I’ve taken an informal poll from the parents of 2 OOS students, one past (graduated 1 year ago) and one with kids there now.
Both mentioned that just about all their good friends come from states besides Wisconsin. I’m telling my daughter she is ridiculous to think she won’t have anything in common with the instate kids, but she is starting to have some reservations. Is she being ridiculous or is there some truth? Is there friction or lack or effort to mix?
We will be coming out for admitted students day, hopefully in February. I think it will be informative, but not shed any light on the interactions between instate and out of state students.
@wheatonmom I am a OOS Sophomore and I am happy to address your question. Overall, I have found that there is something for everyone at Wisconsin. With over 6 thousand in a freshman class, a campus of over 40 thousand people, hundreds of clubs and organizations, it would be difficult to feel there is any friction or lack of effort to mix between in state and out of state students. I am not from the Midwest but I have enjoyed meeting and becoming friends with students from rural areas of Wisconsin, to the suburbs of Milwaukee, as well as the students from neighboring states to the coastal states. The key is to get involved with what Wisconsin has to offer.
The only time I felt their may have been lack of effort to become friends with other people was during the first semester of my freshman year. Every freshman feels a sense of anxiety about being in a new place and for some it may have been the first time they were away from home. First semester freshman tended to hang with people from their high schools because it was,a sense of comfort.
My experience has been exactly what I was hoping for and I have found Wisconsin to be an inclusive campus. When I was touring other campuses, I learned that some colleges I would HAVE to join a sorority to have any kind of a social life.
I hope this addresses some of your daughter’s concerns.
If possible, try to tour the campus closer to Spring. The colder Winter months don’t give this campus and its wonderful lake shore life and the City of Madison any justice.
As a side note, I really don’t look at anyone as in state vs out of state. Most importantly, I am learning that there are so many different kinds of relationships and friendships in my life.
My OOS UW recent alum had friends from everywhere, with no distinction between WI/MN or elsewhere, and he was involved in greek life which you might think could highlight regional differences. As the flagship, 60% of the students are from WI, about another 15% (I think), from MN, and the remaining 25 from everywhere else, though it felt like primarily east and west coast plus Illinois. I would not worry about it, at all.
As an OOS student I have found that many Wisconsin students still hold strong friendships with people from their high schools, whereas myself came here with no close friends. That doesn’t mean in state students aren’t open to befriending OOS students, they just might already have a friend base. All that being said, I have definitely been able to find my own group here and I think most people have a similar experience. Even the people who have close friends from home are looking to make some new friends too.
Yea I’m kinda worried about this as well coming from Nebraska I’m worried it will be hard to make friends as I feel like the people who’d enjoy doing similar things as me would be mostly in state kids with friends already.
One of my UW OOS kid’s best friends is from Nebraska . . . I would not worry about this issue, at all. My kid arrived at UW knowing not a soul. The UW dorms have a full first year orientation program with lots of social and silly events to get kids to know each other, and the 25 kids on the hall were my kid’s core social group through the first year. Many were from Wisconsin, but others were from MI, Illinois, CA and NJ. There are 28,000+ undergrads, and more than 6000 incoming first years, and there is lots of geographic mixing. I understand that once a student is admitted, they move on to think – and worry – about the next steps, but this is not a serious concern.