<p>How does Wisconsin stack up in comparison to the other Big 10 schools (including Maryland and Rutgers, since they will be added the year I enter college)? Right now the schools I'm looking at are Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State, and maybe Illinois. </p>
<p>Keep in mind I am from CT and want a school with strong sports, strong frat/party life, good academics that I can care about, solid alumni and a feeling of connection to the school after graduation. A nice campus/ nice college town is nice. I am going to try to be a Finance Major, and would like to work in NYC after graduation.</p>
<p>If anyone can tell we how these schools match up with what I'm looking for, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management has an awesome finance major and is super well regarded in the area and nationally. A lot of big companies have headquarters around Mpls. Dinkytown (the neighborhood of Minneapolis it’s located in) is definitely a college area. However, Minnesota is more of a commuter school than say, Wisconsin. Though you might find that the business school is more tight knit. I don’t have any particular experience with it so I can’t say. I guess they also don’t have <em>that</em> strong of sports… though there’s sure a lot of hussle and bussle on game days (and the terrible traffic to go with it).</p>
<p>You may change your mind about joining a fraternity- Greek life is only important to the small few who partake in it at UW. Campus social life does not revolve around frats- plenty to do without them. UW has active alumni associations all over the country.</p>
<p>First consider the academic programs, you want a strong education for your future. Madison is an excellent college town as well. You need to explore those colleges on your list and come up with rankings based on several pros and cons for each. A lot can be done online.</p>
<p>While I don’t know about all the schools on your list, Frat life at Wisc is almost non-existent. Sure, there are Frats…but schools like IL, Indiana, Iowa, etc. revolve around greek life. Wisc doesn’t.</p>
<p>UW is more recruited in NYC than UMinn. Overall I’d go NU, UM, UW/ILL, UMinn/OSU/PSU/UMD, IU/PU, MSU/RU, Iowa, UNL.</p>
<p>Frat life is non-existent at UW only if you have no interest in joining a Frat. My son joined Pi Kappa Alpha, best move he ever made.</p>
<p>Just… your son is in a small minority. Debatable if it is “the best move he ever made” as most have a great college experience without Greek life, who knows if your son could have as well. I would consider academic choices far more important to one’s life. In my day we felt sorry for those who felt the need to join a sorority (or frat)- those who had that need for a crutch…that era was the nadir of Greek life at UW. Very few freshmen women even considered rushing.</p>
<p>To all- note there are differences of opinion regarding Greek life. The good news is that those who do it lead their lifestyle and the rest couldn’t care less about that. UW is a big enough and diverse enough campus that there is room for many different people. Everyone has their own social circles- none of the high school in crowd et al drama.</p>
<p>Think of the story of the blind men and the elephant- perceptions are dependent on which of the many aspects of UW you encounter. There are so many different organizations to choose from a student can find like minded people to socialize with and remain independent.</p>
<p>@justwait: my point wasn’t that Frats at Wisc are bad, or that there aren’t frats at Wisc. My point was that compared to many other Big 10 schools (original post request), greek life is not the dominate part of the culture. Participation rates support that point. It’s great that your son joined a frat and it’s working for him. Last I looked greek life participation at IL, Wisc, and Michigan were 30% higher than Wisc. Greek participation declined after the reported racial incident where a frat was suspended.</p>
<p>Agree with last couple posts. UW has an active Greek life that is large enough to be self-sustaining and offer the full Greek experience BUT it does not dominate any aspect of campus life–social, political, academic, sports etc. It is just there like many other options in restaurants, bars, coffee houses, clubs, housing etc etc.</p>
<p>Academically, UMich is the strongest followed closely by UW and then Illinois. Northwestern is the strongest in academics in the BIG 10 but i don’t think it fits the rest of your criteria. Maryland has the best frat life out of the colleges you listed. As for the nice college town, UW Madison is definitely the best followed by UMich and maybe PSU. </p>
<p>[SI.com</a> - SI on Campus - Best College Sports Towns - Thursday September 11, 2003 10:59AM](<a href=“http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/sioncampus/09/10/top_ten0916/]SI.com”>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/sioncampus/09/10/top_ten0916/)</p>
<p>[America’s</a> Most Beautiful College Campuses- Page 22 - Articles | Travel + Leisure](<a href=“http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses/22]America’s”>http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses/22)</p>
<p>[Unigo:</a> Top 10 Colleges with the Happiest Students](<a href=“Top 10 Colleges with the Happiest Students | HuffPost College”>Top 10 Colleges with the Happiest Students | HuffPost College)</p>
<p>Based on your criteria, UMich and Wisco seem as the best options. UMich is stronger academically but Wisco seems to be slightly better when it comes to college town, nice campus, etc.</p>