Hi, my name is Mohit and I’ve been accepted into both Purdue and Wisconsin-Madison. I’m having a really hard time picking between studying Mechanical engineering at Purdue (at the engineering school), and the AMEP program unique to Madison (at University of Wisconsin’s college of letters and sciences.)
Purdue is ranked very high in engineering and getting a BE in mechanical engineering from there would be great for future job opportunities. However, the AMEP program seems perfect for me as I do see myself as a math guy. The only problem with AMEP is that it is in the college of letters and sciences and ill be getting a BS instead, which is not as prestigious.
I’ve visited both campuses and I do love Madison as it is a beautiful campus and lovely city. I could see myself spending 4 years there. However, not that there was anything wrong with West Lafayette, it just looked a bit dull when I was there. I do like to party and Madison seems to have a better party life but I’m not sure, it would great to have people’s input. I’m starting to think that maybe I should have applied for the engineering school at Madison. Is the AMEP, and what I think is a better campus life worth risking an engineering degree from Purdue?
I’m also currently applying to the honors program at Madison and if I get that, it would further cement my place at Madison. The only problem with that is that the decision for that will come out after the enrollment deadline.
Warning- give the fewest details about yourself on sites like CC. Your name is irrelevant and you need to maintain your privacy. Stating you are of Indian origin or from India would be more appropriate if you feel that info is relevant.
First of all, there is NO prestige difference in a BA versus a BS. Get over that. At UW the requirements for the major are the same and the difference is in which breadth requirements you meet. I chose a BA in Chemistry eons ago since I liked the white tassel better than the yellow and met Honors Program requirements for either. Likewise you can do the courses needed to get a BA in any L&S major by meeting the breadth requirements.
Madison is a much better campus than Purdue. Regardless of where you go you need to remember that study hard comes before paly hard. You need to prioritize and not take advantage of all of the many opportunities outside academics available to you. There are some good Indian grocery stores and several Indian restaurants in Madison (H is from India so we checked them out).
UW admits students to the university as a whole which means you have opportunities to change your major, school/college after you are there. You are not guaranteed admission to your engineering major but if you can’t get it you probably shouldn’t be in it. Math, computer science and engineering are excellent at UW (as are many other STEM majors and other fields).
Based on what you have stated I would choose UW. Son was an Honors math and added the comp sci major at UW. He preferred theory but ended up becoming a software developer/engineer instead of math grad school. He had a few grad level math courses as an undergrad. An application to the UW Honors program is needed to show interest, they figured in recent times that any admitted student had potential, ie your stats are likely fine. You should consider the Honors calculus and physics sequences at UW for great courses. Son took those, I did Honors Chemistry eons ago (still offer the same course numbers now).
Your major is not etched in stone. You will start with required STEM courses and breadth courses regardless of the major you end up with at UW. You will be able to refine your path once you are in college and experience different courses.