UDel Honors v. Northwestern

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Delaware
1

<p>I would love to hear all thoughts about the UDel Honors program. </p>

<p>D was accepted to her dream school, Northwestern, but unfortunately they offered no grant aid and at $56,500 COA (not including our travel costs from the East Coast) we would struggle mightily to pay that, with major loans.</p>

<p>Delaware offered her a great scholarship in the Honors program. Since we are from out of state, we just don't know enough about it to make an informed decision.</p>

<p>She is most interested in studying journalism (and was accepted into the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern) and does not see that major offered at Delaware. She is also potentially interested in studying international relations, or public policy or something government related, before potentially going on to law school.</p>

<p>She is not a party-er, and loves athletics as both a fan and a participant. She is worried that the overall tenor of Delaware will be too much of a party and she won't fit in.</p>

<p>All thoughts will be much appreciated!!!</p>

2

<p>My D accepted a spot in UD’s honors program today! She is not a party-er either and had the same concern, but she so loved the campus and the particular program that she felt she would seek out like-minded folks. Nice that the honors kids are housed together and mentored.</p>

<p>We were on campus yesterday for the first time. Gorgeous! They had a little chat with the honors director, sitting on the front porch of the honors house. It was so gracious and pleasant that it really appealed to her.</p>

<p>It may be a party school, but it also seems to be a happy school. I can’t tell you how many people stopped us to encourage the students on the tour to attend UD. Even driving by in cars yelling “UD is great, you should come!”</p>

<p>It very much seems like there are plenty of serious people on campus.</p>

3

<p>What2do, S will be attending UD in the fall and is also interested in journalism. It’s offered as a minor in the Communications Dept. and they do seem to have a fair number of courses (it used to be a minor in the English Dept. until they moved it). I won’t pretend that it compares in any way with Medill, though - and major congratulations to your D for her acceptance there!</p>

<p>A lot of kids from S’s high school go to UD, and both the Honors and ‘regular’ kids that I know about seem to have been very happy with their experiences. So far, when we’ve told people about S’s decision, their faces light up and they say something along the lines of “it’s such a great place!”</p>

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<p>Yes, this.</p>

4

<p>UD has a great international relations program. And on a semi-related note, UD had the first study abroad program in the country. I would agree that UD journalism is not even in the same ballpark as Northwestern. However, with a great scholarship at a very, very well-respected honors program like Delaware, she could save her money undergrad and then go to NWU for grad school.</p>

5

<p>Wow. I went to Northwestern (not journalism, I was in communications). D is going to UDel in the fall. When we first toured UDel in Feb 09, the campus kind of reminded me of NU (without the lake!). Both have beautiful campuses…and if you ask my parents, they will tell you that their perception is that NU is a party school also! (Yes, I had a good time there - didn’t miss a football or basketball game in four years and took plenty of awesome road trips!)</p>

<p>NU’s journalism school can’t be beat… but there’s a hefty price. There’s a thread on the NU board (I can’t resist reading all about NU - 25 years later…) where the parents are talking about whether or not it’s worth going to Medill. Getting a job in journalism is all about your internships and connections (and they are also talking about weighing it against the potential salary, which doesn’t allow the life of luxury for most). There is no doubt that you can make those connections through NU. But can you make them elsewhere at a better price?</p>

<p>If I had to make this decision, I would have the potential student talk to the profs in the journalism dept at UDel – see what kind of connections/internships they offer. Do most kids who want them have the opportunity to get them? Also - go get the opinions on the NU board about Medill. It really is awesome (but so expensive! sorry, I can’t get past that).</p>

<p>One of the girls my D grew up with got accepted to Medill and is going in the fall. The cost is not a factor for her family and she is psyched to go there…</p>

<p>By the way, my college roommate, who is an alumni interviewer for NU in the Boston area, sent me this info from an email she got today from the admissions office:</p>

<p>Costs to attend Northwestern 2010-11</p>

<p>Tuition $39,840.
Room/board $ 12,240.
Personal Expenses $ 1,782.
Books $1,737.
Fees $383
Loan Fee $24
Total $56,006.</p>

<p>If it were me, I would definitely talk to the journalism profs and students at UDel… if the program is good and provides meaningful work experience, then save the money for graduate school.</p>

<p>I do have to say that the weather in Newark, DE, is better than the weather in Evanston, hands down…(except for this past winter probably)…</p>

6

<p>As the parent of a freshman honors student who also had some high power options, I can comment on several things. First, our daughter is social but definitely not a party girl. On occasion she does go out but prefers to stay in, study and watch movies. Don’t get me wrong she is by no means anti social but D is an athlete and has a tough major and is consciensious. The honors dorm (although D thought was going to be horrible) has turned out to be a blessing. Should D decide to stay in on a Friday or Saturday night, there are always students around. This is not to say that the honors students don’t go out because many of them do, but D has friends at Harvard and Penn who post new going out photos in facebook daily. As for the education that she is receiving, I can’t really imagine having better opportunities. D’s honors courses have between 10 and 20 students. Labs have had as few as 8 students. Her professors are well respected in their respective fields (D has been very impressed with what she has seen when googling them!) and the honors college reminds us of some of the very prestigious LACs that we looked into (possibly with smaller class size). D was slightly shell shocked when she learned that many of the honors students were admitted to schools such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc. but were initially swayed by not having to assume such great financial burdens.
As for the general mood on campus, I can tell you this. There is an overwhelming feeling on the UD campus of happiness and pride. We have made many, many visits there (starting in D’s sophomore year in high school because of her sport) and the students (honors and non honors) are genuinely happy. D has confirmed that this is the general feeling there and not a show. Finally, there has not been a single class that D has been in where there has been a mandatory curve. Many schools that we were looking at had one. This is nice because it promotes a community learning environment and eliminates the cut throat nature of some other competitive schools. One of Ds professors even commented that if everyone earns an A they will all receive an A. It’s really is a great place. I know my information is limited (despite this long post), but I can’t say enough about the school and how pleased we are, in retrospect, with our decision.</p>

7

<p>Wow, those are really positive responses. That definitely make me feel better about Delaware as a potential choice. Very nice to know there are like-minded students there. She has been on a UDel facebook page and says almost every single poster talks about how they can’t wait to get there to party. That is a huge turn-off for her. We are going to the honors program for accepted students on the 17th, so I am hopeful we will get a feel from that.
BTW, she has also been accepted to William&Mary, which since we are OOS is quite a bit more expensive than Delaware, but at least in the realm of possibility. Biggest drawback there is that it is so far from home and we know no one, and she is very nervous about that. (Contrast Northwestern, which is where my parents went and I grew up in Evanston and the town just north of it, and we have close friends and family there). LINYMOM – I agree with the statement about NU having a robust party scene, both from my own experience living in the area, knowing several people there, and from what my parents tell me of their time there. I think the hardest thing is Medill-- it just has such a stellar reputation, and I know it is so hard to get into, i feel like we are passing up an opportunity you just don’t pass up! But thank you Booklady for that info on the journalism minor – perhaps a major in international relations with a minor in journalism would work. something to think about anywa.</p>

<p>Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond!!!</p>