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.

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.

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.

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

University of Wisconsin has a beautiful campus on the lake and has the downtown area of State Street with restaurants, shopping, bars, the Oveture Center. It has great academics, sports, arts and music scene, outdoor recreation. Like most colleges there is a party scene but if you don't want to drink there is so much to do you will never be bored. There are so many different types of people and the fraternity scene is only a very small part of the social scene. If you want to be in a small college in a rural area or you need the clubs of NYC it may not be for you. Otherwise it is a perfect college town.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:waits for the first "it's not a SLAC or Ivy and is only ranked at #41 by USNWR, so it's not a good school" post

Congrats, you're the first through the gates with the SLAC/Ivy comparisons!

Seriously, I almost never see that kind of post. Not sure where you're reading that.

I agree - schools like Wisconsin are so far removed from a small liberal arts college that it is really not worth discussion - not even apples and oranges - more like different universes. In certain graduate and research areas, the big land grant schools are right there with the Ivy league research schools - like Harvard - but my sense is that the undergraduate experience is different.

Anonymous wrote:waits for the first "it's not a SLAC or Ivy and is only ranked at #41 by USNWR, so it's not a good school" post

Congrats, you're the first through the gates with the SLAC/Ivy comparisons!

Seriously, I almost never see that kind of post. Not sure where you're reading that.

Anonymous wrote:Is it true madison students smoke a lot of weed?

UW-Madison Alum here. Some do, some don't. The great thing about this school is that it's big enough for everyone to find their niche. Yes, there are a lot of pot smokers, and a lot of frat boys and a lot of international students, and a lot of lefties, and a lot of Ayn Rand worshipers, and every other group imaginable. It is a heavy drinking town though, but that's par for the course for WI in general.

It's a great, fun school, that graduates a lot of entrepreneurs and peace corp volunteers. It "looks" like a college town should, football is a big deal, and the summer sessions are worth sticking around for because the campus is between two lakes, and is stunning.

As far as academics, a lot of the programs are ranked very highly. Poli Sci & Sociology, come to mind right away.

is UW (seattle) really popular for dmv teens?

i have family out in seattle and i don't think UW in the UG ranks has lots of out-of-staters, esp from the east coast.

Fantastic school though...brilliant computer science program and the medical school/hospital/residencies are top notch.

seattle is a brilliant town as well.

Great school, fun students (you'd better like football and snow), and lovely campus. Lakes Monona and Mendota are gorgeous in the summer.

Is it true madison students smoke a lot of weed?

It's fine. It's a big state school in a lovely, FUN college town.

That's why it's so desirable to affluent MoCo teens. Same for Boulder. Same for seattle/U of Washington. NOT so for Iowa city, Norman Oklahoma/u of Oklahoma or Texas A&M

It's the atmosphere thatis so alluring to the moneyed white folks in 20815 20816 20008 20817 20015 and 20016. It's not that a sociology degree from Madison is intrinsically and objectively more honorable than a sociology degree from columbus, Ohio (Ohio state).

waits for the first "it's not a SLAC or Ivy and is only ranked at #41 by USNWR, so it's not a good school" post

There are at least 10,000 out of state students, so no worries. There is playful ribbing of "coasties" - mainly NYC stereotypes. The school is just a notch below UVA and UM

I have noticed that on a number of private school websites, as well as information I've seen for MoCo top high schools, U. Wisconsin at Madison is always well represented. Is it now akin to a Michigan or U.VA in terms of prestige and selectivity? For those who went there, or with kids there, what do you think of the experience? Would an out of state student fit in with what I presume is a student body mainly from Wisconsin?