<p>Problem poster back again. If you don’t want to hear it from me, here’s a pretty accurate unbiased opinion of UW from uni*o:</p>
<p>Eclectic arts scene? Check. Strong Greek community? Got it. Grade-A athletics? The Badger faithful go crazy on game day. Adorable college town? Affirmative–have you ever seen pictures of Madison? And oh yeah, the academics aren’t too shabby either. There are over 4,000 courses and 140 majors to pick from (the business and engineering programs are prestigious), and students can even create their own hybrid major. </p>
<p>Here’s the catch: The classes, especially during the first year or two, are massive, and students can get by without ever saying a word to most of their professors. While UW has a liberal reputation, the student body is somewhat lacking in diversity. Nonetheless, students come from all over the country to attend this state school, though some claim there is tension between out-of-state “coasties” and the native population.</p>
<p>^I think that’s somewhat fair for once…though we’ve discussed the whole coastie tension thing and concluded it’s more the subject of jokes than anything else. Someone who needs small classes, hand-holding, and lots of professor interaction would not want to go to UW. You of course can get to know your professors, but it does take effort. I enjoy huge classes and dislike talking to my professors, so the class setup is great for me, for example. There are obviously lots of small classes, but your intro ones are going to be larger. You just have to be really independent and take charge of your own education…no one is going to hold your hand.</p>
<p>The size of a lecture doesn’t matter that much, it is passive. There are small discussion groups for interactive learning- staffed by many top grad students (based on the quality of many grad programs). You do need to be self directed- as RoxSox points out. You get out what you put in. </p>
<p>btw- Harvard and other top schools are also known for large lectures and TA’s. How would nova know about the accuracy of an evaluation??? Never any indication of first hand knowledge from nova…</p>
<p>Don’t shoot the messenger, wis75. I’m under no obligation to confirm my bonafides to you or anyone else. And last I check RedSox agrees that the uni*o evaluation is fair.</p>
<p>Well no school is perfect. UW is best suited for a certain type of person; for all the people it would not suit there are thousands of other wonderful schools. Because UW is big, it can be well-suited for many kinds of people, even more kinds that one might think.</p>
<p>I would urge anyone who isn’t sure that UW is for them to make your choice based more upon the type of school it is (large, public) than stupid rumors that are really pretty much jokes. Not going to UW because you NEED small class sizes and your hand held throughout college is a valid reason (though it might help you become more independent). Not going to UW simply because you think that OOS students are stereotyped is a silly reason. Most larger state schools, especially in the Midwest, actually have a similar dynamic. UW is just too large a school for anyone to be really, truly boxed in by any sort of stereotype.</p>
<p>I like Nova’s attitude. And He(she ) has been very consistent and predictable. We need people like this to spice up the place. Life is boring at times… :)</p>
<p>Funny. Nova gave me quite a hard time in regard to my D’s interest in another large, state university. I assumed he/she had a child attending there. Nova gets around. ;)</p>
<p>We’ve heard great things about Wisconsin and my D is interested in the school. We’re from NY, so the IS/OOS dynamic discussed here is good info. My older D is a third year at Ohio State. She’s made great friends with her classmates from Ohio. I’m sure the same attitude prevails at Wisconsin.</p>
<p>my roommate is also from NY while I’m an international student. I can assure you that we get along extremely well. Don’t really see any tension between IS and OOS.</p>
<p>Here’s the catch: The classes, especially during the first year or two, are massive, and students can get by without ever saying a word to most of their professors. While UW has a liberal reputation, the student body is somewhat lacking in diversity. Nonetheless, students come from all over the country to attend this state school, though some claim there is tension between out-of-state “coasties” and the native population.</p>
<p>Classes during the first year or two are massive. True in most lecture, but discussion sections are of small size ~20. You have huge interaction with your TAs, who are extremely qualified grad students. </p>
<p>Think about this: from what I see, most big lectures are taught by PROFESSORS, NOT GRAD STUDENTS. while for some other schools, intro classes’ lectures are taught by grad students. make a huge difference here.</p>
<p>AND logical fallacy from “that-parent” again: yes you can ace the class without even talk to the professor. BUT it doesn’t mean that you can NEVER talk to your professor. You need to take the initiative to set up a time or go to office hour. </p>
<p>For the lack of diversity issue, tbh statistics doesn’t mean anything to me. No matter how “diversity” a campus is statistics-wise, if a native student never reaches out to them, it is meaningless.</p>