It seems like it would be difficult to make a school with over 18,000 students sound charming. But the University of Delaware does just fine—with twilights on the lawn, a tight community, and apple cider doughnuts.

For Three Quick Questions, I send the same three questions to admissions representatives at colleges all over the country, and then I hope to hear back from them. The three questions are meant to probe some of the things that make a school unique but that aren’t easily captured as a stat to go in a book or web search.

Today’s response is from Marianne Nagengast, Assistant Director of admissions at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware.

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to the University of Delaware?

Our Twilight Induction Ceremony is really special. It’s the last major event of our 1743 Welcome Days for new students each fall. They all gather at – you guessed it – twilight for a candlelit ceremony on the Green to welcome our newest Blue Hens to the family. It’s the only time the entire class will be together in one group before they graduate in four years, and students often cite it as one of their favorite memories from their time at UD.

Naturally every college wants to recruit the perfect student--high grades, high test scores, involved in their community, leadership...everything. But what kinds of imperfect students tend to flourish at UD?

I always tell student they’ll get out of their college experience what they put into it. There are no shortage of opportunities for all students at UD, no matter what their background is. We’re a medium-sized, research I school in a small state; if you want to play the game of six degrees of separation, to make it challenging in the state of Delaware you really have to knock it down to three. And that’s something that’s really exciting for students and those who are just embarking on their careers, because there are so many ways to connect with peers who share your interest as well as professionals who are more established in their careers and can help give you a boost as you take your first steps into the workforce. Our professors are all eager to get to know their students – go to their office hours, get to know them, and they’ll be happy to connect you with their networks to get you hands on experience in your desired field, whether you want to work at a Fortune 500 company, at a children’s hospital, or for a local nonprofit. In addition, we have more than 400 student groups on campus, so there is no shortage of things to do. This is a really special time in your life to explore all of your interests, both in and outside of the classroom, and UD is set up to allow you to do just that, and to make an impact early.

When people come to visit Newark, what's a place off campus that you recommend they check out while they're there?

Staying close to campus, I have to recommend Main Street. It cuts through our campus and is lined with everything you could possibly need – restaurants, coffee shops, our UDairy ice cream shop, the bookstore…I never had a car when I was a student here because it truly felt like everything I could possibly need was right on Main Street. If you want to go a bit farther out, I love Millburn Orchards in the fall (the BEST apple cider doughnuts!) or a hike through White Clay Creek State Park.

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Photo by Angela Elisabeth. [The banner photo is not of the University of Delaware. I use the same photo for all Meet the Class posts so you can spot them easily.]