<p>So on Friday I showed myself around campus again (I have already toured) and I felt lost.
is Madison's campus huge or is it just because I'm new. It felt very spread out.
Can any current student comment on this? Does the campus have a community-feel to it?</p>
<p>Parent of L&S undergrad here, since no one is jumping in. </p>
<p>All a question of perspective, I suppose. UW campus is obviously going to be, and feel, bigger than an LAC nestled on its own. Compared to other flagships we visited, UW does not strike me as any different in feel – most have something like a quad etc. where the oldest academic buildings are, and typically the student union, and then the newer buildings on a ring around that core. </p>
<p>From what my son describes, his days are spent on the core of the campus, from Humanities building up to and around Bascom. He studies in College library, grabs food at Gordon’s, works out at the SERF. He loves the combination of urban and secluded feel – that you can go from traffic and buses on University to relaxing by the lake. As students specialize, they are likely to spend more time in certain parts of campus – business students are going to spend a lot more time in Grainger than anywhere else, I imagine. As it is, my son has 2 out of 4 classes this semester in the Humanities building. </p>
<p>As a freshman, his community was based around his dorm and his floor. Now, his community revolves around the extra curricular groups he is involved in. As a freshman, he did a FIG - cluster of courses linked to a subject matter that you take with abut 20 other freshman. That provided an instant group of 20 with a shared experience – every year there are about 50+ FIGS which freshman can choose from, across different areas of interest. Within the FIG, there will be 1 seminar and 1-2 other classes, typically intro lecture courses, with the FIGmates in a single discussion section together. He felt that was a great way to adapt to the big school academic environment and as a parent, I highly recommend it. </p>
<p>So, did you tour campus on your own, on Friday after Tgiving? I imagine it would feel more empty at that time. As it was, when my son returned yesterday before noon, hardly anyone was back on the streets. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Parent of and alumnus here. Yes, the campus is big and you are new. You will not be traveling the whole campus every day. The parts of campus you get to know depend on where you choose to live and your major. Business majors will eventually get to know that building, engineering students will become familiar with that area of the campus, etc. Think about where you live now- you get to know the areas you use- school, shopping, neighborhood. I got to know the Lakeshore area I chose to live in and the Southeast dorms areas because my friends (with the same major) lived there (none of us would switch to be near others). Like any new place you get to know it and the easiest ways to get where you want to be.</p>
<p>Consider this. Do you want a small campus where once you’ve explored it you become bored? Or do you want a place like UW-Madison where you won’t run out of new places to explore for years? Also- be sure to choose where you lived based on the environment you would like to destress in, not just what appears to be closest to certain buildings. You will not always return to your dorm between classes, you may find a favorite library or Union to hang out in. Sense of community exists in large cities as well as small. Likewise universities. You will get to know people you meet in your dorm, dorm area, classes and activities. Some in your classes may share a major and more than one course with you. Think of the campus as your city composed of many neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Friends and I would sometimes walk the Lakeshore path out to Picnic Point or walk State St towards the Capitol. We once walked to and through the Arboretum. Son was a runner and ran on the west side- he knew areas of Madison I never did (I grew up in an eastside suburb). You will evolve in your favorites.</p>
<p>Can visitor go to Memorial Union Terrace?</p>
<p>Of course! You can purchase food in the Unions (both Memorial and South) as well. btw- anyone can purchase food and eat in any of the Residence Halls (dorm) food service dining halls as well.</p>
<p>The only limitation at the Union is buying beer/wine. Need to be a member for those although not always enforced. Little too cold right now anyway.</p>
<p>SaraCo, I’ve only been to the campus twice in my life, so I can’t offer much in the way of Wisconsin specific insight. I did however attend my state flagship which, while not as big as Wisconsin, seemed daunting to me at the time. </p>
<p>My advice to my daughter when we negotiated the Wisconsin campus was to imagine where she would be spending here time, in her case Van Hise, Sewall Social Science, whatever dorm and dining hall she would be in, the two Union buildings and the library. This handful of buildings would be where she would spend the vast majority of her time on campus. You would have some similar nexus which would form your familiar world on campus.</p>
<p>As others have said here, it’s cool to have other places to explore in a place where you would spend so much time as well.</p>
<p>Here’s hoping your dad wins that bet with your uncle. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I personally think the campus is massive, and I also went to a different state flagship. Though I’m currently a law student at UW-Madison, I went to ASU, which has almost 20,000 more students than UW-Madison on the main campus, and that campus felt way smaller than UW-Madison. Also there are no maps on campus, which is just weird. I’d recommend printing one off or something, I got super lost when I went through it at first. I think still though, like everyone else said, you will get to know it, and from my experience, having a big campus can be awesome. You get lots of cool places to explore. I would definitely sometimes wander around to random buildings at night at ASU, and sometimes you find really cool ones. I also think you can definitely find a community in any big school, through clubs, dorms, and other things. Though it seems overwhelming at first, I think you can end up getting the feeling you are looking for, though I don’t think it’s necessarily quite the same as a LAC. But you also have far more opportunities than a LAC, so I figure it’s a trade off, and it’s about what’s important to you.</p>
<p>You can get more of a community feel when you make friends in your dorm, especially if it is a learning community, or by joining a FIG.</p>