University of Delaware
Public Research University in Newark, DE. Six-year graduation rate 83%. Median 10-year earnings $72,950.
Students who entered University of Delaware reach a median of $72,950 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. The six-year graduation rate of 83% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $24,572, neither a bargain nor a burden.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.34 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 83% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 71% puts University of Delaware on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. With 39,995 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. A 16% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. 19% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 600–690 | 832 (19%) |
| SAT Math | 590–680 | |
| ACT Composite | 28–32 | 114 (3%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Delaware →Academics
A 83% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 92% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 20% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The student-faculty ratio is 16:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,812 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $19,139 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $10,901 at the $0–30k band to $25,580 at $110k+. About 77% get grants averaging $14,147, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. About 52% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 4,530 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $10,901 |
| $30–48k | $10,099 |
| $48–75k | $13,225 |
| $75–110k | $17,401 |
| $110k+ | $25,580 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 9,786 of these 18,812 students, totalling $61,828,175 — an average of $6,318 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (New Castle County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)