<p>In books and online I've seen a LOT of mention of "alcohol" and partying everywhere from students who attend UW...so, if I'm not like this at all should I just forget about applying here in the first place? Would I fit in...???</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Yes. It is a large campus where there is enough diversity that there is plenty of room for many (even conflicting) lifestyles. The drinkers and partiers get the media attention. Consider all of the other reasons to pick a college. Do you have the self direction/independence/academics to succeed? Do you want courses/majors found there? Ignore the party bit and see if the other aspects of the campus appeal to you. The peer pressure and popular crowd dynamics of HS do not apply to UW- you find your own crowd and don't care about the others.</p>
<p>Kids at ALL schools party from Harvard, MIT and Princeton on down. I have been at a few Princeton eating club parties in my day and they take second to nobody.</p>
<p>Haha, ok. I just know it has a good business program and I think it's a pretty cool school other than that, too. Thanks a lot!!!</p>
<p>It will not be hard to find some good friends who don't drink if you make the right choice of dorms.</p>
<p>We just returned last night from D2's second trip up to UW-Madison. She is a definite non-partier & has this school in her sights along with a couple other Big Ten heavyweights and one small Midwest private.</p>
<p>Bottom line is she absolutely loves Madison. From Lake Mendota, to sitting in on a couple great classes yesterday, to the liberal bent to the campus, to the wonderful ethnic cuisine, she thinks (right now anyway) that this is the place for her. She doesn't know any other person in her senior class that is even thinking UW, but to her that doesn't matter at all.</p>
<p>With her grades & test scores, chances are she'll be admitted. But...she didn't get the online application in until November 12 (3 days before priority deadline), meaning she probably won't hear until January 15. This means it might be dicey getting the 'non-party' dorm she wants, which would be any of the Lakeshore ones. Actually, after reading the threads, anything except Sellery or Witte would probably be OK for her.</p>
<p>Granted, with so much happening on this vibrant campus, I suppose she could conceivably exist even at Sellery or Witte. But when I hear stories about students getting their FIFTH choice, I hope that housing takes into account the requests of a non-partier seriously, especially if they want to subvert their reputation as a a party school.</p>
<p>^*This means it might be dicey getting the 'non-party' dorm she wants, which would be any of the Lakeshore ones. *</p>
<p>No. Dorms are not done on a first come, first serve bases. It doesn't matter when you're admitted, as long as you get the stuff in by the housing deadline. After that, it's all random. She might get it, she might not; just depends on when her name is drawn. There's not way to gauge if she will, but when you're admitted or send in your confirmation has nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>If she doesn't like those two, just make sure she puts them very last on her list. Even so, there is a substance free floor on Witte which has it's own ranking (on the housing application) that she could put before Witte itself.</p>
<p>There is partying at every school... I don't think it would make your experience horrible.</p>
<p>I'm a freshman at Madison and i don't drink that much and madison is still the place for me. i love the campus and most of my classes, and made a few great friends. just know that you will see drunk people, no matter where you live. i live in bradley right now, and it is pretty quiet and the people are decent. but there is tons of drinking, so don't think that just because you live in lakeshore or in a learning community that you won't see it. but i've only seen about 5 people totally wasted so far. more about bradley for those that are interested, i like the room size (comfy but not small like witty) and the lake is beautiful in the fall. the building itself looks kinda of crappy, bu it is fine inside. our furniture is nice too (no ladder, but you can climb up the side of the bunked bed), though the desk chair squeaks on the floor (i'd recommend bringing some tennis balls and cutting them up to put on the legs). for sure get a big rug b/c the floor is rather sub-par (not really dirty, just not "new" looking). futons are great (love mine). you don't really need a tv b/c u can play movies on ur laptop/desktop and you'd be surprised how little you would watch it. oh..and for a down-side: it is pretty far away from everything but at least there is the 80(free bus) which picks up right across bradley ever 10-15 minutes during the school week (weekends are more like every 20-45 minutes..unfortunately). the lakeshore path is really nice too (during the day). roundtable is a nice way to get to know people but it is pretty pointless (the dinners are pretty good). recommend for 1st sememster...probs not second.
my last note of advice - take a FIG! they are amazing and ive made some great friends through mine. soar is really stressful with registering so it's nice to have your classes picked out for you. and this semester i start at 11 am or later every day and done no later than 3:45. wayyy better than high school.</p>
<p>Wouldn't have a rug in my dorm, even if I was to wash it weekly. Rugs can contain many insects and germs. A sibling of mines said they have ants in their dorm, and they all come out a rug. Same for bathrooms, another bad place to have a rug... germs and insects will all add up.</p>
<p>when I visited there was a part of the school that had beer cups all over the ground. lol.</p>