<p>Did someone in your family go to UW?
Did UW recruit on your HS?
Did you just dream of UW one night?
Did you see Badgers on ESPN?
...</p>
<p>Just curious.</p>
<p>Research, and Quality of Life</p>
<p>Hmm, I remember watching the Badgers Football team play somebody and thinking about how much I'd loved Wisconsin whenever I'd visited my uncle in Osh Kosh.</p>
<p>Then I researched it and applied immediately.</p>
<p>Well.. when i was younger i always thought that if you were smart enough and got accepted you went. So, when i finally grew up, Madison was my first choice. In addition to this i did the Wisconsin Real program and was hooked. It's a plus that i'm receiving in state tuition as well and the amazing badger pride all the students have!</p>
<p>I'm 18 right now and will attend Madison next fall. From ages 3-7ish I lived in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and since then have moved several times around the Midwest and East Coast. No memories of any place have even come slightly close to the pleasure I get from those that came from Wisconsin. The geography, the community and the priorities of the cities to promote recreation were instilled in me when I barely knew how to do "carry over" addition. Unfortunately I always considered UW-Madison just a party school and was saddened to research there was nothing better in the state. This was about 5-6 years ago and while my research was skewed back then because I didn't actually know how to rate a college, it only took 1 campus visit last year to remind me why I loved Wisconsin. And of course either the school had jumped up in ratings since I had checked a long time ago, or I had just missed them, obviously it's a great school.</p>
<p>It was a love for the state that made me visit the campus. There is an extreme lack of spirit at my high school, from me, and from everyone and just hearing the tour guide talk about game-day and Badger pride made me wish I could have that kind of passion in something. Obviously this is the case with a number of schools, but Madison gets the one up from me.</p>
<p>It was Madison or Michigan for me and it didn't take much for me to pick. I truly believe that the year Madison surpasses Michigan in rankings, the attention it will receive will show the country how great it is, and it will never go under.</p>
<p>Research and Global Reputation.</p>
<p>Although my days at UW were--well, more than a few years ago, I found Madison by hopping in my car and touring the Big 10 schools I had heard were good or just close enough to look at. That included OSU, UM, Purdue, and UW. OSU was pretty nice but the kids there called it Zero State and told me bluntly that if you want academics go elsewhere. Purdue was in a small ugly town with too many males. UM was nice and had a lively feel with lots of people reading books while drinking coffee and having protests. UW was similar but the campus on the lake and the Union as a beehive of activity really struck me. I loved State Street which still had normal traffic back then. When i got home I asked a teacher which was better and he felt they were very even so go where I liked better. There were no rankings of schools back then. Done deal.</p>
<p>Research basically. I was looking for schools with good ChemE and Pharmacology programs, and UWI popped up. I love the area, so I added it to my list.</p>
<p>I did the profile thing on the Princeton Review and it came up as a match school. Also, my parent's friends both grew up in WI and went there for undergrad and then came here to go to Georgetown for grad.</p>
<p>I didn't know where Madison was until I first arrived here... (Was my first time in the US).</p>
<p>It just had an excellent Nuclear Engineering Program...</p>