What Does it Cost to Attend The University of Delaware?

The University of Delaware is quickly becoming a popular choice for students looking for an excellent public education. Located in beautiful Newark and just a short drive from metropolitan giants Philadelphia and New York, this up-and-coming school is home to 19,000 undergraduates and offers 135 different majors.

If your student wants to attend the University of Delaware, is it going to break the bank? We’re going to walk through everything you need to know about the factors impacting cost of attendance.

Why College Costs are Highly Variable

As a public institution, you can expect that the cost of an education at UD is going to vary based on your student’s state of residency. But even beyond the differences between in-state and out-of-state classifications, college costs vary per student.

Instead of just looking at the blanket cost estimates that colleges provide, you’ll want to consider what the net cost for your family will be. The net cost is the price that you and your student will pay out of pocket, including loans. Luckily, most students don’t pay the full list price because they qualify for some form of financial aid.

When it comes to financial aid, there are three main sources that will reduce your net cost to some extent:

• Government aid (at the federal, state, and local level): This type of aid is exclusively need-based, and it also includes loans.
• Institutional aid: Schools often supplement government aid with additional need-based grants, and sometimes merit-based awards. Merit scholarships are awarded based on the student’s accomplishments.
• Private scholarships: Any scholarship that is awarded by an external organization or corporation can help reduce a family’s net cost. There’s a lot of variability here!

It’s clear that the list price may not give you the most accurate idea of what you’ll end up paying, so let’s look at how financial aid impacts your net cost.

University of Delaware’s List Price

List price is what schools call the cost of attendance. The cost of attendance is itself variable; schools will share an average of what students pay for an education, including factors like tuition and fees, room and board, and other miscellaneous costs like laundry and transportation.

Even though it’s an average, the cost of attendance is still a good place to start to see how different factors can reduce your family’s net cost. For the 2016-2017 school year, the total price for in-state students was $27,198 and the price for out-of-state students was $46,618.

As we mentioned earlier, most students don’t pay full price, but there are some students who should prepare to pay full price for an education. In general, families with a household income near or above $175,000 pay the list price at any school their student might attend. However, some of these students may qualify for merit aid from their institution, especially if they are in the top 30% of admitted students at that school.

What is the Price with Financial Aid?

If most students aren’t paying the full price at a school, then how much are they paying? If we look at how need-based aid reduces the net cost of an education, then the average net cost for in-state students was $24,791, and the average net cost for out-of-state students was $44,211. That said, these averages don’t do justice to the full complexity of need-based aid.

Cost Based on Household Income

Most colleges nowadays understand that bright and motivated students come from all household income levels, but that students from lower income levels won’t be able to afford college without some financial assistance. As a result, students with greater need have lower average net costs, making college accessible to everyone. Here’s how the cost breaks down for UD:

What is the Merit Aid Net Price? What is the Average Net Price for Students Without Need?

If your family’s income is close to or above that $175,000 mark, then you may be worried that any college your student attends is going to be a significant financial strain. However, UD does offer merit aid, and 52.2% of students without need receive some form of merit aid to help offset their costs.

On average, students without need received about $3,820 in merit aid, which reduces the net cost for in-state students to $23,378 and for out-of-state students to $42,798. Because of the number of students receiving merit scholarships and the moderate size of the average award, the University of Delaware ranks 591st in a pool of over 1000 schools we analyzed for merit aid generosity.

Loans and Debt at the University of Delaware

Even with a combination of need-based and merit-based aid, students have to come up with a way to cover their remaining educational costs, and loans are one of the most common ways that students do that. At UD, 69% of students take out a federal loan, with the average size being $5,412 across their college careers.

Student Outcomes at University of Delaware

For both students and their families, college is a serious financial investment. While your student ultimately determines the shape of their academic and professional journey, knowing the general outcomes of a school can help you figure out how supportive an institution is. At the University of Delaware, 81% of students graduate within 6 years, and the average salary for graduates after ten years is $57,000.

Local Cost of Living Considerations

Newark offers students all the excitement of urban living without being an overwhelmingly-large metropolitan area. Its cost of living reflects its urban locale, with a cost of living index at 111.5, meaning that it’s about 11.5% more expensive in Newark than the national average.

The University of Delaware requires that freshmen live on-campus, but students may choose to live off-campus after their freshman year. Living on-campus can help students develop community, but living off-campus is a way that many students reduce their net costs. To give you an idea, these are the average apartment rents in Newark:

• 1 bedroom: $1,010
• 2 bedrooms: $1,220
• 3 bedrooms: $1,530

Of course, another way that many students help cover the bills is by working part-time. While a part-time job isn’t likely to pay for the full remainder of a student’s cost of attendance, it can certainly help reduce the financial burden on the rest of your family. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the minimum wage is $8.75, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the typical pay for foodservice workers is $10.18, and $12.15 for retail workers.

Other Ways to Save

Although many awards are determined by the student’s general admissions application, there are additional opportunities for students to reduce their net cost through specialized scholarships at the University of Delaware. These scholarships often require additional applications, so you and your student should review the list of available scholarships to see if any apply to your student.

One of the ways your student can help you save on college expenses is by applying for private scholarships. These scholarships are as diverse as the organizations that sponsor them, and there are plenty of opportunities for students at any income level. To get started, you may want to reach out to your student’s school counselor to see if they have a database or know of local opportunities.

If your student will be an out-of-state student at the time of application, then one thing they can consider is applying for state residency after their freshman year of college. As you can see, the cost of attendance is significantly lower for in-state students, which means you could save thousands of dollars each year. That being said, a change in residency may also impact your student’s existing financial aid. Your student should check with a financial advisor before they decide to apply for state residency.

Wrapping It Up

The University of Delaware makes an effort to make college accessible to all students, and tries to ensure that most of their students receive some form of financial aid, whether it’s need-based, merit-based, or both. If your student is considering UD, then we hope that you found the information in this post to be a useful starting point for planning your student’s college finances.

If you’re looking for personalized guidance about college affordability, we’ve got you covered. As part of our College Applications Program, our Finances tool shows students the ROI of different schools and majors and help students identify scholarships to apply for. On average, our students earn about $83,000 in scholarships, which can cover the cost of a year of college at virtually any school. Find out if working with our Financial Aid Tools is right for your family!

For more information about financial aid and the University of Delaware, check out these posts:

What Does It Take to Get Into the University of Delaware?

How to Maximize Your Child’s Merit Aid Eligibility

Parents: 12 Must-Know College Financial Aid Terms

FAFSA, CSS Profile, IDOC, Oh My: A Guide to Financial Aid

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