Campus Visit

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
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<p>Alright, a couple of members have requested that I write on of these about my "Admitted Student Day" trips so I decided that I would help them out because I appreciated input from others before taking off for my trip so here it goes...</p>

<p>Well my trip began on Thursday and myself and my family arrived at Midway around two o'clock. Ya I'm sure this seems fay away, but we had free tickets there and it was interesting to see the landscape around Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. It was certainly interesting to see what the area outside of campus looked like. It was kind of boring frankly on the drive, but I was expecting that as it was mostly farms. So after about two and a half hours, we arrived in Madison right about sunset and it was very pretty.</p>

<p>My family and I were staying at the Campus Inn, so we checked in and got some parking in their underground lot. I like that hotel because they had daily Breakfasts, Snacks, and then Deserts later. I have a funny story about a lady we met there, but I'll get to that later. I would really recommend staying at the Campus Inn mainly for its location. Its in a GREAT spot on Langdon between State Street and campus.</p>

<p>So after a couple of minutes of getting settled in, we got some snacks and headed out to State Street. My parents were thrown a back a bit by the cold, but it didn't bother me too much honestly. My first thought when I saw it was that it looked like a small clean version of Telegraph Avenue for those of you that have been to Berkeley CA. It was Thursday night and and to my surprise not busy at all. For the most part there was the occasional hobo and some pedestrians, but not much. We walked up about four blocks I think and decided to pick somewhere to eat because my parents legs were cold haha. I wanted to eat at "Hawks" that I had saw on Madison Originals website, but we skipped it because my Dad did not want to for some reason. We decided to eat at Uno's Chicago place and it was pretty good. </p>

<p>Something I found my parents saying a lot was they felt like a lot of people were really "nice". Ya its a stereotype about the Midwest and its people, but I found it was true. Everyone around didn't have a chip on their shoulder like they do in CA haha. So after dinner, we went back down State Street a ways and went shopping in some store that sells Badger apparel. I got my first UW shirt there so that was exciting :) We headed back to the hotel at about nine because we wanted to be pretty well rested for the next day's tour. Oh ya almost forgot this part, so my Dad and I went down to get a bit of desert before bed, and we decided to walk down to the lake because its literally right down the street. So we were walking down and I guess the fraternities are on that street and we walked by Delta Upsilon. We could see a light on in their basement and we looked in and saw a huge party and lots of guys playing beer pong lol. I guess the party does really start on Thursdays in Madison.</p>

<p>So we got up at about eight thirty the next day to get to the Red Gym by 9:45 which was the time we were supposed to register and stuff. It was hard doing this with the time difference because it was like waking up at 6:45 haha. So anyways, we had our complimentary breakfast at the Inn and got over to the gym a little early. We walked over and I was really impressed by a lot of the surrounding architecture. It was in an older style and I really like that. I really noticed the church across the street as well as the Memorial Library I think it was. We walked up to the big wooden doors of the Red Gym and went inside. We saw the two school newspapers and checked those out a bit. We went up and checked in, but had about twenty minutes to burn so we decided to check out the Memorial Union which was right next door. On the way over, we looked out onto the lake and saw the head and torch of the Statue of Liberty! I thought that was really neat and it looked awesome sticking up through the ice.</p>

<p>Once we got into the Union, I first noticed the ice cream station which was called the Daily Scoop I believe? Anyways we walked around a bit and saw a women at a condom stand (lol) and some students eating breakfast I guess. We walked toward the back and checked out the Union Terrace, but it wasn't what it looked like in the pictures with all the colorful chairs and stuff, but thats to be expected as its winter obviously. We poked around a bit more and then got back over the the Red Gym for the presentation before the tour. Also, we got a goody bag that had some useful coupons for places on State Street and the University Store. </p>

<p>When we got there, we had to watch their dull presentation with the usual. Why I should go to Wisconsin blah blah blah. What struck me most was when they did the "Where are you from?" segment. Most people were from Wisconsin, but a lot of people also came from Illinois. A couple from New York and I was the only one from the West Coast I think. Once the presentation was over (Thank God, I was excited for the tour and the presentation was putting me to sleep lol) we found out our groups were split based on the colored dot on our name tag. I was a red and was with the Letters and Science, business, and other majors. Blue was the math majors I guess, and a lot more people than I expected went with that group. About ten students went with each group to eat lunch with us. </p>

<p>My group went to Gordon Commons by Sellery to eat and I was impressed with the food. I had pasta, fries, a cheesecake thing, and a drink with the coupon they gave us. We sat down with a kid named Josh and discussed a number of things. I was impressed with his knowledge and I guess he had been doing this type of thing since he was a freshman. </p>

<p>Okay I need to go eat dinner now so I'll edit my post later!</p>

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<p>Okay, I can't figure out how to edit this so I'll continue here...</p>

<p>I really liked this part of the experience because I was able to get into the mind of a student you could say and he seemed pretty honest. He stressed getting into clubs and stuff because the campus is o big, just as others were describing. After an hour of eating and chatting, the next part of the tour was the tour. Four new students came and we went outside to begin. A great idea came up and surprised me a bit. They split up our group into students and parents, two tour guides to each. I thought this was a great idea so kids could ask questions without their parents hanging over their shoulder. </p>

<p>The student group started over to Sellery as it was right across the way. We checked out a room on the right side of the hall with the sample room. It seemed pretty horrible, but there are reasons why. For one, the room has no natural light which makes it look like a dungeon lol. Also, the decorating was pretty lame, so I think the dorms will be fine. Fairly small though, but that's to be expected. We did a little talking about differences between both residence lusters and checked out a map of campus. </p>

<p>After this we walked over to the Kohl center which was a block or two away. It was cool to go inside which I wasn't expecting and we did another talk about sports on campus. The tour guides said they were not able to get football tickets as Freshmen or Sophomores, however they said they were almost always able to get tickets from friends or scalpers. The Kohl Center is pretty amazing. The center TV/scoreboard thing was pretty sweet and it had three decks of seats. I will talk about my basketball experience later. </p>

<p>So after the Kohl center we walked over to Grainger Hall I believe which is the business hall. It was very nice and modern which is nice as thats what I want to major in. We went into a classroom and discussed what its like to be a student and taking classes and such. (The swivel chairs there are super fun :) ) I won't go into what they said to much, and I guess you just get your schedule set up in SOAR. </p>

<p>Next we walked around a bit and they pointed out various classes. It was overcast, but I still felt like this part of the tour was beautiful despite being a little chilly. Next we walked over to the physics hall. I never plan on taking this course, but it was an interesting experience. Being a research institution, the guides showed us the campuses biggest project. It was amazing and took up a whole room of wires and gadgets and towers. I guess what they were trying to do was turn plasma into energy or something, I have no idea how to explain it lol. Following this, we did some walking over toward Lakeshore. We didn't actually go over to the dorms, but went to a popular lunch board sled area haha. It was a great view as over the lake, very beautiful. </p>

<p>After this, we walked up Bascom Hill and saw Bascom Hall. It was a beautiful site in person and a nice workout up the hill haha. (They said you burn a single cheeto in calories on the walk up the hill) It had a great view from the top of the hill downward. They gave us some of the history of the buildings around the area which was nice. After this we walked down the front of the hill and crossed the bridge over th street. We went over toward the humanities area and checked out the museum there a couple minutes. We were running out of time so we didn't stay long. After the museum we went down to library row I think? and saw the biking club pedaling for charity or something. They talked a bit about the libraries here and how they work for students. At this point we went down another block back to the Red Gym. I was sad that the 2 1/2 hour tour was over, but overall it was extremely informative and gave me a great perspective on campus. Also they gave us an ice cream coupon for the memorial union ice cream place.</p>

<p>After the tour I caught up with my parents and we got some ice cream. It was very tasty I must say as I guess it was made on the scene. We had to eat a little fast as we had to head over to Grainger Hall for a presentation made by the business department for prospective students. I won't go into it much, but this was certainly a lot more informative than the prior power point, and we got a lot of info from an admission counselor and a current student. If you have the chance, I would recommend doing one of these presentations if its available for your major.</p>

<p>Some of you might have saw it, but ESPN College Gameday was at Madison yesterday and I decided to go. We went out to the Kohl Center the next morning and checked it out. We were about and hour early, but it was packed with students and alumni. I could seriously feel some electricity from excitement and it wasn't even the game! The great thing about going was I could hear and start to learn some of their songs that they had going with the band and students. They did a number of different ones and people were having lots of fun. We stayed the whole show and then went over to see my Mom who was having breakfast at Steep Brew? I think. </p>

<p>We then walked down State Street a while and saw Winter Fest going on. There was ice sculptors and cross country skiing going on. Later we walked into the Capital and I must say looking at the inside of the dome was amazing. It looked like awesome European art.</p>

<p>Later that afternoon we headed to the University Book Store and I picked up another cool shirt with the help of my coupon from the goody bag from the previous day. (I'm wearing it right now :) ) After this we headed over to State Street Brats Tavern while we were waiting for the nights game. It was a really cool sports bar and was full four hours early! Luckily we got a spot and just hung out. They have cheap drinks and free popcorn so I would recommend this place. Also, if you ever go, get their cheese kurds, they're amazing! Its like mini mozzarella sticks and very tasty. </p>

<p>Later that night we headed over to the Kohl Center and scalped some tickets. We got there a couple minutes early and the place was packed with a sellout. Like earlier, it felt electric, especially during exciting parts in the game. I head classic songs I guess like "Varsity" and others. </p>

<p>I'm getting tired of writing so I'm going to wrap this up with my synopsis of the trip. Overall, I thought the campus was amazing! People put down the weather, however coming from California, I love the four seasons atmosphere and welcome some cold. The architecture is so cool and it really feels like a college town. The basketball game was a lot of fun and I can tell its awesome in the Grateful Red section (Student section) The people there are really really nice and helpful always willing to answer questions. The lakes are beautiful and make the campus really cool and unique. SE dorms are pretty nice and I hope to stay there, but Lakeshore look nice as well for those looking for some more quiet. There was quite a bit of construction going on that took away from the ambiance, but I know that's only good for the campus. I again recommend the Campus Inn for the location, and State Street is really cool. </p>

<p>Thats all I can think of for now, but if you still have questions about my limited experience on campus, feel free to pm me or post on this thread.</p>

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<p>Did you go on an admitted student tour?</p>

<p>Cool sounds like you had fun.....</p>

<p>I hope you didnt think that it was cold, as this weekend was nothing. : )
(I'm from Northern Wisconsin.)</p>

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<p>Thank you so much Crypto for your wonderful report. My son and husband are going March 13th for the tour. And they are staying at the Campus Inn. They are flying into Milwaukee, and renting a car from there.</p>

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<p>Thanks, I think you got a little of the Wisconsin Spirit already. I can guarantee that after four years it will hold s deep place in your heart. Good luck and keep us updated.</p>

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<p>Ok happy to help everyone.</p>

<p>BTW, T bone, I didn't say I was cold but that my parents were haha. The only thing that was cold usually were my ears, but I could fix that with a beanie or something.</p>

<p>Also, Suzy my name is Cryto no Crypto lol</p>

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<p>Earmuffs are the better way to go. Makes all the difference and fits in your coat pocket. Won't give you hat hair.</p>

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<p>Cryto, what a great report! Thank you so much for sharing.</p>

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<p>For anyone who's interested, the Physics experiment Cryto referred to is a unique Nuclear Fusion experiment. Just throwing it out there because I went on the tour last year. That's one hell of an analysis though, damn Cryto!</p>

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<p>Cryto, your story got me so excited for UW!</p>

<p>I can't wait =]</p>

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<p>If it's not too much too ask, could you post a briefer version on the CC college visit reports site?</p>

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<p>Ya I can do that tonight or tomorrow barrons.</p>

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<p>Ok I posted a report in the College Visits section. Feel free to check it out :)</p>

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<p>I'm going on April 24th for the last tour.</p>

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<p>I'm an admitted student from the Bay Area, CA too! When you talked about how it was so similar to UC Berkeley I had the same reaction during my visit! Are you going to attend UW Madison? Let me know!</p>

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<p>Ya, I actually am going to send in my enrollment stuff together, I am going to be a Badger!</p>

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<p>Cool, Cryto! Congrats on your decision. I've been following your journey a bit as it has paralled my son's. He decided Sunday that he, too, will be a Badger!</p>

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<p>Cryto--how did you feel about the other UW you were going to visit? I find them both to be attractive schools and would like to hear your unbiased impressions.</p>

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<p>Sure Barrons I can give you a bit of a rundown:</p>

<p>Well, I just visited a week back during springbreak so it is still very fresh. I got into Sea-Tac airport on Thursday last week, and we headed over to the University Inn. This sounds similar to the Campus Inn an Madison, though it's not quite in the heart of campus. It was actually pretty nice that afternoon, a little cloudy, but fairly sunny and warm.</p>

<p>That afternoon we went to the "Ave" and checked it out. I would say this is closer to Telegraph Ave than State Street is as it has through traffic, dirty-ish, and lots more ethnic places. I swear there's like 2-3 Thai places every block lol. Honestly, I was not impressed with the Ave. I like state street a lot more, perhaps for the nice Capital view, but the Ave just felt pretty urban and dirty to me. At least Telegraph has street vendors haha. Oh and there were not any hobos on the "ave" from what I saw. </p>

<p>The architecture at UDub is the best of any college I have been to. It has the Gothic style and some of the buildings are amazing. The library was something out of Harry Potter. </p>

<p>As for the tour, it wasn't as organized as the one at Madison. They had an hour panel to start where three adults talked about housing, academics, and random stuff. My Mom said she thought they were a lot more academic oriented than Madison. Its interesting, they did a where are you from? And 3/4 of the students were from CA. After that we had a tour, but I hated the setup. It was the least favorite of the five I have done because they only had 1 tour guide! We had parents and students all trying to follow this one girl around w/o a particularly loud voice. She was somewhat knowledgeable, but only talked about the basic crap. I loved how Madison split up parents/students. The two tour guides at Madison were MUCH more personable than our girl was. My favorite part of the campus was the quad. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and it looked really beautiful. </p>

<p>For night time, I didn't see a lot for students to do besides greek life (Which I plan on doing anyway). We checked out University Village, but it was terrible in my opinion. All it had was shops and some random Asian restaurants, and I actually was excited to see the village.</p>

<p>On our last day we checked out the sports complex. The football stadium had a unique setup and I liked that, but there basketball gym was lacking. I went in and the only upside about it I guess was I bet it's loud in there.</p>

<p>Overall here are my grades:</p>

<p>Academics/Cost Madison=Seattle I had to base my opinion on feel and comfort between these two schools because they are similar price and the exact same academics.</p>

<p>Weather: Madison>Seattle The four seasons are a big plus for me and the drizzly rain every day doesn't seem that great every day in the winter in Seattle.</p>

<p>Travel: Seattle>Madison Madison doesn't have direct flights from the West coast so I have to go to Chicago which will entail a bus ride I guess. Sea-Tac is very close to campus.</p>

<p>Spirit: Madison>Seattle I saw so many Badger shirts in Madison and people seemed proud and happy to be there. I saw little to none in Seattle, and didn't get that warm campus feel.</p>

<p>Campus: Madison>Seattle Madison has the perfect mix of Scenic lake and urban city. Seattle has about half of its campus near the city without a lot of trees. and it felt much too urban to me. Also, you might not understand and this is purely opinion, but when I was in Madison, it felt like what a college town was supposed to look/feel like. I didn't feel the same at UDub.</p>

<p>People: Madison>Seattle Madison has a lot of nice people as you may know. People were happy to answer questions and root for the Badgers. I had some helpful people at UDub, but they didn't seem as happy to be there. Also about diversity, UDUB is statistically more, but there only real diversity is a lot of Asians. About 60% White 33% Asian I think.</p>

<p>Greek life: Seattle>Madison The fraternity row at UDub is sweet. All the frats/sororities are lined up with nice big houses of brick. It seems like it would be a good time there. Also you stay in the house four years at UDub and I think that's a plus.</p>

<p>City: Seattle>Madison This one is kind of obvious. Even while Madison has State Street and the Capital, Seattle has lots to offer. Though as a student I don't know how much I would go plus you have to drive.</p>

<p>Overall: Madison>Seattle In the categories I care about Madison wins out, and its in a different part of the country. UDub has its good points, but the architecture and cherry blossoms are not enough to overcome Madison. I want to grow as a person on a number of fronts, and I think Madison will be the best to help me out.</p>

<p>Go Badgers!</p>

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<p>Very nicely done, thanks. I drove through the Udub campus on Saturday to look at the cherry blossoms. Quite the beautiful annual event. Then did some shopping at U Village as my wife loves Sephora and I like the B&N store and QFC for groceries. Agree on the Ave--it's pretty scruffy and can be dangerous at night.</p>