2012-13 Edition Profile: University of Delaware Educated Quest.com Background Introduction to the 1 University of Delaware Located on the site of a “free school” that opened in 1743, the Background University of Delaware (UD) rose from college to university status from 1833 to 1921, when the former Newark College merged with the former Delaware Women’s College. In 1923, Delaware was the first university to introduce study abroad when a group led by Professor Raymond Kirkbride went to France. Following the end of World War II, the university was a very small school with less than 1,000 students. Returning veterans, who received money for college through the G.I Bill, more than doubled the enrollment through 1950. Today the university has approximately 19,500 students; around 16,000 are undergradu- ates. Chemistry and chemical engineering are noted as strong aca- demic departments; they developed in part, due to DuPont’s in- fluence in the state. The agriculture, biochemistry, business, education, information systems and public policy programs are highly regarded. The university offers one of only four academic programs in art conservation in the country. The university is also a Land Grant, Sea Grant and Space Grant institution. It also acquired a former Chrysler Motors plant located across from the football stadium that was developed into a research park that will be a setting to study, among other subjects, auto- motive technology. The plant previously produced Dodge As- pen heavy-duty hybrid sport utility vehicles before it was closed. 2 While Vice President Joseph Biden is one of the most famous Washington D.C. are all less than two and a half hours from graduates of the university, the managers of both 2008 presi- campus. Newark (locally pronounced New-ark) is also served dential campaigns, David Plouffe, who worked for Barack by Amtrak trains to those cities. Obama and Steve Schmidt, who worked for John McCain, are Delaware is one of the few public universities that retains 90 also Delaware alumni, aka “Blue Hens.” Robert Gore, inventor percent or more of its freshman while graduating more than 80 of Gore-Tex fabrics is also a prominent alumnus Three Dela- percent of them within six years, an excellent performance for a ware alumni have quarterbacked NFL teams into the playoffs state university. Most recently, 67 percent of the class that en- while three others were signees to the Declaration of Independ- tered in 2008 finished their degree within four years, better than ence.. New Jersey governor Chris Christie is a graduate as Maryland, Rutgers-New Brunswick and Penn State, among well. In 2008, the university was the most popular out-of-state many other public and private schools. Much of this success is institution chosen by New Jersey college-bound freshmen, ac- due to the quality of the students who enter the school, how- cording to a task force report commissioned last year by Gover- ever, these students have better access to faculty than they do nor Christie. at the larger institutions. Unlike most state universities, the large majority—65 per- cent—of Delaware students come from out of state. Two rea- sons for the University’s popularity with residents of other states: a pedestrian-friendly, Georgian colonial style campus and a college-oriented Main Street resembling those at larger Midwestern and Southern state schools, but serving about half as many students. Other schools considered by out-of-state stu- dents who are interested in Delaware such as Boston Univer- sity and the University of Maryland-College Park are located in more urban settings. Still others like Penn State are more spread out. The university’s location in the center of the East Coast as well as its proximity to Interstate 95 also has a lot to do with its popularity. Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and 3 Competition What does it take to get in? Who decides to go? What other schools do 2 applicants consider? There were nearly 24,700 applicants for approximately 3,800 seats in Competition the freshman class that entered in 2013, of which about 15,600 or 63 per- cent were accepted. Approximately 2,600 applicants were offered a place on the wait list; just under 800 were later offered admission. Dela- ware is less selective for Delawareans than it is for out-of-state students. About two-thirds of the in-state applicants are admitted; nearly another quarter will pursue Associate’s degrees at branch campuses in Dover, Georgetown or Wilmington before transferring to the main campus in Newark. They are taught by faculty who also teach on the main campus. About half of the students from outside of Delaware are offered admis- sion. Delaware considers all three scores: Critical Reading, Math and Writing on the SAT and takes the highest score from each. For the class that en- tered in 2013 the middle 50 percent of admitted students had combined scores between 1630 (average of 540 per section) and 1940 (average of 650 per section) out of 2400. While more than half of admitted students scored below 600 on the Critical Reading and Writing sections of the SAT, only 45 percent scored below 600 on the Math. Delaware does not admit students via an early decision or an early ac- tion plan, though the university uses the Common Application. There is a one-page supplement; those who are interested in the Honors Program must write only one additional essay. Every application gets two reads,; some are deferred to teams where a senior counselor is a team captain. Applicants are asked to select a major when they apply, although they may also choose University Studies, which means Undecided. However, students who are interested in Business, Engineering or Nursing are ad- 5 vised to choose the major when they apply as well as an alternate major Given the level of competition, students at the top of the applicant pool to which they might also be offered admission. are aggressively courted. The majority of merit-based aid goes to non- residents. Unlike most schools that send financial aid letters separately Delaware is less aggressive at “capping,” limiting the number of students from offers of admission, Delaware tries to package them together. But in popular majors to those who meet or exceed a specific GPA, than while some merit-based aid programs at Delaware such as the Distin- most larger state universities. It is possible, for example, for a student guished Scholars are quite generous, others for students further down in with strong math and science grades to transfer into Engineering and still the pool are more limited, certainly far from enough to close the gap in graduate in four years with careful planning; the same is true for liberal costs between Delaware and the home state school. Delaware’s finan- arts students with strong math and economics grades who are interested cial aid office goes as far as to provide a chart that helps explain this. in business. However, if more applicants become interested in direct ad- missions to these majors in the coming year and afterwards capping Applicants who consider Delaware consider their home state university could become possible. first with the University of Maryland-College Park, Penn State, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Towson University and the University of Pitts- While SATs are considered ‘important’ for admission, the rigor of the high burgh being the most popular options in neighboring states. Further from school transcript and the academic grade point average are ‘very impor- the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, Delaware is attracting students who tant’. Delaware, like other leading research universities, expects appli- might otherwise consider Binghamton University (NY), James Madison cants to take their hardest courses during their senior year in high school University (VA), Virginia Tech. the University of Connecticut and the Uni- and continue to perform well. The admissions office also reviews the es- versity of Massachusetts. Private universities that applicants consider say as well as their recommendations and resume (also required). The most often include Boston University, Cornell University, Drexel Univer- office advises against writing about depressing topics on essays as well sity, George Washington University, Lehigh University, Northeastern Uni- as an over-abundant number of recommendations beyond those from versity, Syracuse University and Villanova University. teachers or guidance counselors. It’s fair to say that, for many applicants, Delaware is a school much like Any student who is seriously interested in Delaware and believes that Cornell with a few more students and a college-town look and feel, but they display extraordinary credentials, prowess or talents should apply with a better location as well as a 33 percent discount off Cornell’s for the Honors Program. This includes not only honors courses but also sticker price. It also appears, given the University’s high retention and honors housing. Students may also apply to the Honors Program in sub- graduation rates, that the students are well aware of the education and sequent years, provided that they have at least a 3.4 GPA. SAT Subject value they receive. scores are recommended for interested students. 6 Completion Freshman Retention Rate 3 Graduation Rates Since 2001, UD has always had very good-to-excellent fresh- Completion man retention rates. In 2001, nearly 89 percent of freshmen re- turned for their sophomore year. By 2010, retention had risen to around 93 percent, an excellent performance for a state univer- sity. According to the University’s Office of Institutional Re- search, a slightly higher percentage of Delaware residents re- turn than non-residents. In 2001, about 90 percent of Delaware- ans returned for their sophomore year versus 88 percent of the out-of-state students.