<p>My daughter visited Wisconsin this past weekend and loved the campus and Madison. She spent the day and night with a NYC Sophomore and had only one concern about her visit. The person she visited indicated that there is substantial tension between the Coasties (including the NYC and suburbs students) and the Wisconsin/Minnesota students. She stayed in a private dorm and all of this person's friends were fellow coasties. My daughter attends a large diverse NYC public high school and enjoys having friends from all walks of life and wants her college experience to be as diverse. She intends to choose a standard on campus dorm and she is concerned that she will not be made to feel welcome. Can anyone shed a little light on whether this is a real issue or whether a down to earth Coastie will be welcomed by the Sconnies.</p>
<p>Honestly, it's as big of an issue as you make it. The biggest problem [and it's not that big] Sconnies have, I think, with Coasties is how much they seclude themselves. This is a gross generalization, and does not apply to all, but that's what I, as a Sconnie, have seen and heard. I mean, my friends and I have made fun of what Coasties wear too, but that doesn't mean we won't befriend them. ;] </p>
<p>Being in a campus dorm is certainly not going to make her an outcast, either. In fact, I think if you want to get away from the Coast/Sconnie issue, the dorms are probably the place to go. The reason she probably saw this is because she was in the private dorms, which have a reputation of being inhabited by Coasties, so of course a Coastie is going to have primarily Coastie friends, if that's who they're around all the time. I mean, you really can't just zone in on someone and automatically know where they're from. My friend's are mostly from Wisconsin, but that's because they just happened to be the people I ended up living with! :D</p>
<p>So basically, I don't think you should worry about it. Being welcomed and making friends is more of a personality issue that anything, so knowing where she's from won't make someone dislike her. :]</p>
<p>FYI - there are past threads on this site on this issue.</p>
<p>That said, I would definately encourage your d to attend. The Coastie thing is an oversimplification and not a big deal. One of the great things about attending UW Madison is it's national student body. I left with lifelong friends from every corner of the country (one of my best and closest from WI). If your d enjoys folks from all walks of life she'll love the dorms (the private's tend to have a higher % of out of stater's).</p>
<p>So no worries. She should expect midwestern hospitality.</p>
<p>I would not call it substantial tension. There is a small group of natives that resent the stereotypical Coastie. There are some Coasties who think some of the natives are rubes. That leaves about 39,000 who couldn't care less. Kind of like the divide between Preppies and Publics at Ivy schools--but less intense.</p>
<p>I ended up being email "friends" with a NYC area parent when her son decided on UW a year or two ago- he lived in the dorms without me ever hearing anything about this sort of problem. The big issue is those few who seclude themselves from what everyone says. If you come and want to be with the rest of the students you will certainly be welcome and part of it all.</p>
<p>They even read about it at Boise State--with CC mention</p>
<p>"Last spring, a girl from New York who had been accepted to UW-Madison inquired about living in private dorms in an online listserv called College Confidential.</p>
<p>"I almost lived there," a University of Wisconsin-Madison student from the East Coast wrote. "The atmosphere is diff. if you want to be stuck in Coastie mentality, that's what the private dorms do to you."</p>
<p>Interesting articles- they reinforce that it is a small minority who choose to self segregate. Therefore, I would reassure anyone from OOS not to worry about living in the dorms, those that do are not "coasties". Also, everyone who chooses private dorms does not choose to isolate themselves from the rest of the students. It is hard to understand why anyone would choose UW if they did not expect to join in with the rest of the students. I'll bet the comments in those articles do not represent the majority of OOS students' opinions.</p>
<p>I found the clothes/fashion comments interesting since I consider the academics much more important than what one wears. Eons ago my original freshman roommate was from Manitowoc and wanted a different dorm immediately (she hadn't gotten her first choice and fortunately moved soon), she had a fox fur collar coat she said was "too good" for Madison (she was right, especially for that era). My sophomore roommate was a Long Islander freshman who, despite having money (she had life experiences and things I couldn't afford), was a much more down to earth and nicer person.</p>
<p>Huh, ya good articles barrons. Is it true that the greek system is filled with mostly OOS students. I had never heard of this stat before and it seems unlikely considering 60% of school are in state students. Can anyone confirm this?</p>
<p>I've never met anyone who actually takes it seriously. If an insult is ever hurled, it's always not that serious and probably just joking. No one actually really cares.</p>
<p>A number of my friends were from the East Coast, but there does seem to be a Wisconsin/Minnesota and East Coast group, but this definitely will not be true for someone who is pretty social. Illinois is a wild card and mixes in with both groups pretty well.</p>
<p>Yea, those sites always seem to lower the level of discourse a few notches. </p>
<p>Check out the UW Greek website -uwgreek.com - and many houses have bio's on kids indicating their hometowns. You can tell pretty fast that some houses are all out of state, some mix in and out etc... </p>
<p>When I attended and socialized with lots of OOS students very few were in the system (or were at first, lost interest and quit).</p>
<p>Agree with that Stooge, but I always believe that even some over the top comments contain nuggets of truth or real feelings. UW is a big school with different factions and interests. There is no one UW type student. Some move comfortably between the groups and others prefer to stick with their own group. No law against that. I know the UW of today is FAR different from the one I attended back in the 70's. More people do dress for style rather than in just old jeans and sweatshirts. I think this is the case most places. The numbers indicate the students today are much better on average than they were in the 70's.</p>
<p>Right on Barrons - I think you describe it accurately - that large, complicated social scene is one of the things that makes the place so great. </p>
<p>And yes, there's no way I would've been accepted with today's standards. When I attended people often said, "easy to get in, but high flunk out rate..." I levered up to succeed when there and it really paid off.</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore at UW and I am an alum. I was originally from WI but had lived 10 years prior to college in South Jersey. My D was raised in CA. So I was a Coastie before they had a name for it. My D is a Coastie by virtue of where she was raised. But...we were both raised with Midwest values and our good friends were not chosen by where they were from rather what kind of person they were. Coasties are more about socio-economic attitude. Many of the people from the coasts come from more affluent families and it really comes down to how they put money into perspective. If they come to UW with an "entitled" attitude they would fit in the "Coastie" category. If they keep their parents net worth under their hats they will not only be accepted by a broad group of students, but enjoy their college years in Madison more. Wisconsin people (and students) tend to be humble and don't appreciate people who flaunt their wealth. Even today my Badger friends, even those who have been very successful, rarely display their economic status.</p>
<p>Right about the economic status. Being able to afford things doesn't mean buying them. Also a separation of needs and wants. Lack of caring about branding.</p>
<p>Reverse anti-snobbism is just another form of snobbism. And just as annoying. I saw lots of it at the various UW Rose Bowls. UW fans felt the need to mock the UCLA and Stanford fans who had the gall to actually dress nicely and have an attractive tailgate that consisted of something beside brats and a keg.</p>
<p>Your example does not pertain to the UW campus. We're talking about day to day life for a UW student. Cultures vary all over, even in N CA (Berkeley/Stanford, for example). Wealth doesn't need to be shown, money doesn't need to be spent. a comfortable way to live- not worrying about what others think... BTW- UW is a large school, there are plenty of people with very diverse viewpoints, as you can see.</p>
<p>Ahh, many of the people I refer to were UW students at the RB. And no not everyone thinks the same, but UW has a larger than average contingent of reverse snobs. From the students on up through the alums. Just dressing decently and having a nice tailgate are hardly shows of overpowering wealth. I have lived all over the country and this anti-snob snobbism is way more prevalent at UW than other similar schools. Go to a game at Washington, UVa or North Carolina and people are generally dressed and acting like adults who have more than a dime in their pocket. Nobody thinks anything of it.</p>
<p>When you talk about Badgers fans acting like "anti-snobs" at tailgates and games, are you referring to the students or the alumni or both? Oh and by the way, I have been to a North Carolina game and I would agree their fans are pretty much how you described them; students and adults.</p>