Anonymous wrote:My son got in for Engineering. We haven't visited yet -- will for admitted students day -- but I'd love to hear why people love Wisconsin. Sooo cold a good part of the year. I'm just not getting why it's gotten so popular but am trying to keep an open mind and get on the bandwagon. Please share with me why you/your child love it. Thanks!

Madison is on an isthmus between two huge lakes. The capitol building is a miniature version of the US Capitol and you can see it from every corner of the city. It's gorgeous. It seems like every building in Madison has a big "W" on it - unlike NYU and GW, where you can't tell which buildings are part of the campus - it's like the whole city is the campus. Then you can walk just two blocks north of this bustling little city with everything you need (Target, CVS, Chipotle, food trucks, etc) and you are on the shore of this gorgeous lake (Lake Mendota). There's a long path you can walk alongside the lake and you can take sailing lessons or get SCUBA certified.
In the winter, when the lake freezes over, they drag the kegs out onto the ice, clear a spot for hockey, carve some holes for polar plunges and ice fishing, and they just party all winter long. Have your child look it up on TikTok or IG Reels. We are headed there next weekend for a quick visit for Winter Fest and a hockey game. Direct flights from DC are quick and cheap. It's only a 15 min Uber ride from the airport.
We only went to one football game in the fall but plan to go to a few more this year. It was like Disney World - except instead of everyone sporting the mouse ears, they were wearing their Wisconsin gear and holding a beer and eating cheese curds.
I don't know - I guess you just have to visit.

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Anonymous wrote:They give virtually no merit to OOS students.

As it should be. Unless you are receiving an endowed scholarship, merit is truly WI taxpayers funding your kid to go there, or full pay families doing so.

I have no problem with Wisconsin’s approach, but I also have no problem with Minnesota’s approach (they give substantial merit discounts to high-stats OOS students). It seems like it’s more about supply and demand than politics.

From MN - my kid had 0 interest in Minnesota schools. Went OOS. Wisconsin- Madison is very popular with Minnesota kids.

I think UMN, like UMD, suffers from being located so close to most college-bound in-state students. And of course Minnesotans like Wisconsin, it’s away from home but not too far and they get a special discounted rate (and that discount seems to be perfectly fine with Wisconsin taxpayers).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They give virtually no merit to OOS students.

As it should be. Unless you are receiving an endowed scholarship, merit is truly WI taxpayers funding your kid to go there, or full pay families doing so.

I have no problem with Wisconsin’s approach, but I also have no problem with Minnesota’s approach (they give substantial merit discounts to high-stats OOS students). It seems like it’s more about supply and demand than politics.

From MN - my kid had 0 interest in Minnesota schools. Went OOS. Wisconsin- Madison is very popular with Minnesota kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They give virtually no merit to OOS students.

As it should be. Unless you are receiving an endowed scholarship, merit is truly WI taxpayers funding your kid to go there, or full pay families doing so.

I have no problem with Wisconsin’s approach, but I also have no problem with Minnesota’s approach (they give substantial merit discounts to high-stats OOS students). It seems like it’s more about supply and demand than politics.

Anonymous wrote:They give virtually no merit to OOS students.

As it should be. Unless you are receiving an endowed scholarship, merit is truly WI taxpayers funding your kid to go there, or full pay families doing so.

Deferred. Engineering

GPA: 4.2 , lots of Bs

SAT: 1520, National Merit SF

anyone pick it over UMichigan engineerng? why?

Anonymous wrote:My son got in for Engineering. We haven't visited yet -- will for admitted students day -- but I'd love to hear why people love Wisconsin. Sooo cold a good part of the year. I'm just not getting why it's gotten so popular but am trying to keep an open mind and get on the bandwagon. Please share with me why you/your child love it. Thanks!

1. Madison is an incredible college town.

2. UW’s professors are world class, including thought leaders in many fields.

3. Ever been to the upper Midwest? There’s a culture of fundamental decency, kindness, and common sense that pervades virtually all aspects of life. Not exciting, but extraordinarily pleasant.

4. It’s a whole lot of fun, with niches for virtually every kind of kid.

5. The WI Idea is taken seriously and is widely integrated into the curriculum.

In short, UW is a fun place in a great town full of decent people and offers the opportunity to get a world class education. It also has a purpose and distinct character that IMO sets it apart from many peer institutions.

But yeah, it’s freezing. And huge. Not for everyone.

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Anonymous wrote:DC deferred - 1580 SATs; 3.94 GPA non-weighted (challenging classes, all 4s/5s on APs); good ECs and in at Michigan so far.

Sounds like WI is protecting their yield

To be considered, you should sincerely put "If I get an good offer, I promise I will coming!!".

My son got in for Engineering. We haven't visited yet -- will for admitted students day -- but I'd love to hear why people love Wisconsin. Sooo cold a good part of the year. I'm just not getting why it's gotten so popular but am trying to keep an open mind and get on the bandwagon. Please share with me why you/your child love it. Thanks!

They give virtually no merit to OOS students.

Anyone received any merit from Wisconsin? Do they give merit like Pitt or UMinnesota?

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Anonymous wrote:I think Wisconsin and Michigan are two big 10 schools that are very similar and very even overall. I can see why one may pick one over the other and vice versa.

Does Wisconsin have the prettier campus? Is Wisconsin or Michigan easier to get to from the DMV?

UMich has a better academic reputation than UW-Madison overall for sure, but both are great schools. I notice UMich is overrated whereas UW is underrated esp on here. My kid is a normal (by no means spectacular) high stats student. According to Scoir, UMich is a reach but UW is just a likely.

I wonder if the same is rated by Scoir for your kids?

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Anonymous wrote:Wierd about multiple not getting into WI but MI acceptance - thought MI harder entry

These kids weren’t rejected. Wisconsin has effectively just said to these high-stats kids “hey, we think that by now you’re probably into Michigan and/or an SCEA/REA school or something. If not, let us know and we’ll probably accept you in RD.”

source?

They never have a source for these claims. They just know.

I think all of us “just know” that a deferral is not the same thing as a rejection.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wierd about multiple not getting into WI but MI acceptance - thought MI harder entry

These kids weren’t rejected. Wisconsin has effectively just said to these high-stats kids “hey, we think that by now you’re probably into Michigan and/or an SCEA/REA school or something. If not, let us know and we’ll probably accept you in RD.”

source?

They never have a source for these claims. They just know.