So we are trying to figure out what Admitted Students Events to go to. UW-Madison is my son’s 1st choice of the schools he’s been accepted to and we are very excited.
The issue is that he is on the baseball team and it will be very hard for him to get away from early March through the end of the school year. He’s very dedicated to the team, and he won’t be playing in college so this season is “it”.
My question is should he go the General Admitted Students event, the Engineering Admitted Students Preview Day, or both? How important are these events if he’s sold on the school already? Also, the dorms were not part of our campus tour last year. Is there a lot of value in seeing the dorms 1st hand over the virtual tours online?
As of now, my son is signed up for the Engineering Preview Day on Friday 2/23 from 12:30-5. He also signed up for a Housing Tour that same day from 9:00-10:00 (they only show you 1 room in the Lakeshore neighborhood tho, and he’s leaning toward the Southeast dorms). We could go the Friday before as well for the General Admitted Students Day event but that’s another day off work/school. But I am so thankful he was accepted. UW-Madison is a great fit for him and only 2 hours from home!
I think admitted student days can be good if you haven’t decided, especially if you applied to a school that you never visited. But if you know this is the place you want to go I think you have to ask yourself how much more you’ll get out of an admitted student’s day. You will have two days at SOAR in the summer. You’ll meet other freshman SOAR, especially other engineering students, since you will go with your school or college for SOAR advising.
As for dorms, my D15’s boyfriend was in Smith his freshman year and really liked it. Both my daughters have stayed in Ogg for summer music clinic, and it’s also very nice. My sons stayed in DeJope for a summer soccer camp and they thought it was awesome, but what do middle school boys know.
For my D15, we attended an admitted student’s day at Tulane because she was admitted, but we had never visited. This let her know that Tulane was definitely not the place for her. So, again, if you’ve visited, and you’re sure UW is the place for you then I would recommend just waiting until you come for SOAR. Best to you.
We’re going to go to the Engineering Preview Day and do a housing tour. My son and I visited last October, but my wife couldn’t make the trip. So, this gives her a chance to see campus. Plus, my son wants to see UW-Madison again as he is still trying to decide where he wants to go.
When you’re on campus spend some time walking around- even in winter. That will give an additional perspective that Google satellite maps and virtual tours can’t. Do not be afraid of the hills! Remember that walkers can use shortcuts cars can’t. So many places to see you won’t get to them all…
My daughter is a freshman this year. We did admitted student day, more so that she could meet up with her two potential roommates. The girls had a great time and I think it took some of the pressure off by meeting face to face early on. We also got to meet and have dinner with the other parents that weekend. We went end of February and it was low 70s that day. Not typical for winter in Wisconsin, but it was a great day for walking and exploring. The girls also got someone they knew already attending to give them a housing tour.
Thanks for your reply. Wow 70 degrees in WI in February! I hope we get so lucky. I’d love to spend some more time walking around campus.
Did your daughter “accept” before the admitted students day? Is that how she was able to meet potential roommates? Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what dorm is your daughter in and how does she like it? My son keeps wavering between the two neighborhoods. He’s pretty easy going so I think he’d be happy in either area but I’m semi-obsessing about it. I keep thinking about my days as a freshman. I had a great dorm, a great floor, and met so many nice people. Definitely made the transition easier. Thanks!
Parent of just graduated UW student – in terms of finding roommate rather than going “random,” there is likely an admitted UW student Facebook group by now, which your student can ask to join. It is basically a “match.com” for roommates, where students identify their interests, as well as some essentials like whether they intend to party or not. My kid “met” his roommate on the FB group, and they got along well first year. His first year hall was his core group of friends in Sellery/Witte. He knew he wanted big and social, so put Sellery and Witte as his first two choices. Since those two dorms account for about 2000 students, chances were very good he would get it.
He also took a FIG (first year interest group) which was a cluster of 3 classes (sometimes 2) that are thematically linked and that you take with a core group of 20 or so students. Those 20 students are in the same discussion section for the large lecture class, and then have a seminar together. That experience really helped him find students with similar academic interests. A learning community can be another way to achieve that goal.
He did go to a regular admitted students event in the spring, though he knew he would attend as UW was his first choice. It just helped make it all feel a little more familiar. If your son has already visited, and knows he plans on attending AND will be missing some of his last season of baseball, I think the admitted days are skippable. SOAR will cover advising, course selection etc. and you don’t need to have gone to an admitted student day to be ready for SOAR. Once a student accepts and pays the deposit, there is a slew of information about all the next steps.
My daughter had accepted prior to the admitted student day. She had joined a group on line for incoming freshman to meet other new comers. The girls made plans to attend the same new student admit day so they could meet. This year they are in a triple room in Dejope. It is a great facility, but I think it may have deterred her from finding friends right away. I think there are a lot of student athletes in this residence hall, so of course they all form a connection with each other. But even that seems to be turning around a bit now that some of the sports seasons are done (i.e. volleyball). Listening to her talk over break about missing people from school, I think I was reading too much into her “I’m so lonely” calls during the semester.
She discovered right away that she did not care for the party scene (her roommates feel otherwise) so that may have also hindered her meeting people a little bit. If you’re worried about which neighborhood your student lives in because of parties, I don’t really think it matters. If they are not into it, they won’t go. If they are, they probably won’t mind walking from the far ends of the campus.
Have him check out this Facebook page if he hasn’t already “University of Wisconsin UW Madison Class of 2022”