Hey guys! I was wondering if anyone with knowledge about Wisconsin or Vermont (main campuses) could help me make up my mind about where to go. For Wisconsin, it is:
- farther from home
-20k more than Vermont
-gives me my exact major (neurobio)
-has the complete college experience (football, education, general life, etc.)
- super good education from a national perspective
-id have to do a summer program
- something draws me there and like it’s everything I could want but not the price
Vermont:
-closer to home
- honestly, I think it’s cheaper than my in state tuition w scholarships I got
-gave me kind of my major (I have a niche major which they have a general version of) (neuroscience)
-not as good/ well rounded of an experience.
-I’ve been to Burlington and like it
So, if you know anything or your experience at either of these schools, let me know!
Wisconsin is the quintessential college experience. Is it worth $20k more? It depends what $20 means to your family.
Wisconsin is indeed a very good university. However, UVM is also very good and has a good neuroscience program.
Burlington Vermont is quite an attractive small city. They might not be into football at UVM, but they are serious about hockey and have a good team. Did you get into the honors program at UVM (I am guessing based on your hint of a very good merit scholarship)? I think that the honors dorm there might be the nicest dorm that I have seen.
Would you need to take on any debt to attend U.Wisconsin?
I got about 5.5k year in loans for Wisconsin for the upcoming school year. I know they’re notorious for not giving aid out, so yes. Vermont offered me to go through a liberal arts program for freshman that has a very high acceptance rate into the honors program, to answer your questions. Thank you!!
just in terms of settings:
Burlington is a great town but the best area is about a mile from campus so there’s a question of how often students get down there early on. You’d pass Champlain college on the way there, so there will be other students nearby. The school itself is a bit lacking in diversity for a public; they have diversity/inclusion style networks to encourage small groups to support each other actively. UW Madison is a much more spread-out campus area, more diverse, and is more tightly integrated with the city. Madison is a very active place and draws in folks from all around for weekend farmer’s markets, annual art festivals, crossfit games, and more.
Thanks for the setting descriptions! I’ve never been to Madison (yet!) so that gives me a better feel for campus!
Congratulations on two great options! Burlington is a great small city and Vermont would be a great experience.
Madison is (as a UW parent), a quintessential great college city – Lake Mendota, the Terrace, Camp Randall, Jump Around, basketball, hockey, the Capitol for internships, the Farmer’s Market, State St for still quirky shopping, music scene and, of course, world class research university. My kid loved that campus included both the hustle of southeast neighborhood with bucolic Lakeshore. He had an amazing academic, intellectual, social experience. Whether it is $20k more year, only a specific family can assess what is practical or not.
Thank you!!! I think that this little thread has been really enlightening in regard to the experiences that I could have at either school! I think at this point it’s best for me to research in depth the probability that I could afford Madison or see if I prefer Vermont. Thanks everyone!!
You’re drawing more of a distinction between the two than is necessary. There are few job prospects in research with a BS, so many students majoring in the biological sciences pursue advanced degrees in medicine or biology. Both schools provide a perfectly good foundation for med school or a PhD program in neurobiology.
People have already touched on the differences in location, but size should be considered as well. UVM is 1/4 the size of Wisconsin (1/3, if you’re only counting undergrads) – not exactly a small difference.
I personally think UVM Honors for undergrad and a large research university like Wisconsin for a PhD is a great route to take, but YMMV.
I suggest also taking into account ease and cost of transportation to and from the cities. I live in the Madison area, and I’ve found that even though there’s an airport here (Dane County Regional, abbreviation MSN), it’s almost always cheaper, often considerably cheaper, to fly from and to Milwaukee or Chicago, even with transport to and from those cities tacked on. Burlington also has an airport but it lacks nearby, less-expensive-to-fly-to cities. (I’ve only been to Burlington a few times, many years ago, but one of my relatives is a student there, and his mom tells me about travel issues, to and from Wisconsin.)
Actually Manchester NH and Albany have really good airports. Manchester is actually easy to Burlington. 93 north to Concord about 20 minutes and west to Burlington on 89. It’s a bit of a ride but two nice highways and no traffic. And kind of a scenic ride. And there’s busses there all the time.
Wisconsin is a good university but not worth 80K more than UVermont.
Did you get into UVermont honors?
Is the Wisconsin summer program free or extra?
YMMV as far as the transportation issues are concerned. Madison to Milwaukee: 1.5 hours. Madison to O’Hare: Just over 2 hours. Burlington to Manchester. 2.5 hours. Burlington to Albany: 3 hours. Burlington’s airport probably has more flights than Madison’s. But Milwaukee and O’Hare probably have more than Albany and Manchester. Buses are better for Madison-Milwaukee and Madison-O’Hare than for Burlington-Manchester and Burlington-Albany.
Definitely like the comment about uvm undergrad and Wisconsin for grad school! I will probably weigh that as an option when I make my decision. For travel, I think I’ve done quite a bit of research and know the pros and cons of airports and how I’d get to each college etc. The input on that helps a lot though, thanks for the insight! To answer the comment about the summer program, it’s completely free of charge and I take (I believe it’s 6 credits) some classes. The program is a contingency for my admission, but I think that if I decide that that is my best bet, I’ll do it in a heartbeat. Thanks everyone!
I graduated from UW-Madison, as did my three siblings, my ex-husband’s three siblings, and three of my in-laws (including, for some of us, an undergrad degree and a graduate or professional school degree). I think it’s a great school. But perhaps not worth spending an extra $80,000 on. What are you estimating as your per-year cost at UVM and as your per-year cost at UW-Madison?
@rosered55 Now that’s what I call a Badger family!!!
Vermont costs closer to 30k and Wisconsin is at just about 50k
I asked about the total predicted costs because I think that information is more useful (to the student and the student’s family) than is the difference in costs. Yes, I’m a Badger, but I still don’t think that UW-Madison is worth paying $200,000 for.
Univ. of Vermont in Burlington for your BS.
Univ. of Wisconsin in Madison for a master’s degree.
Univ. of California at Berkeley for your PhD.