University of Delaware Top Questions

What should every freshman at University of Delaware know before they start?

Jamie

Although I am transferring from the University of Delaware, my college experience here has undoubtedly helped me rediscover my priorities and values. I am a double major in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics with a pre-dental course of study. Because of the lack of student resources, I was forced to advocate for myself and handle real life situations on my own. Additionally, professors are very unwilling to help students, to the point that it handicaps us educationally. The shy students who don’t speak up are at a marginal disadvantage here. These students are my peers and we all belong to a common community. My goal in life is to help and empower others because everyone is capable of achievement. I have grown more as a person here than as a student. However, my personal growth will follow me throughout my educational and professional careers. I hope to instill in others the same sense of autonomy that UD helped me to achieve.

Anita

My classes will begin in January and this will be my first year in college. I am a thirty-five year old recently seperated female and look forward to becoming something much more. Due to family obligations I have not been able to attend college, but have always had the desire. I am now under no family obligations and have nothing holding me back other than money. I am more than excited to begin classes and know without a shadow of doubt that the degree I am persuing will be a life changing improvement. I strive to be an independant woman with an outstanding career. The college experience that I am about to encounter will be both challenging and rewarding. I look forward to entering the Fire & Emergency Services field both educated and skilled with a readiness to perform. I have pre-studied both of these fields using all materials available to me, have completed my EMT-Basic course at the local community college, and have worked with the Firefighters at one of the local Fire Stations to gain personal knowledge of this field. I am more than prepared to press on in my studies in a college degree program.

Rachael

I have gotten an excellent, rigorous education before attending medical school. As a result of the opportunities relevant to my career path, it has been valuable to me.

Megan

I remember in high school a guest speaker coming in to talk about our future (AKA college). He kept saying how college was "an investment in your future". He explained how we get the promise of a better future if we invest our time and money now. This is true, however, I feel that the time I have invested in college will reap many more benefits than just an increased salary when I enter the work force. College gave me a "trial run" at life. I could be out on my own and be responsible for my own well-being, but I also had an entire community to lean on for support if I ever faltered. I still had a job, bills, and other expenses, but I could also afford to take risks and try new things. College helps you build networking skills and communication skills that will be helpful when you step out of the protective college bubble and into the harsh real world. College is that in-between world where you can still have the imagination and dreams of a child while taking on more responsibility and freedom of an adult.

Ninamari

As a college senior I can look back on the past 3 years knowing they are filled with great memories and an amazing experience. I was slow to realize the opportunity I had at an amazing school but once I was tuned in, I was in love. I am involved in Residence Life as a resident assistant, play intramural sports with friends, and am a part of a Christian youth group. I have learned how to be a leader through ResLIfe, A team player through sports, and a reliable and giving person through youth group. I spend most nights studying because of the difficulty of my major. I spend over 30 hours a week in the classroom and laboratory. My free time is spent participating in events on campus like Relay for Life and Campus Day of Service. I love to give back at my school and appreciate what has been given to me.

Jessica

In my college experience at Chaffey College, I have gotten many things that are not found at a university. Chaffey has success centers that focus on helping students with any of the subjects they need help with, primarily math and english. Class sizes are also smaller and therefore, professors are more apt to focus their attention on more students and their questions. Also, the times of classes at Chaffey are convenient enough for me to get a job while I'm in school. It has been valuable for me to attend this college because I am able to save money while still obtaining the same general education I would get at a 4 year university. Money is the primary reason why I was not able to attend a university last fall and I find that I am comfortable with this school setting. While attending, I also realized the career I want to pursue which is psychology. Last year, I thought that I wanted to be a nurse. However, after taking the psychology class and learning more about the subject of psychology, I knew that I wanted to become a clinical psychologist.

Allison

I have gotten a feel of self-worth out of my college experience. I have been able to meet new and interesting people who in interacting with them show me who my true personality has changed and reacted. I have seen what I need to do in order to accomplish what ever I want in the world, and I have learned the ways to do those things. I almost was not able to live on campus during the first semester; and I am extremely glad I was able to because it has been very valuable to me. I have seen what it is like to live on my own and be independent. I have also learned the social skills needed in order to live peacefully with my roommate and respect her things. This experience has been very valuable to be as a whole in determining the person I want to be.

Elise

Everyone use to tell me that middleschool will be so much harder than elementary, and highschool will be so much harder than middleschool, but they were wrong. Finally, I got to college and all of those promises of difficulties actually came forth. I had to teach myself how to study, how to be diligent, how to succeed. Highschool was just a game to me, but college is the real thing. I have learned the power of friendship, I have discovered the will to absorb knowledge that not everyone gets a chance to encounter. Most of all I have found that one should never take anything for granted. I listen to students talk about how they just failed a very important test after a long night of drinking, and instead of making me angry, I actually feel sorry for them. I hope that one day college will mean as much to those people as it does to me. College has helped me grow, it has helped me become someone. Someone I think I am going to like someday.

Kayla

I have learned a lot more in college than I ever did in high school. I have made friends that will probably be my friends for life. College has really helped me figure out what I want to do with my life. I want to teach kids and I want them to understand that there is unlimited knowledge in the world. As for me, I intend to learn as much as i can.

Shannon

My college experience has taught me how to be a self-sufficient young woman. Over the course of the past four years I have really had to learn how to be a "grown-up" in terms of juggling school, work, play, and other responsibilities. It's the little things that I’ve learned that have made me a self-sufficient person: like when I needed to reach out to my Cultural Geography professor about a paper. I had to find a tiny building on a sprawling campus and be articulate enough to voice my concerns. Coming to college forced me to be accountable in my research job, that involved going into inner city impoverished homes and assessing children. While keeping up with these apsects of life, I learned how to navigate friendships on my own, realizing how difficult it is to find people that truly "get you", and realizing that I still needed to hold my head high and keep up the pace of my demanding life. Junior year taught me how to pay a bill. These "abstract" concepts of adulthood have become a reality for me and I have had to grow emotionally and intellectually to keep up.

Samantha

When I first entered college, I thought it was going to be like High School: easy and boring. That was far from the case. I always hated school, because the courses were easy that it was boring for me. Now in college it 's not easy, and the classes are far from boring. I've struggled for the first time in my life, and that is a valuable expierence for me because the world isn't easy like it is when you are a kid. The world is hard, cruel, and very demanding. My little time at college has been a transition from being a kid to being an adult. I believe that my college experience has better prepared me for the real world. I am not longer being babied In a way my life has reflected that of a lion cub: my professors threw me off that cliff and throw rocks at me. That is the way the world is, and I'm glad that I'm adapting and becoming more suited to live in our world. I thrive in college, and I can't wait to see how more I change in the coming years.

Caitlin

Being in college has made me appreciate my education more, and want to put the effort in to produce great grades. I am more focused on my assignments and studying because I know in the end it will help me out in the long run. I know that I am being prepared for the future and that by attending the University of Delaware I will be successful in the industry i decide to enter.

Allyssa

What I have gotten out of my college experience is freedom. College is so much different from high school. When you are in college you get treated like an adult, you are not told what to do. The teachers have the attitude that they dont care if we do the work or not because we are paying for it. Also knowing that I am paying for my classes motivates me more to do well in my classes. It has been valuable to attend Walla Walla Community College because with such small class sizes I feel like I am getting a lot more hands-on learning which has really helped me with my studies.

Chelsey

So far I have realized what it is like to be independent. A lot of the professors expect you to know what is going on from day 1. It is definitely an experience in and of itself to sit in a class with 249 other students or just to live away from home. However, it's been a great maturation journey so far and definitely one that I would suggest everyone takes the opportunity to have.

Daniel

My family is an interesting mix of unconventional and contradiction. An education was never something that was presented to me as an option, it was simply a necessity. There is nothing I want more in my life than a strong education and I have my parents to thank for that. My parents were married young and chose to not pursue higher education, and it is the only thing I have ever heard my mother say she regrets. How does this affect the way I see the world? I am not jaded like most. An education is not a series of parties and loans, it is my future. If not for my parents I may not have seen it that way, as I feel many college students sadly refuse to take education for all it is worth. If you choose me to receive your aid, you will not regret it. I try my best, and I am a strong, creative designer that plans on changing the world. My education is everything to me.

Delali

Although I am not thrilled with my current choice of college, I would like to say that college has truely taught me a valuable lesson about living on my own in the "real world". In college you can not rely on your parents for meals or money, to some extent, and are forced to learn to live on your own and fend for yoourself. As unsavory as that may sound, finally being on my own and responsible for all aspects of my life has helped me mature and lent me a liberating and refreshing sense of freedom that i had never experienced while still under my parents roof. It is a great thing that I believe everyone should have the chance to experience after exiting high school.

Alix

Attending college was a sign of awaken to my life; an incredible experience where I came to a new country, I learned a new language, and I also learned from other people. When I came to study in America, I left my family at Colombia, yet I came with illusions and I thought everything would be so easy. However, things changed; I never had a job before or needed one, now I am fighting for getting a small one that helps me with the tuition. I didn't care much about people, but since I made a research paper about a foundation that works for elderly people, that touched me, now I try to help people with the more I can do. Moreover, I have learned to fight for what I want with responsibility and ethics, being strong, and never giving up. Besides, stories people tell me, like people who come back after many years to study again, have helped me understand and value the opportunities I have. I have learned to value and respect the people I love because I never know until when God permits me to have them at my side.

Alexandra

So far, as a college student now, I have learned it is harder to do the work the teachers give but by putting the time and effort into the work then I do well. I even have all the teachers I can contact if I have any questions, and it is a good experience learning to do things on my own. College is something everyone should experience and graduate from because of what it does for people's lives later on in life.

Erin

In my college experience I have learned to try new things and put myself outside of my comfort zone. I have met all types of people with greatly varying interests and lifestyles. This makes it easy to be yourself at University of Delaware. The students who go here and get involved in clubs and activities become very passionate and committed to their causes. The students sincerely care about doing well academically and making a difference in the world. I think that the school is well worth the cost because the opportunities and availability of resources are so extensive. There are helpful resources everywhere, whether you need help with career advisement, writing tools, research, financial aid, guidance with classes, or anything else. The school draws a lot of intellectually stimulating presentations and speeches. There always seems to be plans for entertainment to come to the school so students always have something to do in their free time. The students make a great difference at University of Delaware and they are constantly involved in work to benefit the school.

Joseph

Being now a proud University of Delaware student in the College of Engineering, I can say that out of my experiences associated with the University of Delaware, I have gotten an overwhelming sense of self confidence in which I use to the best of my ability to not only help me through my studies and meeting new friends, but also through the various student-run clubs I am associated with. The confidence that the college experience has given me allowed myself to set achievable goals, become a leader and confidant, and allow myself to give back to these groups in ways that help me in my own journey. All of these examples have become extremely valuable to me because of the reward they bring for all my hard work. From this self confidence a university experience has given me, I will be able to achieve my dreams of being a civil engineer and give back to my parents raising me, my family for guiding me, and the world as a whole to better the living accomindations and lifes in general of future generations .