Campus Culture ("Work Hard, Play Hard" etc.)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
1

<p>Hello, you may recognize that I've been commenting pretty frequently on this forum. If I were (I hope I have a decent chance) to be accepted here, I think the opportunity would be hard to pass up. I know I want to do biotech, I know I want research, I like the prestige, the city and the sports. Top it off with in-state tuition and nothing else much compares. (If I get into med or grad, my hope is that I won't have too much debt.) </p>

<p>Yet, it has been through frequent visits and reading about the school that I've found something about the school that I <em>really</em> don't like--and that something is the campus "culture." I've accepted that UW-madison isn't exactly an "intellectual" school a la UChicago or Brown. What I'm having trouble with is the whole party-school, drinking, fake, cliquey, Animal House, Harold and Kumar, Jersey Shore, Asher Roth vibe I'm getting, that very much resembles the ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE experience I've had in my town*. Top that off with the fact that surely a decent number of kids from my high-school and city will and already do go there, and I feel like it'll be high-school all over again. </p>

<p>So my questions are:
- How cliquey is the environment? How superficial are the kids? How hedonistic? Are they "anti-intellectual" or is academic ambition, at the expense of "partying hard" (<-- the prepositional phrase is very important), frowned-upon?
- How many active, intellectual (and I mean, set on chaining the world) clubs and groups are there?
- Are there size bale portions of the student population (and I mean, in the thousands) that are basically opposed to drinking on the basis that "we shouldn't be doing that since we're paying to come here and don't want to screw things up."</p>

<p>As you can tell, I am, by choice, very conservative in the social sense. If my parents offered me alcohol, I wouldn't take it for my own, non-religious reasons. If the campus culture is "Work Hard, Play Hard", I'm just "Work Hard." </p>

<p>I <em>really</em> want to love UW-Madison (of course I haven't gotten in yet and I am going to apply to other place as well) but if this aspect of the student body is as much a caricature of college life--of itself--as people say it is, then I am very much turned off. </p>

<p>Please fill me in.</p>

<p>*Guess my town...</p>

2

<p>UW is a big school and there are all sorts of people there. Are some of them cliquey and superficial? Yes. Lots of people are in a school of 40,000 people (it’s worse among the freshmen as well, but the good news is that a lot of them get better as time goes on). But there are lots of every kind of person at Madison. You can take steps to reduce the amount of cliquey, superficial people by not living where they often live (Sellery, Witte, private dorms) and just not getting into the party scene, which you don’t seem to want to do anyway, so that’s fine.</p>

<p>I would suggest Lakeshore (or possibly Chadbourne if you want a more central location) if you want a quieter, more academic experience. Know that UW is a party school and you will encounter a lot of partying. That’s hard to completely avoid. No one is going to force you to party though, nor will you find it too hard to make friends. People are cool with people who don’t party as well (in all honesty I am beginning to slow down and I am just a sophomore, though the fact I have my own apartment is definitely a factor in that). </p>

<p>There are LOTS of active, intellectual clubs and groups, hundreds. Some of them do throw parties or whatever, but most of them do actually work pretty hard on whatever they’re about as far as I know. Lots of political clubs are really active.</p>

<p>I don’t know the precise motivations for everyone who chooses not to drink. I haven’t met that many people who don’t, though I know that’s because I chose to surround myself with people who enjoy being intoxicated when I was a freshman and now those people are my close friends. I think somewhere around 60% of students (undergrads? I don’t know) do drink, so not drinking does put you in the minority, but it’s not a small minority. Just live in Lakeshore and you’ll have the best chance of finding like-minded people. There is usually a substance-free floor, I believe, but you might find overly judgmental or uptight people there as well as people whose parents forced them to live there and who aren’t really into the sub-free thing. I think to meet the most balanced people I would live in regular Lakeshore (there’s a brand new dorm being built!) or Chadbourne/Barnard if you like living closer to State Street and restaurants and shopping and stuff.</p>

<p>Overall, is it a party school? Yes. Anyone who comes here should know that. But I feel like we take everything to the max at UW, whether that’s partying and drinking or studying or joining clubs or whatever. And there are so many people here that you can definitely find people who have the same interests you do.</p>

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<p>Alright, well, that makes me feel a little better. Great info from a current student! Like I said, I want to make friends, date etc. but at a slower pace. I’m also pretty introverted and “serious” I guess you could say. I mean, I like discussing history, politics and science more than sports or music (although I <em>do</em> pay some attention to those topics as well.) So far, senior year has been an opportunity for me to break out of my shell a little, and I hope to continue to get more confident socially through the year and into college.</p>

<p>I have done some research on Chandborne and the Lakeshore dorms. Maybe it would be best if I got a single to start with, no? That way I can ease my way into it as I please.</p>

<p>I have another question. Since I have this feeling that my social caste will be in part determined by the people who knew me in high-school, how often do you run into or talk with people that you met before going to UW? Is it a big enough that a kid from Wisconsin wouldn’t run into people he’s seen before very often?</p>

<p>PS: I’m not so much worried about my inability to control my own partying as I am about people who do party (and party often) looking down on those who don’t do it as much. My cousin goes to UIUC and is a Greek (along with a huuuuge portion of the campus body). It’s almost as if there’s a monopoly on partying there, like the Greek life is so dominant that it becomes one big clique culture. I’d imagine partying would be fun if I were the “Alpha male” or a social butterfly, but I’m not. I’m rambling and I probably sound ridiculous, but from my perspective, it’s as if I “can’t win that game” and that’s why I’m turned off to it…Lol. I know that doesn’t make sense but…</p>

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<p>UW is gigantic, I wouldn’t worry about that. I know and am friends with people here that I knew in high school but that’s by choice, I could just as easily have chosen to never talk to them.</p>

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<p>My high school was a big feeder school to UW… there’s about 30 or more kids i think from my high school here. Some of them live in my dorm, and even then I don’t see them that much. So unless you live in a dorm on a floor with a lot of people from your high school you won’t be seeing them that often. Maybe like once every two weeks or something, just randomly on a bus or walking down the street.
I don’t really like to party either, and if you don’t want to party, just don’t go. There’s plenty of other things to do in Madison anyways. Like you and others have said before Chadbourne and Lakeshore are good to stay in if you want a more academic setting. I would recommend Chadbourne/Barnard just because it isn’t so far away from everything. You are also closer to State and East Campus Mall so if you ever need to go buy stuff. Rheta’s and the convenience store is right downstairs in Chad, has the best food by far (not sure how it will compare to the new dining centers opening up next year) Its right next to the Law Library, Business library and College Library as well as walking distance from both the Unions. Furthermore there’s like 2-3 bus stops right near by. If you want singles, Barnard will have those, but it might be harder to get into them. If you want those, I would recommend getting your contract in early, and if you are in a learning community (CRC for Barnard) you will get a choice in your room, then it is more likely that you will get a single in Barnard than if you just go random.</p>

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<p>Also, while the party scene is dominant in terms of how many people participate, it’s totally fine if you don’t. People won’t look down on you. It will be even easier if you live away from partying areas like State Street. Greek life is only 10% of students and while it’s pretty big for those who participate, most don’t and are happy with that.</p>

<p>Like someone said above, UW is so big that I wouldn’t worry about running into people from high school. Everyone makes new friends and social circles. You can try for a single if you want, but they are hard to get, and you might feel a little socially isolated.</p>

<p>If partying does interest you at all, I’d advise you to give it a shot. I wasn’t a big partier type or very popular in high school and I was struck by how easy it was to party and have fun and not feel lame. I’m not saying go out and get wasted immediately, but I’d recommend you giving it a shot if you think it would be at all fun.</p>

<p>A lot of the doubles in Barnard are actually two rooms - some people choose to put one bed in each room and kind of have a single (except you have to walk through your roommate’s room to enter/leave) and some people put both beds in one room and use the other room as a living room-type space. So a lot of times, a double in Barnard is really like a single, and cheaper too. Just a thought.</p>

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<p>Wiscongene,
You are getting great and accurate advice here. My daughter is a junior this year, and still loves it. She too does not drink, and actually prefers not to go to parties where there is excessive drinking (acting stupid, rude, etc…) She thrives on many of the same things it sounds like you do - smart, well spoken contemporaries - activities that actually matter, etc…</p>

<p>She has NO problem finding enough to do. There is actually much MORE that she would do, if she had time outside of class and work.</p>

<p>She stayed in Chad. her freshmen year and really like it. GREAT location. She said she occasionally would see someone obviously drunk coming home, but actually less than in HS. Chad also offers a LOT of extras in the way of helping bond everyone together, extra common read books, etc… Quite a few speakers come in too. It sounds like it would be a great fit for you.</p>

<p>And, as you know, their Bio tech is top notch. Don’t let your preconceived notions (which are valid from how some things are portrayed) keep you from coming to a great school.</p>

<p>Good Luck,</p>

<p>DJD</p>

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<p>Ditto what DJD said above. My D is a junior, lived on the Lakeshore in substance-free housing freshman year, in an off-campus house with seven others last year, then this year on University near Camp Randall with a high-school chum who also attends UW-Madison. And like DJD’s D, she is not a drinker/partier in the least. Plenty to do, plenty of like-minded folks. I would say the only time she ventures into the State St. drinking void at night is/will be for Halloween.</p>

<p>Academically, OP, if you can get in, and then take advantage of all the resume-building & career-building non-class options afforded to you, you will be a few steps closer to gainful employment in your field after you graduate. This place DOES prepare involved students for a job.</p>

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<p>Forget your HS social standing. No one cares in college. The advantage of a large, liberal campus is the freedom to define yourself. You can choose the Honors program courses and study as much as you want. You can ignore all of the parties. No need to live near State St if you don’t plan to be there often (also good exercise if you walk from the other end of campus). Greek scene only important to the small percentage who choose to belong to it. You can be an atheist or ultra religious. As above the key phrase is “like minded people”- you will find them. Like any big city a large campus is composed of many neighborhoods and cultural groupings, many will overlap (think Venn diagrams).</p>

<p>By now freshmen have had time to get used to college life. People evolve in their friendships and activites. </p>

<p>Don’t count on a single room next year- not many available and most will be taken by returning students. Your roommate does not need to be your friend, you only need to coexist without getting in each other’s way.</p>

<p>I agree with not seeing former HS classmates in general. You only associate with any you choose to make an effort to (helpful for rides home- that could be your only contact). No more HS cliques. It doesn’t matter what others think- you do your thing, they do theirs. No more popularity contests, “in” crowds.</p>

<p>Concentrate on the academic aspects of UW when deciding if it is the school for you. Look at the departments that you may want to major in and see what the available and required courses are. A math major can take grad level courses while an undergrad, for example (obviously not as a freshman, then there is a great honors sequence).</p>

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<p>Well, I guess you guys have convinced me. I definitely have seen and heard plenty of good things about the school. </p>

<p>My only other major concern is that it’s a grind school, one where competition to be ahead of the curve is at its fiercest. Would you recommend self-studying science APs in order to get out of some washout premed classes, or is that excessive? </p>

<p>On the topic of the honors program, do I have to apply for that or am I automatically considered? Is a 4.0 GPA uw/31 ACT a good enough combination to get into such a program? My old man hasn’t been to college in a while. But he said honors isn’t worth it because it just translates into more work for a lower GPA. A current student told me about some undergraduate research program I might be interested in, but she didn’t really elaborate. </p>

<p>Thanks for the help so far. Wish me luck on getting accepted.</p>

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<p>I know people who go both ways when it comes to science APs. If you are really really good an get a 5 on the AP exam, you could get out of those courses. But if you want to do well on the MCAT, I would recommend retaking the courses (if you didn’t get a 5) in college just so you are really sure that you know that stuff. The classes are pretty competitive and a lot harder than they would be in high school AP, however, if you do well in AP, the class here would just be a review. Not a guaranteed A but if a good grade if you know what you are doing. That’s just my opinion though…
Honors is an application process. I am in the L&S honors program right now. The application asks for grades, EC, leadership and 3 short essays. It wasn’t that hard, just a little tedious. I would definitely recommend it. I don’t know what an automatic honors class is like, but honors optional classes are not all that bad. In addition to the coursework, you do like an extra honors thing (the professor will decide what that is). You have like 5ish weeks or something to decide if you want to do honors or not. If you don’t, you can just drop, with absolutely no consequences. In addition to the coursework, the Honors Program offers a lot of resources and opportunities that other students do not get. Their advising is also really great. Plus it just looks good on resumes. Even if you do not plan to stay in L&S for your major, you can advise with Honors and take advantage of their opportunities until you declare and go to another school. It doesn’t harm you in any way, so I definitely recommend you applying for it.</p>

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<p>Does CALS have an honors program? And when do I apply?</p>

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<p>CALS Honors:
[Honors</a> Program | College of Agricultural and Life Sciences – University of Wisconsin-Madison](<a href=“http://www.cals.wisc.edu/students/undergraduate-programs/get-involved/honors-program/]Honors”>Honors Program Application – Agricultural & Life Sciences)</p>

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<p>From another current in-state student, this thread should be mandatory reading for the countless students who express concerns similar to yours.</p>

<p>I don’t even have anything else to contribute really, Rox and others nailed it as usual.</p>

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<p>^Well, this thread has been enlightening for me, anyway. I mean, even the negative reviews of the school that I’ve seen from current students have complimented the academics for being legit. Indeed, a lot of these negative reviews seem to be written my quiet, loner-type kids who didn’t like the drinking atmosphere.</p>

<p>But see, I’m not so naive as to believe that ANY college experience will be so life-altering and perfect that one could live free of problems. So long as there is a big enough population of like-minded kids who share my interests and as long as there are enough opportunities to keep me busy, I’ll be happy.</p>

<p>A roommate will not be a big adjustment for me since I’ve shared a room with two brothers for my entire life (actually, I’ll have <em>more</em> space :wink: ) but I am a pretty private person so I hope I don’t get stuck with a total goon. Of course, ALL of this applies to whatever school I actually end up attending.</p>

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<p>Life isn’t perfect, nor will college life be. btw- UW doesn’t do roommate matching as they found it works just as well to random match (mutual roommate requests are allowed). Read the info on college websites- explore the academics online. The UW website seems easy to navigate to me.</p>