<p>Still waiting on financial aid from the top choice LAC. But in case that doesn't work out, the choices are:</p>
<p>University of Minnesota/Twin Cities - $18K per year with good merit aid
University of Wisconsin/Madison - $18K (reciprocal) but no $$</p>
<p>Is Wisconsin that much better academically than Minnesota?</p>
<p>I grew up in Wisconsin and went to the U of M for grad school and know a fair amount about both schools. My answer to the question would be no, unless there is a very specific academic interest. If the student has pretty conventional career and academic interests (doctor, lawyer, general business etc.) I would base this decision on factors other than academics, focusing on campus cultures, finances, distance from home etc.</p>
<p>Reidm, thank you for responding. I thought I'd try PM'ing -- hope you get this.</p>
<p>My daughter's two "safeties" are MN and Wisc. We live in the Twin Cities and both schools run about the same -- $18K, if she lives on campus. She rec'd $7500 in merit money from the U of M, and nothing from Wisconsin. I've always heard that Wisconsin is much stronger academically in everything but medicine, IT, engineering and business. We've been leaning heavily toward Madison but $7500 a year versus nothing looks pretty good, especially the way tuition keeps rising.</p>
<p>My daughter is a good but not great student. She really has to work hard for an "A" and because she has ADD, still seems to mess up by forgetting to turn in assignments or missing that something was due. I worry about her in both places, because of the size of classes (she'll be lost), T.A.'s teaching and way too many distractions. The good -- and bad -- thing about the U is that Mom and Dad are right there. A safety net but probably inhibits her growing up....</p>
<p>Right now, my daughter plans to major in Russian and/or Spanish. She probably would need to go to grad school to do anything with either. That means more $$ and again, scholarship at Minnesota has merit. But Wisconsin is supposed to have a top-flight language department, especially in Russian. And of course, she may change her major a dozen times before she graduates.</p>
<p>Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated... Thanks!</p>
<p>Sandy</p>
<p>Sandy, if she is not on medication at this time, this summer might be a good time to see if some routine can be established for her to get some. I have seen many ADD kids who do fine when they are managed and dealing with things that are well within their ability level fall apart when they have to organize themselves and manage their own time on subjects that are new to them and need lots of thought and attention. My take on ADD kids is that because of the issues involved with ADD, they are better off, closer to home initially to get some home support. I don't think there is that big of a differnce between W and M, the main one being that W does attract more out of staters. But as far as operation as a school, both are large state universities which will govern the way they operate. Both fine universities too--we know many who come from each school, mostly grad studies, and they are at the top of their game. Congratulations for having this choice. </p>
<p>One thing that is good about college is that they are not big on turning in assignments for busy work or practice work. The biggest challenge will be to keep good notes, a notebook for each course. Don't know if that has been drummed into her yet. It is harder to get a smart kid to go through the paces, as they can get by and even do well without going through the drill, but college is usually the cut off for doing things off the cuff.</p>
<p>As I posted above, I wouldn't make much of the academic differences between the two schools, particularly if your D is likely to go to graduate school. I know several Twin Cities students that have made this choice and if asked for an opinion I usually say "get out of town," but with the money situation and the ADD I guess I would slightly favor Minnesota, assuming there is enough in the language departments to engage her. If she has some ideas about combining her language interests with business, Minnesota would be more of a clear-cut choice, given the Twin Cities corporate community and the strong business school. If she lives on campus and you can avoid providing more than just the right amount of support and monitoring that would be my call.</p>
<p>The UW offers a far more complete college experience. UM is still a huge commuter school. UW is far better in languages and area studies.</p>
<p>I would agree with the assessment that Madison is the stronger foreign language school--and I was a foreign language major at U of MN Twin Cities. I would also agree with the tendency, usually, to encourage a child to go out of town--something I didn't do for my undergraduate degree but did later. But I might retract all of the above depending on how heavily the money issues and the student's personal issues weigh in the decision. </p>
<p>Good luck. I've got to care about a fellow Minnesotan facing this decision this year.</p>
<p>Thank you all for responding! Your suggestions and observations are very helpful. Again, thank you.</p>
<p>My kid has been on ADD meds for 10 years. They help a lot but she still has several "moments." She sometimes forgets to turn in work that she's done -- just often enough to drop A's to C's. Neither a daytimer nor Palm Pilot have solved that one....</p>
<p>Despite the ups-and-downs in grades, she's run an overall 3.6 GPA with all IB classes. My step-daughter just graduated from Minnesota and her classes were a big step down from my daughter's IB work. That left me a bit concerned about Minnesota, as well. </p>
<p>She could go to Minnesota, graduate debt-free and not have to work during the school year. She might have to borrow 5K by the end of 4 years with the annual rise in tuition, if she goes to Madison. </p>
<p>I dunno.... What do you think?</p>