University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware

Inside the student union building

Plenty of green spaces and brick buildings

Admissions building

Basics - The University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware is a Tier 1 research university. It has 16,000 undergraduates and 3400 graduate students. There are students from all 50 states and 100 countries. 35% of these students are from Delaware. New Jersey sends the most students, after Delaware. Housing is guaranteed all four years for students who enter as freshmen. The campus is physically large, covering 1,241 acres.


Academics - Class sizes vary with 62% of classes having 25 or fewer students, 24% having 26 – 50 students, 10% having 51- 100 students, and 4% having more than 100 students. In the 7 colleges, there are over 145 majors and 100 minors.

450 students in the freshman class, including my tour guide who hailed from Georgia, are part of the Honors program. Students applying for the Honors program need to write an additional essay as part of their application. These students take many honors classes, which are capped at 25 students, and have honors housing.

The University of Delaware has had study abroad since 1923. The school is on a 4-1-4 calendar so students can study abroad for a full semester or during the optional 5-week winter session.

Summer scholars have an opportunity to do research over the summer while receiving a $3,000 stipend.

Extracurricular activities - There are over 300 student organizations; Division I athletics, including football; 32 club teams, hundreds of intramural teams, and Greek life, with 20% of students going Greek. The main drag outside of campus is full of restaurants, stores, and students.

What’s New - There are a number of construction projects on campus that are near completion. The following are slated to open in the Fall: a new freshman residence hall that will house 767 students, a 194,000-square-foot Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Lab, and a renovated and largely-expanded sports building.

Applications and Financial Aid - The admissions office looks at the applications holistically. They evaluate each student’s core classes, look at the SAT (all three sections) and/or the ACT (which they superscore). They consider how well prepared students are for their major (i.e., did you take honors or AP classes in the area of your planned major). The University of Delaware uses the Common Application. They are looking for recommendations from your high school counselor and one teacher. They offer optional, evaluative interviews to high school students between June of the junior year and Thanksgiving of the senior year of high school. The University of Delaware offers both need-based and merit aid, with merit aid ranging from $1000 up to a full ride.

If you are a student at the University of Delaware, what do you like most and least about the school?