<p>Saying OSU has the worst campus in the US is an ignorant overstatement. If you think High Street is "the pits" and "a slum," then you certainly aren't well traveled -- at least in terms of what real America/the world is like (suburbia much?). With a nearly million person population, it's no surprise there is a yearly house fire. It's equally ludacris to ridicule the city's/entire region's weather cycle -- if a cloudy sky bothers you THAT much, you have more to worry about than choosing a college to go to (this is addressed to anyone).</p>
<p>Academically, there isn't much to defend. OSU's undergraduate program is definitely mediocre. It would be fair to mention, though, that OSU IS recognized more than just for it's sometimes terrible football. Tons of international students (and, moreso, professors) go to OSU because of its diversity and world recognition. Good luck.</p>
<p>You have spent zero days as a student @ OSU. You have 99.999% of the college expierence left. This isn't like you have spent a few weeks/months there.</p>
<p>any other thoughts in comparing these two schools? just looking to get the most opinions possible so I can go into my Wisconsin visit with an idea of things to look for.</p>
<p>to everyone that has offered their opinion, i greatly appreciate it. i will let you all know how my visit goes when i visit madison on the 25th of this month.</p>
<p>I have partied many times down in Columbus and it is crazy. The bad parts of Columbus are equal to my neighborhood in Cleveland, which isn't all that bad if you can stand minorities :) If you like good football, 50,000 plus students, and some fierce school pride go to OSU. If you want a typical small town (big town) college atmosphere, which Playboy voted best in the nation, go to UW Madison. I hate to dog my favorite football team's college, but you will probably want to go to Wisconsin.</p>
<p>IWant2BABadger -- I'm interested in applying to Wisconsin, so it would great to hear about your visit to Madison.... After you see it tomorrow of course.</p>
<p>I arrived in Madison today around 9:30AM...it was my first plane flight ever (that went smoothly, lol). Took a tour and explored the campus for a while. I have to say that taking everything into consideration, this was an excellent visit. Not outstanding, not average, but excellent.</p>
<p>A couple of feelings that I got from the university....nobody will hold your hand here, but the resources are there for EVERY student to succeed. People are overall very friendly and have a typical midwestern attitude. I really was impressed with the diversity I saw (a ton of Asian-Americans, some African-Americans), and though I realize that diversity may not be the university's strongest suit, it was still pretty impressive to me. The tour guides were helpful and hilarious. It was clear that they really loved the university-both took advantage of everything the school had to offer, and were both out of staters themselves (NY, MN). The school felt like a mix of UMichigan and Ohio State....liberal, but very friendly and supportive.</p>
<p>Overall, I was pretty impressed. I came out of the tour feeling confident that I had two solid, solid choices in Ohio State and Wisconsin, but I am still 50/50 between the two schools. I will use tomorrow to explore other parts of the campus, as well as talk with people in the admissions office with any other questions I could have.</p>
<p>Since it sounds to me as if you like both schools, I would reccommend that you go to UW-Madison, it has a lot more name-recognition and prestige and is a better school overall (not to say that you couldn't receive a decent education at OSU). It seems as if the only thing thats holding you back is the fact that you have gotten used to the idea of going to OSU. You would probably be happy at either school, but I think you should take the leap and go to Madison. I don't think you would regret the decision.</p>
<p>I returned home from the University of Wisconsin last night. Looking back, I thought that my trip was great. I am sure that if I hadn't applied/gotten into Ohio State, my heart would be set on attending Madison. I was, according to the tour guide, one out of 40 total accepted students off of their waitlist, which was impressive. The campus was very nice (a few parts had construction going on, but it was still beautiful). I especially enjoyed the lake and the lakeshore dorms, those are big and in a premier location. The food was actually very good, and the icecream was even better. </p>
<p>I plan on sending in a deposit today to the institution. Since I have Ohio State orientation set up for next week, I plan on attending that anyway. This is because I do not want to finalize my decision until about a week after the orientation. </p>
<p>My only question with Wisconsin is the rigor of the academic program. Though it has a fantastic reputation, that would mean very little to me if I was unable to keep up with the curriculum. Being a business major, I heard from the tour guide and others that the competition for admission into the business school is difficult (you apply after sophomore year). I am willing to put in a hard effort towards the classes I take, and though it usually takes me a little bit longer to grasp difficult concepts, I usually end up understanding the material satisfactorily (often resulting in a grade of B, little higher/lower). I felt that Wisconsin would give me every opportunity to succeed, with tutors, TAs, and help never out of reach.</p>
<p>If anyone could comment on the rigor of Wisconsins academic program towards Ohio States, that would be great. I know that if I decide on Wisconsin, I would most likely be an average student (around the 50th percentile/slightly lower). However, I question how much more I would get out of the Ohio State education, since I would most likely be at the upper percentile in terms of GPA and the quality of students there.</p>
<p>From a Fairfax County resident (Annandale) currently, and probably for the long-term, in Madison, come to UW. You will do just fine. Don't overthink it.</p>