| Full-time undergraduate program |
Ten years ago, the admissions process at the University of Delaware was
fairly easy. There was a 4-5 page application at the back of the
prospective student catalog, which was filled out with minimal burden.
In recent years, however, the selection process has become more
selective and I have heard that the application has grown in length.
Applications were due in mid-January and acceptance letters were sent in
the spring, some before the usual April 15 date. If a student were
being offered a merit scholarship, those letters were sent out earlier.
As far as academic/merit scholarships were concerned, students were
automatically considered according to their credentials. That is, there
were no boxes to check for scholarship consideration.
The honors program, a selective program within the undergraduate school,
had a one-page optional application. Students who qualified for the
honors program based on this optional application were asked to take an
exam on campus in the spring before acceptance letters were sent out.
The exam included various essays that the student could write in any
language they knew. This was a chance to use those foreign language
skills (hopefully) gained in high school, and also an opportunity for
the foreign language department to look for new recruits.
No interviews were necessary at the time I applied, unless a student
requested one. Those were perhaps the students who needed a little push
to get in, or wanted to try to prove to the admissions board that,
despite lower-than-average grades or SAT scores, the student should
still be given a chance to attend the university. I'm not even sure
that a specific essay was required a decade ago, but I imagine those
requirements have changed by now, due to the increasing selectivity of
the admissions office.
Note: Over the past decade, the selection criteria have become more
demanding. There are now over 20,000 applications per year for less
than 5,000 spots, I believe. Each year the number of applicants
increases, but the number of accepted students does not increase to meet
the demand.
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