Hi there! I am currently a senior in high school from Minnesota and my top 2 choices are CU Boulder and UW Madison. I am struggling to decide between the 2 so I need help. I am in the civil engineering program at Boulder and the statistics program at Madison. For Madison tuition is much lower but I feel like I fit in with the CU Boulder students more. If someone get help guide me in the right direction please do! Thanks!
What can you afford, relative to the price of each school?
What major do you really want to study?
I definitely want to study engineering so transferring into that at UW might be a hassle. CU Boulder is about 45 a year for me while Madison is 30. I know Madison is considered to be a more elite school but something is drawing me to Boulder.
Changing into an engineering major at Wisconsin is described here:
Based on the GPA benchmarks in the progression requirements for students already in the engineering majors, civil engineering may be less competitive than some of the other engineering majors:
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What kind of aid did you get at Boulder. We got $6250 a year. I think most did. It will be more than $45K a year. College is always more than they tell you.
I wonder why you would consider Wisconsin. I get the tuition rate. But if you want to study engineering, are there other choices? Alabama, Arizona (low cost) or perhaps other MW tuition schools.
To go to a school where you can’t study what you want seems silly to me.
My daughter was “attracted” to Boulder too so that part I understand.
I got a $15,000 scholarship to Boulder and $0 in aid for Madison. Madison is only about a 5 hour drive from home and is relatively cheap compared to other public schools so that’s why I am really looking into it. I have a good friend that goes to Boulder and was able to visit it this month and loved it. I am basically trying to decide if paying this extra $15,000 a year for Boulder is worth it. I know the engineering schools at both colleges are equally competitive so I really don’t know where to go from there.
Thank you for that! I know that transferring is definitely an option it just may not be worth it if I have to start in a program I don’t really want to pursue. Definitely a big decision for me to make.
Transferring is possible but why hang your hat on that? What if you can’t?
15K a year to Boulder is outstanding - most got $25K for 4 years. I think you’ll spend a few thousand less than $45K. Off campus housing for later years though is pricey.
If you can afford, I’d go to Boulder so you can study what you want.
If affordability is an issue, are there other schools you were accepted to for engineering? UW is great but I’d rather you go (if my kid) to UM Duluth or Mankato…both of which have civil engineering.
In addition to finding a school you love, you need to be able to study what you want.
Just not sure why Madison is under consideration.
Another school is the University of Vermont. I got into the engineering school as well as the Honors College. They gave me a $20,000 scholarship and $12,000 award so it’s down to $29,000 a year. I am still waiting to hear from some reach schools but right now CU Boulder, UW Madison, and UVM are the main one in the picture. Boulder gave me the presidential scholarship which I was extremely surprised by and know is rare. It’s definitely the most expensive of all my schools but I seem to want to go there the most.
Also I want to add that I have about $17,000 in savings for each year of college. This includes the money my parents and grandparents are giving me for help. The rest of the bill is going to come out in loans and my own pocket. So for me money is not the biggest factor since I have a decent amount paid for but the more expensive it is, the longer I am going to be paying it off.
Money is ALWAYS a factor. what you don’t spend, you can save for life or grad school. Taking loans is NEVER a good idea if not needed.
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You can only take $5,500 in federal direct loans first year without a co-signer (increasing slightly in later years). College student work earnings (part time in the school year plus savings from summer work) are typically expected to be only about $3,000 to $5,000 per year.
So a stretch budget would be about $27,500 per year including the $17,000 plus federal direct loans plus work earnings. But a lower cost than that would be more comfortable (e.g. at $22,000 per year, you can do federal direct loans or work earnings, rather than federal direct loans and work earnings).
Ignoring cost & intended major, do you prefer snowboarding (Colorado) or ice skating (Wisconsin) ?
If both, then UVM is the answer.
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It sounds like the OP wouldn’t be able to afford lift tickets.
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Definitely could afford some lift tickets but whatever you say Eeyore:)
These are all very good universities. I have visited all three locations and thought that they were all attractive locations.
To me the two main issues are cost and major. There are jobs for a statistics major. However, if you want to be an engineer, there is a lot to be said for attending a university where you got accepted to the engineering program.
I have no idea how hard it will be to transfer to engineering at U.Wisconsin.
Did you apply to engineering at U.Wisconsin? I am aware of at least one case of a student succeeding at changing their major before deciding whether to attend a university. They had to call admissions and ask politely.