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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Cons: My stereotype of Wisconsin education is that some of the lectures can be absolutely massive. This is fairly standard for big flagships, though. The physical campus is very large and you definitely need a bus to get from one end of it to the other, particularly if you're going to one of the special centers that are further from the central core. I live in Chicago and grew up in an even colder part of the country so weather is not a huge issue for me but the way the winds howl off of the lakes during the winter can be absolutely brutal. When I think of Madison -- and, remember, I went to college near Madison, I think of my eyelashes freezing as I walked from the bus stop to the Capitol. Someone said they don't get the lake effect snow... maybe that's right, but Madison definitely gets more snow than Chicago annually. [/quote]

Freshmen classes at any flagship are going to be huge. But they have TA led discussion sections and the professor and TA's hold office hours.

You don't need a bus to get from one end of campus to another, and the fact is, a student is generally in the L&S area or the Engineering area. There isn't a lot of back and forth between the two.

[b]Madison doesn't have the persistent winds and lakeshore effect that Chicago enjoys. It can get cold, but it is Wisconsin, not Mississippi.[/b]

[quote]Also, Madison itself is nice, but kind of isolated. Yes, they have an airport. But... it's not a big one. You could fly out of Milwaukee or Chicago, but those are a bit of a trek to Madison. In any case, it's a healthy distance from the next major metro area. That being said, it has most everything you'd need. Bands do stop there. [/quote]

There are buses that go from the Union or downtown [b]Madison to O'Hare and Milwaukee that cost like $10. It is pretty easy. [/b]Or you can fly from Madison through Detroit or Chicago to DC or any other city in the world.

[quote]Now, this info is out of date since I was in college ages ago, but I found OSU's facilities to be better than UW. The student center at UW is quite old, although it has a beautiful view of the lake. OSU has a brand new student center (2010) while UW has two (one around the same age and one much older) -- and the older one is undergoing renovation, which might mean it's not usable during your kid's time there. The gyms are comparable, but the libraries are not -- OSU's is also new and lovely, while Memorial Library at UW is an ancient, dark, somewhat terrifying building. It may have been renovated since I used it, but it doesn't look like it. That being said, I can't compare the dorms (no knowledge of either although I have heard OSU's suck) and I suspect most of the other facilities are similar.  [/quote]

The Memorial Union has been totally renovated and is a crown jewel on campus. Suggesting it is old and thus a negative is to miss its prominence on campus, the beauty of the building and the backdrop for the Terrace.

Memorial Library is dark and terrifying? Since when? And it is one of like 20 libraries on campus.

All of the dorms at US have been renovated or built new in the last 5 or so years.[/quote]

I live in Chicago and went to college in Wisconsin and totally disagree. Chicago is milder than Madison.

That being said, I think that weather is kind of a dumb reason to choose a college.

As for the bus to O'Hare -- the Van Galder. Yes, I am *very* familiar with the Van Galder. Just as a note, since 10$ makes it sound like it's just a hop, skip, and jump from the airport, that's a 2 hour one way journey from O'Hare to Madison. In no traffic. Yes, you can fly. But, since this was when I was talking about a "negative" aspect of Madison, I do think it's fair to point out that UW is not particularly well connected by air -- it just isn't.

And as for Memorial Library -- I spent *many* hours studying for the GRE there in essentially a cage, and a piece of ceiling fell on me. It is not a nice library, particularly when compared to OSU's brand new library. 
https://www.library.wisc.edu/memorial/spaces/study-places/carrels/

Yes, there are other libraries. But that's the main one.

And, again, I *like* UW. I would encourage smart students interested in a big school to consider it.  But, I'm allowed to have different reactions to some aspects of the university and city. [/quote]

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