University of Delaware Top Questions

Overall, I found the University of Delaware to be an extremely positive experience. I have no regrets whatsoever about my time at the school. I found the size to be just right, I could relate with a large majority of the student body. As a Geography major, I participated in a few projects in which I discovered the relations between the town and gown were not overly spectacular. While Delaware has all the components that make up a "college town," because of the poor relations between the student body and the local residents, I think it takes away from the feel of a college town. I think that the residents should have taken more pride in the school and conversely, the students should have given more respect to the community. In my opinion, building such a bond would increase the feeling of Newark as a "college town." At the same time, the local youth population in Newark and the surrounding areas created major animosity between the student body and the local population. "Townies" frequently created disturbances at UD gatherings and justifiably became stereotyped.

The best thing at Delaware is the people. The professors are always open to discussion in the classroom and in office hours. The size of the school was perfect. I went to a much larger school as a freshman and never regretted transfering to a medium sized school. People don't think very high of the school right now (but that may be because I live in New York amongst NYU and Columbia graduates). I spent most of my time with friends. The school work wasn't ovrly intense so I was able to spend a lot of time hanging out in the dorms or in off-campus houses or bars. The current administration is a joke. I'm not sure about Harker as I wasn't there when he was, but many of the higher ups don't know how to handle controvoursey, racial relations or the media. The is a lot of school pride, which goes to the next question. The unusual thing about Delaware is that you feel like you are a part of something. I felt like I was part of a community with the students or professors. The one experience I'll always remember is hanging out at Grottos along the patio, drinking 22s between classes.

Best part of UD is the people and the education. Pretty strong. I'd change hours of pretty much everything at the university. Gym hours, dining hours, library hours. UD is pretty backwards at that. Just right. "You go to UD? Good school." In a classroom or at the gym. College town...Newark is awesome. They do a lot right but need more student input. FIRE. A lot of bullshit on FIRE's part. They slammed Harker when he deserved none of it. Yes. No. The partying. Food stinks, too much work.

Everything about UD is great--the friends I made, the campus, the classes and professors and the bars! Although UD is a large school, I never felt that it was too big, in fact, I felt like I knew everyone. You see the same people around all the time--it has a really small feel. One of my favorite things about UD was Main Street. Newark, DE, is definitely a college town. Main Street is loaded with good restaurants, shopping, bars, etc. I have absolutely nothing but good memories from my time at the University of Delaware. Some of the best times included day drinking at Grotto's on a nice day, Chapel Fest, BBQs and house parties and of course nights out at Kate's and Shaggy's (which is no longer there, sadly).

I love the campus here I think the school size is perfect. Freshmen year the school felt huge, but by senior year you get to know a lot of people and the school feels a lot smaller. I spend most of my in memorial hall because that is where my classes are. It is definitely a college town. There is a lot of school pride, I love walking around campus and seeing people in UD t-shirts and sweatshirts, also going to school sporting events is a lot of fun. My favorite experience at UD was study abroad to Australia/New Zealand.

Delaware is essentially the perfect school - it's small enough that you run into people you know all the time, but it's also big enough that if you didn't want to run into someone (that one night stand's roommate who walked in on you), you can avoid them as well. There's a beautiful campus, great night life, and fun, relaxed people. Freshman and Sophomore years are fun, but I think you have the most fun after you move off campus, which I would HIGHLY encourage you to do for your Junior and Senior years. The thing I miss the most about Delaware is the girls - Delaware has an absurd porportion of attractive ladies. When "tanning" season is in, and it's a nice day, I'd highly recommend going for a walk around the beach haha.

The best thing about UD is the location. I love how I can be home in an hour. It's also only a few hours away from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. I think the size is just right. I graduated with 750 other seniors, so I was used to large classes and many students. I also came from the suburbs so I was used to being in a town. (Actually, I think Newark is smaller than my hometown.) I spend most of my time in my apartment and the library. When I was in the dorms, though, I spent some time studying on The Green. It's really beautiful during the Spring. It is definitely a college town. On the weekends on Main Street, you'll see all the 21-year-olds and older going to the bars. I think UD's administration is doing an okay job. I don't really have any complaints. The biggest recent controversy on campus was the whole FIRE-diversity training thing. There are people on campus who have a lot of school pride and people who don't. But I think for the most part, people do have school pride. Homecoming is always fun.

UD is a great place, I couldn't imagine a better college. The best thing about it is that it's both a large and small school. It's not too large that you get lost in the numbers but big enough that you don't feel suffocated. Also, Newark is a fun college town filled with bars and restaurants. The biggest problem with UD would definitely be the relationship between the students and the "townies." Newark has gotten much more dangerous in the past five years with crime increasing. It's not a bad place to live, students just have to be more cautious at night. The campus is beautiful and I'm sure living in dorms has gotten significantly better since the new complexes were built but I couldn't wait to move off campus. There are plenty of off-campus options.

The best thing about Delaware is the quintessential/classic college experience it offers. We have our little Main Street, beautiful green, large but not dominant Greek life, solid academics, a good bar scene and we surely know how to party. If I could change one thing I would switch the 60/40 girl/guy ratio in the other direction. Good guys are scarce. When I tell people I go to UD they either don't know much about it, have heard there is a good social life, or "have a friend who goes there as LOVES it!" I spend most of my time on Main Street. While I spent more time in Trabant while I lived on campus, not that I live off Main Street I definitely spend more time there. UD is definitely in a college town. I loved Roselle, the former president who just retired this summer, but jury's still out about Harker. He seems nice enough, but I'll wait to see what he does before I judge him. The biggest controversy of recent was the closing of The Stone Balloon, the historic bar and music venue. They had mug night every Thursday, and I think the bar scene took a hit when it closed. There is definitely a lot of school pride. Kids are proud to tell everyone they go to UD. Football games are fun, though many just make it to the parking lot to tailgate. When we went to the championship this year students traveled to Chattanooga TN to see the game. I can't think of anything that is too unusual. I will always remember watching the championship game at Grotto's (even though we lost horribly). The most frequent complaints are that there aren't enough bars on Main Street, we don't recycle, and it's not safe.

The best thing about UD? There is literally something for everyone. If you just get out of that dorm room and research some stuff going on, you'll realize how many groups, activities, sports, etc. there are to get involved with. You can start your own club if you want. You can go see new movies in our theater, see special acts like Jon Stewart and Dane Cook. You can eat at our famous restaurant Vita Nova which has been given 4 stars and run by the hotel restaurant and instutional management students. You can get a job on main street, at the mall, or on campus. You can write for the newspaper, become involved with a club that reflects your academic interest, play on an intramural sport, take dance lessons, take music lessons, take art lessons. Anything you have in mind, we have it. One thing I would change about the school...the parking. It seems stupid but it honestly is a mess and very frustrating. Where ever you park you have to worry about getting a ticket. But if thats the worst thing about UD...well then I'd say we have it pretty good here. My school is just right. People hear 16,000 undergrads and almost die. They think it is ridiculously too big. I think it's perfect. If you give it a chance you will soon realize how small it really is. As the days, weeks, months, and years go by you recognize the same people in your classes, out at night, or just walking around. You create how big or small it is...how many colleges can offer you that? People always react positively when I say I go to UD. They either say "Oh wow that school is so hot right now everyone I know is applying, but its hard to get in." or "oh I hear UD is a lot of fun and everyone I know that goes there loves it" and of course "UD...thats in Newark right? As in Newark NJ?" As an ungrad I spent most of my time at my resident hall/appartment, my friends places, Sharp lab (for physics) and of course the beautiful and wonderful main street. COLLEGE TOWN 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} UD has a rather new administration this year since President Roselle has recently retired and President Harker has taken over. My parents are co-presidents of the Parent Board here and I have had the pleasure to meet everyone high up in administration. They are without a doubt the nicest and most intellegent people I have ever met. Although it may be hard to show with a larger school, they really do care about the students. Every morning President Roselle took a walk around campus with his wife, Louisa, to show his love for the school and its students. Roselle has brought in a ridiculous amount of money for research and renovations. There are new buildings going up everywhere for classes, administration, and dorming. There are so many opportunities to do research for the school and GET PAID FOR IT. All the Deans are so pleasant and constantly ask me what THEY can do to improve their school. The new President, Dr. Harker, started off by going around to each dining hall and eating with the students for weeks to talk to them, get to know them, show them he's real, and ask them what he can do to improve their experience at UD. There is nothing bad to say about the administration and if you can think of anything I challenge you to let me know...I'm sure I can prove you wrong. Biggest recent controversy...this past fall a former student of UD wrote for ESPN (I think) that UD is racist and refuses to play Delaware State because we don't want to be associated with them. There are so many things wrong with this assumption that if I get into it, you'll be reading for hours. Besides the fact that the person is a former UD student which shows how pathetic and disgraceful he is, the accusation was completely out of line and just plane wrong. To prove so we did play Delaware State this past fall in Football...and beat the shit out of them. There is a TON OF PRIDE at UD...from the students walking around campus with UD clothing on to the pride shown at our sports games. Just go to a UD football game and you'll see how much pride we have...but get there early or you'll find no seats. UD has an unusual smell. I'm not kidding. It has been around since I started school here and I'm pretty sure longer than that. There is some talk that it comes from mushroom farms down south, but who really knows. It is the worst in the cold winter mornings. You get used to it though I will always remember the month I studied abroad in Australia and New Zealand. UD is ranked #1 in study abroad. We go to every continent and over 100 countries. It was the best month of my life. Other than that...graduation...I will never forget it. The most frequent complaints from students are about the parking...like I addressed above.