I’ve moved on to the second to last round of Posse(a full ride scholarship). Now is the time where I have to pick my top school out of the options they gave me. I’m looking into engineering and can’t decide between UM or UW. They both seem to offer amazing opportunities. Here is what I’ve gathered so far.
UW: Better campus, friendlier, and less stressful
UM: More school spirit, more prominent, bigger sports program, and more “top 10 in the nation” majors.
Any help?
Is any of them in your home state? The two campuses share a lot of similarities. I do agree the UW campus is slightly better. The water front at UW is a great plus, but Ann Arbor is a nicer college town than Madison even it is a state capital.Nevertheless, the two engineering schools are very different in many aspect. First, depending on your stat, your chances may be very different between the two. Second, the cost aspect would be different too. UMich has higher CoA but one may potentially get more aids than from UW (for very low income or top students). Third, UW is a little bit confusing in the admission process to engineering. You should be assigned to an adviser in engineering but one may choose a different school even during registration. I guess it was at a transition a couple years ago that they were not clear if the admission to engineering was even separated. For UMich, you would be admitted directly into CoE and the courses would be different from LSA from the freshmen year. The tuition rate and graduation requirements are very different too.
How is your uwGPA and test scores?
If the cost is the same, pick Michigan for better academic ranking in your major. I also don’t see Michigan as having a worse campus or being less friendly.
I take it you’re in Chicago as that is the only Posse program U Michigan is affiliated with. You can’t go wrong with either university. I also disagree that Michigan would have more sports and school spirit than Wisconsin – they’re both Big Ten universities with full athletic programs.
Are there any hobbies you have that could be the tiebreaker for you? For example, my daughter likes rock climbing, and she chose a university that has a competitive climbing team, two climbing gyms on campus, and two large gyms available off campus. She also wanted to study an obscure foreign language as an elective, and the college she chose offers that language. Is there an activity or club that you like that is offered at one of these locations and not the other?
Another thing to look into is how you would travel to each place from your home. Are transportation options comparable to both locations – in terms of time, cost and convenience? Or is one easier to get to.
What about honors programs and housing options? What about specialties within engineering – and are the ones you are considering ABET accredited at both universities?
In other words, you’ve started out comparing a few things, and I think you just have to continue down that path of comparing until one stands out as the clear choice for you.
My son is a student at UW – hard to imagine a place with more school spirit, whether it is football or basketball. Great traditions – jump around at the stadium, 5th quarter etc. When UW went to the final 4, students spontaneously flooded State St (the main pedestrian thoroughfare running from campus to the Capital building), and celebrated. No rioting, no property damage, even when they lost the next round.
UW Greek life is there for students who choose it (and my kid has lots of engineering majors in his fraternity), but not an overwhelming fact of life socially for the campus as a whole.
UW access to Chicago is easy – Van Galder runs bus service to the city, and extra buses are added at holiday breaks to accommodate the extra load.
Both schools are going to be cold. UW is on the lake, with lots of boating and water sports. A beer on the Terrace overlooking Lake Mendota is a classic UW experience. Both schools are “foodie” places, lots of farm to table restaurants etc.
Michigan certainly has more “tops” in rankings etc. UW is still cheaper than Michigan, though tuition is drifting up from $26k a year to about $32 in the next couple of years, and may go up to $36k or so a year. Still less than Michigan, though not as dramatic a gap as in the past. I know that Engineering students apply to, and are admitted to their specific department Chem E etc., after freshman year. Not sure how it works at Michigan.
They are both world class institutions – can you visit either to get a feel? UW is 2 hours from Chicago, if that is indeed home. I am guessing Ann Arbor is more like 5-6 hours.
Good luck, they are both great options, you can’t go wrong.
Personally, I like Wisconsin better. The lake is pretty, and I like State St better than Ann Arbor. Otherwise, Michigan is better in EECS, Wisconsin is better in ChemE. I don’t like that Michigan’s engineering campus is separate. I don’t like that Wisconsin ChemEs have to take 4 years plus 1 summer since there is a required lab only offered over the summer after year 4.
According to Google right now,
Ann Arbor is 3 hours and 36 minutes from Chicago
Madison is 2 hours and 28 minutes from Chicago
Thanks for the answers so far! Yes, I’m from Chicago. @billcsho If you win the scholarship, you gain automatic entry to the school. If it helps, I have a 4.0(UW), 5.0(W), and a 32 on the ACT. Unfortunately, my interview is coming up soon. I won’t be able to visit them in that time. I do plan on visiting both, but unfortunately it’s too late.
@JackLuzzy I see. That is new this year as UMich just join the program in Spring. Good luck to you. If by regular admission, your ACT is below admission average for UMich CoE but it does not matter to you anyway. UMich has most engineering within top 10, just with the exception of ChemE which is #11 (which UWI is #6).
Taking Megabus to Ann Arbor is very easy.
Just FYI, Umich is a very lively place.
Also, you can take Amtrak from Chicago to Ann Arbor too. The train station is just around a mile away from UMich campus.
The Alumni network at Michigan is stronger, and Michigan has far greater national and international recognition. CoE recruitment is very heavy, including non-traditional recruitment (consulting firms, financial services, government, etc.). Both schools have heavy party cultures, although you are somewhat isolated from that at Michigan because of N (Engineering, Music, Architecture, Design) and Central campus (remainder) . Michigan CoE is very progressive with huge research projects , so you can participate easily if you want to.
Michigan has a more diverse campus with more international students. The Wisconsin campus is more beautiful and has more recreational activities on the lake. I’d call transport easier to Ann Arbor, there are 3 not very punctual Amtrak trains daily (but cheap!) from Union station and the Megabus. The Amtrak station in Ann Arbor has a bus to Campus (city buses are free to students). Food is much better in Ann Arbor too, even cheap eats!
^ Even the dorm food has been amazing since they centralized the dinning halls. The meat plan is unlimited and you can’t believe what they serve there. There are still a couple dorms that serve more conventional dorm food though.
It’s clear you’d be a catch for either school. Is there a way for you to delay replying before you’ve visited both? UMich certainly draws many more OOS students than UWMadison. AA is a beautiful place (I bought my first home there). The separation btn North Campus (Engineering) and Central isn’t that stark, IMHO. Congrats-- you’re not going to go wrong with either decision. Both Ann Arbor and Madison routinely rank among the best college towns in annual surveys.
UM CoE likely has the edge as far as recruiting goes, too. (not that UW would be bad-- but more national and international companies would stop in AA). AA is home to some large research firms and manufacturers (Toyota, Google, etc.)
@T26E4 Unfortunately, there isn’t anyway to delay the interviews, as they host them all on the same day.
It seems like a majority is leaning towards UM.
Both are well ranked in all of their various engineering fields. A difference in ranking of five or ten places (some say even 20 places…) in a specific field should not be considered significant.
Michigan is more selective, but the faculty at both are probably equally world-class, or close. Both are internationally renowned research institutions. Both are top-10 in many fields; there is perhaps a slight edge to Michigan, but, again, neither school is bad or even average at anything, so any difference in quality likely will be insignificant.
Wisconsin has the lakes, an outstanding party scene, the beautiful state capitol, pretty trails around the lakes and some dorms in wooded areas, and the diverse fun of State Street. I have not been to Ann Arbor, but I imagine it can be fun and beautiful too.
Traditionally, Michigan was stronger than Wisconsin in football and basketball. More recently, Wisconsin has held the upper hand. Both have huge fan bases who are very loud at the games. Do take part in the 5th Quarter performance of the UW band after a football game. There is dancing, singing and other merriment.
They’re both awesome. Good luck!