<p>I was accepted to UW-Madison and see it as an awesome option, i'm just nervous that since 60% or so are from in-state, they will come in w/ friends. Also, I've heard rumors that they stereotype east coasters. Can anyone confirm/deny this??? thanks!</p>
<p>No more than other midwest schools. Everyone does it. Believe me, most coasties have ideas about the midwest.</p>
<p>60 percent is tiny number in comparison to other state schools. For example, U of Florida is roughly 94 percent in state. I think the Coastie v. Wisc thing is blown out of proportion. Don't go to school with a chip on your shoulder. Don't think your better than people from in state. If you happen to be wealthy, good for your family, don't flaunt it. Just be an all around decent person and you'll have more friends than you know what to do with.</p>
<p>UW-Madison is not like high school; the university is far too large and too vibrant to be divided up into a rigid and exclusive social structure. There are tens of thousands of young people here with widely varied interests and backgrounds. This is as good a pool of potential friends as you will find anywhere.</p>
<p>The local vs. coastie dichotomy will exist for you only if you deliberately work to imagine it. I wasn't informed that such a system exists at the university until after I had been here several years. It's the kind of non-topic people talk about when there isn't much else to discuss - like talking about the weather. In the WI/MN border town where I grew up, the equivalent issue was the perceived vast cultural difference between Wisconsinites and Minnesotans.</p>
<p>thanks a lot for all of your input...it sounds like it will be just fine, i just didn't want people to come into a situation where people were turned off at the start.</p>