Thoughts on U. Wisc. Madison (for out of state student)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone with knowledge, non-snarkily compare/contrast UW-M, U Illinois and U Indiana? (Because I can admit here that I couldn't tell them apart on a map or on game day but DS is starting to show some interest in these colleges). Thanks.

U of Illinois is in Urbana which is not the best city. Madison is a beautiful city and an ideal college town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone with knowledge, non-snarkily compare/contrast UW-M, U Illinois and U Indiana? (Because I can admit here that I couldn't tell them apart on a map or on game day but DS is starting to show some interest in these colleges). Thanks.

Illinois has a very strong engineering program, especially EE

Indiana is among the best in the nation in music

In every other respect UW-Madison is in a very different class. UW Madison is ranked higher both as an undergraduate institution (which should be your child's main interest at this point) and as a world class research institution (important for some grad programs). Madison, WI consistently ranks at or near the top for quality of life (the main negative being the winter cold). Wisconsin is far more progressive than any other Midwest state - Milwaukee was the center of the American Socialist movement and Madison was the birthplace of the Progressive Party (La Follette). The UW Madison campus was second only to Cal Berkley in anti-War protests. UW-Madison is among the top 10 in the nation in terms of population of Jewish students and I think you'd be hard pressed to find an evangelical on campus.

In total, I'd say Illinois is quite different and Indiana is a "poor man's" Wisconsin.

Do you think an athletic, outgoing, rich white girl from a not great Catholic HS could find UW-M a fit (assuming strong enough scores to be accepted)?

[Anonymous]

If you're wealthy and you plan to give your child ample funds to enjoy college, have them live in a private dorm. They will meet likeminded people. If your child is down to earth, will work in college, and can relate to anyone, have him or her live in one of the southeast public dorms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're wealthy and you plan to give your child ample funds to enjoy college, have them live in a private dorm. They will meet likeminded people. If your child is down to earth, will work in college, and can relate to anyone, have him or her live in one of the southeast public dorms.

Are we still talking about UW-M here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone with knowledge, non-snarkily compare/contrast UW-M, U Illinois and U Indiana? (Because I can admit here that I couldn't tell them apart on a map or on game day but DS is starting to show some interest in these colleges). Thanks.

Illinois has a very strong engineering program, especially EE

Indiana is among the best in the nation in music

In every other respect UW-Madison is in a very different class. UW Madison is ranked higher both as an undergraduate institution (which should be your child's main interest at this point) and as a world class research institution (important for some grad programs). Madison, WI consistently ranks at or near the top for quality of life (the main negative being the winter cold). Wisconsin is far more progressive than any other Midwest state - Milwaukee was the center of the American Socialist movement and Madison was the birthplace of the Progressive Party (La Follette). The UW Madison campus was second only to Cal Berkley in anti-War protests. UW-Madison is among the top 10 in the nation in terms of population of Jewish students and I think you'd be hard pressed to find an evangelical on campus.

In total, I'd say Illinois is quite different and Indiana is a "poor man's" Wisconsin.

Do you think an athletic, outgoing, rich white girl from a not great Catholic HS could find UW-M a fit (assuming strong enough scores to be accepted)?

Wisconsin is one of the most Catholic states in the country - you'd have no problem at all. Though the rich Cathloics in Wisconsin tend to go to Marquette.

[Anonymous]

Edgewood High School right in Madison sends plenty of wealthy Catholics to UW.

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of wealthy people in Madison, but people don't really make an issue about money. People are more laid back about it.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It's not equal to U-Michigan or UVA for prestige, but it is a great school, and the town of Madison, WI is truly beautiful. A lot like Ann Arbor, MI, actually, but prettier.

UVA may be considered more prestigious with college rankings but UW Madison has a more diverse social scene and less Greek influence. Madison is not lacking for anything for any type of college student. So much right on your doorstep in Madison and great academics. Any type of student can fit in and be happy.

UVA definitely has much more prestige in this region, but not in the Midwest where UVA is not at all well known. I think the schools have comparable reputations in NYC, but Wisconsin has a far larger Alum base.

BS...there are a hell of a lot more UVA grads in front office wall-street positions or strategy consulting positions than UW-Madison alums.

Not true - you are talking out of your rear end

If you think UW-M is considered a 'target' school like UVA is for IB, trading, HF, PE, MBB consulting during the last 10 years you are sorely and I hope you do not give false info to your children.

I'm not saying UW-M is a bad school. I think its a really good one actually. However if you think it places anywhere near as well as uva for certain industries that happen to dominate the NYC white collar professional scene, your the one chatting shite.

[Anonymous]

Illinois alum here. Madison is a much nicer town than Champaign-Urbana, no doubt. But I do believe it is harder to get into Illinois than Wisconsin (at least it traditionally was). In addition to a great engineering program, UofI also has a top undergrad business program (not graduate). Huge numbers of kids from the North Shore suburbs of Chicago go to Illinois -- a very similar demographic to Bethesda or McLean. Lots also go to Wisconsin and Indiana. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective and what you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does it compare to Indiana University or university of Illinois?

Very favorably in all the academic measures quantified by national lists (US news being the most infamous of this type)

Not on the radar of the Whitman crowd though. Indiana sounds "Midwestern."' Madison evokes lakes and adorableness and not farming -- so it is acceptable to people from the east coast, and in particular, Jews and self-described intellectual parents. That's not an anti-Semitic swipe: try an experiment today. Ask a practicing Jewish parent which school they'd pick for their teen, Ohio State or UWisc? Uillinois or UWisc? UKansas or UWisc? Even U Minnesota vs U Wisconsin, and they're about two feet away from each other and "ranked" about the same.

This experiment would probably work with any parents in Bethesda and Ward 3, of any faith. For some reason, Wisconsin gets a pass on the "flyover country farm boy hicks evangelical" perception. Maybe it's the lakes and the fact that there is a sailing team. Hm.

According to the College Bound article in the September-October Bethesda Magazine, 36 applied to U of W-M and 17 accepted from Whitman. Illinois-20 applied 14 accepted and Indiana 44 applied and 36 accepted from Whitman.

It would seem that the Whitman crowd is open to the midwest schools.


This is in the current issue of Bethesda Magazine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not equal to U-Michigan or UVA for prestige, but it is a great school, and the town of Madison, WI is truly beautiful. A lot like Ann Arbor, MI, actually, but prettier.

UVA may be considered more prestigious with college rankings but UW Madison has a more diverse social scene and less Greek influence. Madison is not lacking for anything for any type of college student. So much right on your doorstep in Madison and great academics. Any type of student can fit in and be happy.

UVA definitely has much more prestige in this region, but not in the Midwest where UVA is not at all well known. I think the schools have comparable reputations in NYC, but Wisconsin has a far larger Alum base.

BS...there are a hell of a lot more UVA grads in front office wall-street positions or strategy consulting positions than UW-Madison alums.

Not true - you are talking out of your rear end

If you think UW-M is considered a 'target' school like UVA is for IB, trading, HF, PE, MBB consulting during the last 10 years you are sorely and I hope you do not give false info to your children.

I'm not saying UW-M is a bad school. I think its a really good one actually. However if you think it places anywhere near as well as uva for certain industries that happen to dominate the NYC white collar professional scene, your the one chatting shite.

Any facts to back that up? There is virtually no way to know what you claim to know. You MIGHT be able to speak to an IP or two, but your generalization is plainly nonsensical. UW Madison is a far bigger school with a far larger ALUM network everywhere but DC and the south.

[Anonymous]

We have a friend who's son passed up Dartmouth and went to UW undergrad and now is at Stanford for graduate. We have another friend who went to UW and then Vanderbilt for graduate and now is working in finance in Chicago. We have another friend that went to a small college in Iowa for undergrad and then UW for graduate and now has a great job with Microsoft. I think there are many different paths to success and we on the East Coast tend to get tunnel vision when it comes to colleges. It is a big country out there.

[Anonymous]

Apart from larger class size, Wisconsin is far better than most Ivies in STEM areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone with knowledge, non-snarkily compare/contrast UW-M, U Illinois and U Indiana? (Because I can admit here that I couldn't tell them apart on a map or on game day but DS is starting to show some interest in these colleges). Thanks.

Illinois has a very strong engineering program, especially EE

Indiana is among the best in the nation in music

In every other respect UW-Madison is in a very different class. UW Madison is ranked higher both as an undergraduate institution (which should be your child's main interest at this point) and as a world class research institution (important for some grad programs). Madison, WI consistently ranks at or near the top for quality of life (the main negative being the winter cold). Wisconsin is far more progressive than any other Midwest state - Milwaukee was the center of the American Socialist movement and Madison was the birthplace of the Progressive Party (La Follette). The UW Madison campus was second only to Cal Berkley in anti-War protests. UW-Madison is among the top 10 in the nation in terms of population of Jewish students and I think you'd be hard pressed to find an evangelical on campus.

In total, I'd say Illinois is quite different and Indiana is a "poor man's" Wisconsin.

Illinois and Wisconsin have the same ranking in the current US News rankings. Indiana is in a different tier

[Anonymous]

In every other respect UW-Madison is in a very different class. UW Madison is ranked higher both as an undergraduate institution (which should be your child's main interest at this point) and as a world class research institution (important for some grad programs). Madison, WI consistently ranks at or near the top for quality of life (the main negative being the winter cold). Wisconsin is far more progressive than any other Midwest state - Milwaukee was the center of the American Socialist movement and Madison was the birthplace of the Progressive Party (La Follette). The UW Madison campus was second only to Cal Berkley in anti-War protests. UW-Madison is among the top 10 in the nation in terms of population of Jewish students and I think you'd be hard pressed to find an evangelical on campus.

Yes, and Wisconsin also has given the nation Sen. Joe McCarthy and more recently Gov. Scott Walker, not to mention Paul Ryan (not to equate Walker and Ryan with Tail Gunner Joe). So a pure Progressive paradise, it is not.