,housing, dining, transporation, etc… you can get much information about the school there. They also had entertainment set up while you ate lunch, dance groups, singers, etc… various clubs and groups from the school participated as well as music being played. There are tours of dorm rooms as well as full tours offered and you can even hop a bus and explore the North Campus. I believe there were more meeting etc in the afternoon but we were done with our portion by about 1pm. We took a walk onto main street to buy one more shirt and the decals for our cars. It’s a nice day. Keep in mind April 19th is the day before Easter so the campus may be a bit more quiet than a traditional Saturday on campus. Many kids will be traveling home to be with their families that day. You may not even notice at all with everything going on at the decision day but if your child feels the campus is quiet… that well may be the case why. </p>

<p>Thank you for the detailed report! Sounds very worthwhile! We are local so no way we will pass up. Especially since S is still deciding!</p>

<p>Does anyone know around when we’ll be emailed an itinerary?</p>

<p>I don’t believe you are. I think you are sent a start time and a place to sign in. </p>

<p>Families that attend the event this Saturday should be impressed with the campus. We dropped our daughter off yesterday and took note of the flowering trees and attractive North Green. It’s the perfect time of year to showcase the campus and adjoining Main Street area. Best of luck to potential new students and their families!</p>

<p>I can’t wait! One of the disadvantages of my D having her own car… I did not get the chance to drop her off yesterday. We are headed down early Friday morning, my son will spend the day with my niece who is a freshman, go to a class with her, have lunch etc… then we will meet up with D and hopefully will get to experience some UD nightlife Friday before we go to Decision Day Saturday. Fingers crossed for good weather! </p>

<p>received email confirmation today for the April 12 decision day. Interesting change, lunch is NOT provided this year.
They had a nice sandwich lunch two years ago with drinks, dessert and chips. This year it says enjoy lunch on your own on or off campus and some discounts are available. </p>

<p>Got the email today. We’ll be there on Saturday. Sucks on the lunch</p>

<p>We registered for April 19th, planning to stay Friday and Saturday. I didn’t realize it was Easter Sunday. When are the festivities usually over on Saturday?</p>

<p>The schedule we were sent for this Saturday goes until 3 pm - but it looks like you could easily be done by 2. </p>

<p>Do parents follow the students around everywhere, or do we separate from them during dining, tour, etc. I’d hate to try and meet new people with my parent hovering beside me.</p>

<p>If your parents are there you pretty much hang with your parents. New Student Orientation you are on your own and get to meet other kids. On the decision day it’s a bit different. I would say you are done by 2 @frykelsmom you can leave earlier or stay later, it’s up to you and how much you want to see. As I stated on a previous post the campus may be a bit quieter in terms of current students due to many being home for the holiday but many who don’t observe or live far from home will still be there on the 19th. </p>

<p>Thanks jberav and lefty1. We will probably plan to leave on Saturday. Maybe I’ll spring for a better hotel now that we’re only staying one night!</p>

<p>so for anyone who went yesterday what did you think? It couldn’t have been a more perfect day to tour the campus and see the beauty and vibrancy of going to UD. I did not stay very long as we had been on the campus since 9am Friday. (My son went to a business class with my niece and hung out a while with both her and my daughter) </p>

<p>Because I have one in the school already I didn’t need to do as much of the events like the tours, etc… We attended the University Studies program and I was pleased with it. The tables set up on the green and mentors circle were helpful but we got down there just as they were opening so we didn’t fully see them all. Again, not really necessary for us but it seemed like lots of positive information and interaction with those who needed it. </p>

<p>I always love a chance to have some UD Dairy ice cream and it was fun to see “Moo Mobile” on the south green. </p>

<p>If you were in the area where the tables set up around noon and saw the Golden Retriever service dog being trained for Seeing Eye that was my daughter, her co raiser and my son and I. So much fun to see all the students reaction to a dog being raised on campus. UD should really consider having them set up at a club table. There we so many who had questions and I think even a few had their final decision to attend swayed by interacting with the pup. I</p>

<p>We really enjoyed our day as well. The campus was especially beautiful yesterday. The presentation by my D’s major - Elementary Teacher Education - was very informative. However, we should’ve headed to the South Green immediately after. As it was, we got lunch at Panera on Main Street and hit the book store before finding our way to the Campus Connection event on the South Green around 1:30 and there was no ice cream to be found :(. I agree that they should’ve had a table for the service dog training - my D is very interested in that and we were looking for it. We then tried to get in to speak with someone in financial aid at the Visitor’s Center but there were too many people already waiting so they couldn’t see us. But, all in all, it was a very good experience and my D is more excited than ever to begin her life at UD!</p>