What are the best and worst things about this school? How is the campus social life? How are the classes? Are there generally good professors? Average class size? Nice campus/dorms? I would appreciate anything students or parents of students have to say. Thanks so much!
My current student finds UW to be pure paradise (apart from the weather . . . . ). He has had phenomenal professors, loves his classes, enjoyed the high rise dorm freshman year as a crash course in getting along with your 50 new best friends, found activities outside of class that he loves. Yes, many intro classes will be large lecture classes with a discussion section of 15-25 students led by a TA (Ph.D. candidate). My kid has had riveting, brilliant faculty whom he would literally follow anywhere.
Worst thing? He would probably say walking up Bascom in the winter.
Ask about UW and you will get different answers from different people- what one likes is on another’s dislike list… It is a large enough campus with enough diversity among students for many to find completely different niches. Think of the blind men and the elephant- each saw a different part and came to different conclusions. Despite the large numbers of students every student will graduate with their own unique set of courses taken yet will have found a group of like minded students taking many of the same classes.
So- class size depends on the class. Good/bad professors are everywhere plus an opinion of one may depend on how well the student likes the class. A wide variety of dorms so those who like different styles/locations can find something they like- even if their friends choose another part of campus like happened to me eons ago.
I agree that climbing hills in winter can be tough- but those same hills are great for tray sledding on!
Most alumni have fond memories. They keep changing the campus- ongoing renovations improve things so even last year’s grads will find changes.
Another parent here. My daughter applied as a safety school. She really wanted to go out of state and I had to twist her arm to even do the application. Long story short she decided to go to Madison to save money for grad school. Now she is about to graduate and clings to every hour left. She absolutely loves the place. Agree with everything Midwestmom says except my daughter actually likes the climb up Bascom as its an easy form of exercise. And as wis75 says the school is big enough for everyone to find their niche. I would caution that it isn’t a place that holds a freshman’s hand.
@luvsgelato. When you say UW “isn’t a place that holds a freshman’s hand” what exactly do you mean? At the college level, I feel that students should be proactive and advocate for themselves, but is it difficult to get help when needed? Are most professors willing to meet with students during office hours if asked?
I would say from my daughter’s experience that professors are a bit more difficult to connect with than are TAs. At least for the large entry level classes. As with any large university, there are going to be some professors that are very accessible and some that aren’t. She has had difficulty finding TAs during their office hours too. My niece just started her freshman year at Williams and I guess I would say compared to UW they do a lot of hand holding–beginning of the year bonding camping trip with a small group of students, freshman living arrangements in general and tons of freshman only activities. Obviously the schools are very different but freshmen shouldn’t expect that at Madison.
Oh, do they do anything to help freshman acclimate? Are there freshman floors in the dorms or any type of gatherings the first week?
According to my daughter there are activities for the freshman during those days that they are on campus before the upperclassmen. They will vary from the huge freshman convocation at the Kohl center to a get to know you pizza party organized by the house fellow for their floor. There is a club/organization fair with lots of free food, tours of the various libraries and a trip to Target. She believes the only freshman exclusive dorm is Bradley. But except for Ogg and a couple other dorms most of them house mainly freshman anyway–with a few sophomores and very few upperclassmen thrown in.
Ok, That sounds like plenty for my son. He’s always been a social kid, and has already decided that he wants to join a couple of the clubs, so I think he’ll find his niche without too much trouble. Thank for the info @luvsgelato : )
Some of the dorms are pretty much all freshman, and each hall has a “hall fellow” who is responsible for leading activities for ice-breaking etc. I think there was bowling, water balloon fights, some kind of silly Olympic thing, with competition among the halls.
There are ways to “shrink” the freshman experience and create a tight community. My kid is in Honors program, and that can provide some additional structure. My kid also loved his FIG – first year interest group, which was a cluster of classes with overlapping theme – one of the FIG classes is a seminar, which only the “Fig-mates” are in, and then the FIG-mates take the same section of 1-2 other classes together. So the kids have about 20 kids they have in 2-3 of their classes, ready-made study group, kids to go to meals with, first football game etc. My kid, who is pretty independent, really enjoyed his FIG as an introduction to UW and to college-level classes.
I’m sure it depends on the prof, but my kid has developed great relationships with a number of profs, and taken multiple classes with several of his favorites, and they have been great about writing recs etc. His TAs have ranged from fine to terrific, no complaints there.
*Housefellow (not hall fellow)
I have been quite underwhelmed by my Madison experience.
Kids in my classes complain all the time about the class difficulty (They aren’t even hard), I’ve met too many Donald Trump fans, I’ve meet too many people who argue that “Smoking weed has increased their GPA” and people go out 3-4 nights in a row if you stay in the Southeast Area.
This is a party school, come here if you want to party - no social life outside of partying.
What are the best and worst things about this school?
Best: There is a lot of support available for classes outside of class if you take advantage of it. There is always a ton going on (sometimes its hard to decide what you use your time for).
Worst: Walking up Bascom, the walk down is great though. Most of the Professors are brought on for their research abilities and sometimes aren’t the greatest teachers (Only noticed this in math courses).
How is the campus social life: There are so many people that I can almost guarantee you can find people with similar interests. There is a lot of drinking, I would guess ~75% of the students drink on average at least once a week. The sports are a lot of fun if you’re into that.
How are the classes: They are tough, but I doubt much different from other universities. There will probably be a class or two that you find pretty pointless, but most you will probably take a lot out of.
Are there generally good professors: Probably depends on department but I think so
Average class size: Freshman/Sophomore lectures: ~100-400, Junior/Senior lectures: ~30-150, Discussions: 15-40
Nice campus/dorms: There are a few really nice ones (Dejope, Smith, Ogg). The biggest ones, Witte and Sellery, are pretty old and basic but they grow on you if you stay there.
I love Madison so far! Overall, I’d say the best part is that there are so many academic and extracurricular opportunities and activities on campus (go to the student org fair!). There’s a diverse variety of courses as well if you want to explore something you wouldn’t ever touch in high school. Worst thing, first time navigating Humanities was terrifying.
In terms of classes, I think there’s a healthy range of difficulty available. There are a lot of “easy” intro classes, but there are also a lot of options if you want to have a heavier/more challenging courseload from the getgo. if you want the challenge, those classes are there. You just have to go after them, as many of the honors only courses are either only available through the Honors Program or through an invitation/application process.
Professors: For the most part I think the professors are great, but I would def recommend checking out ratemyprofessor if there are different professors for a single course.
I know someone said Madison is a party school (and it is lol), but it’s easy to avoid that if you’re not into that. Living in Lakeshore is a pretty good bet if you want to remove yourself from the drinking and whatnot; I currently live in Lakeshore and the friends I’ve gotten to know don’t party at all. Also, there are so many people that you’ll find people with similar interests as you regardless.
I definitely have a Lakeshore type personality, so I love the dorms there, but SE has a lot of great dorms too. The learning communities are worth looking into- I’m not in one but I know plenty of people who are and they love it. The nicest dorms are probably Dejope, Leopold, Liz Waters, Smith, and Ogg, but Ogg is completely non freshmen.
Dorm activities are really underrated! I feel like a lot people think they’re lame, but there have been some pretty fun ones. Go to a couple. Don’t party every weekend, go explore state street or split an uber/take a bus and leave campus to explore other parts of Madison. Take a late night walk along Lakeshore path (with a group).
I’m a sophomore right now and I’ve had a very average first year experience.
Social life - I’ve personally felt like an outlier if I tried to stay in over the weekends or do something other than party. I stay at Sellery (I made a big mistake I feel), but I would say that any of the Southeast dorms have a similar vibe. I feel like the people around me drink 3-4 times a week and do not care about their academics. A “B” is a good grade for them. I’ve felt socially pressurized to go out and party. Madison is a party school, people here don’t care about their academics. I read that there is a balance - I don’t see it.
Classes - They’ve been pretty bad. As an international student, I was forced to waste time and credits and money on English as a Second language courses. My math classes were terrible; the professors don’t care about the classes. My Calculus 2 professor would rudely comment “I got the answer by magic” when someone tried to ask him how he reached his conclusion. I’ve felt professors are rather inaccessible, however they still hold office hours if you want to talk to them.
Average class size - All intro classes are massive lectures. The only opportunity to expand your intellectual horizons are with your TA. Class size decreases as you progress into your college career.
Nice dorms - Liz Waters for Lakeshore, Sellery/Witte for Southeast.
My overall experience? I am planning to transfer. I was promised a balance between social life and academics but I received a polarized party atmosphere with racists. #therealuw is a real and take it seriously. I’ve been in group chats where people have been racist and stupid. I found Trump fans on this campus. Maybe this was my personal experience, but I am sure that’s what you were asking for. I don’t think this college helped me grow intellectually but it did teach me that a huge amount of people in Wisconsin do not care about a lot other than partying.
Good luck in your decision.