Hello, I decided last week that I will be going to UW Madison! I am super excited, and I have been considering housing options. I am intrigued by a few of the learning communties for freshmen. Does anyone have any experience with any of the learning communities? Would you recommend them? How are they different from regular dorm living? Do the people who pick learning communities tend to fall into a certain category?
I am a Male (no WISE for me)
I am currently undecided CLS, but I plan to transfer to the business school after freshman year, so I need to keep my grades up and not party too much.
You might like the Entrepreneurial Residential Learning Community (ERLC). Housed in Sellery, they used to be required to take a one credit entrepreneurial class that met in the den at the end of their hall, with the option to take another one the second semester. Not sure what the current requirement is. They also had a monthly dinner with business people who were from Madison or UW alums.
The residents are not only business students, but other majors, too. My daughter lived there her freshman year and really enjoyed it.
Here’s a link to more info: http://www.housing.wisc.edu/residencehalls-lc-erlc.htm
I would think you’d like The Studio or the Greenhouse communities such that these are Leaning Communities (mostly to the left). 
Or Chadbourne or Bradley learning communities.
Chadbourne and Bradley look very similar to me. What is the difference? (besides different building and different area of campus)
Bradley is 100% freshmen and you can only live there one year.
Chadbourne (I highly recommend) is not limited to freshmen and is the only dorm that is a ‘residential college’.
Thanks! Chadbourne looks cool. Its location looks pretty prime too.
Yes! Nice location, the inside is remodeled, and it has its own dining hall (not every dorm has one).
My younger daughter was a Chadbourne Learning Community member. Prime location. Great experience. Highly recommend.
Chadbourne’s central location and dining hall make it hard to beat compared to many other dorms. Other students end up there just to eat between classes due to convenience, but if you end up in Chadbourne, you can call it home.
Only if you like the location and building. I personally prefer many others, as do several thousand UW freshmen who choose other dorms.
I lived in the ERLC so I will try to help with my experiences
-As far as dorm living, its honestly not very much different than living anywhere else in Sellery, at least I didn’t think so. You get all the same facilities as everyone else along with special access to two rooms that only members of learning communities can access, but I never really used them that much. There is also a computer in the den, which other floors do not have.
-For the people, I wouldn’t say it attracts a certain type of person. Not everyone on the floor was a business major though a lot of them were, but there were also a good number of engineers and other majors. People also chose to live on the ERLC because it guaranteed them a room in Sellery (might be guilty of that) so definitely a wide variety of people.
-Being part of the ERLC, you will have monthly community dinners with local business professionals and alumni. I would recommend going to these even if you aren’t intrested because they can be interesting and you get a free dinner out of it too! You also have the opportunity to take a class with a Business school professor, which looks good when applying to the b-school.
Overall, I would recommend it. You get access to a lot of things you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. My year was a little different i Gues because we didn’t fit the traditional “learning community” vibe that most people thought the LCs would have and I made some of my best friends on that flor.
Let me know if you have any questions
How much of the Sellery stereotype is true? How much do the students really party? Heavy drinking is not for me, and I am pretty academically focused. I’m sure in a hall of that size there would be people of all types, but I certainly have heard that Sellery is the biggest party dorm.