<p>I had an interest in engineering since I was young, and because of that am currently attending UW Madison pursing an IE degree (strong Dad influence)
However, I have a really strong passion (almost indescribable) for music (DJing electronic music) and because of that am debating transferring to University of Miami. At UW Madison, I have engineering, but no balance. No outlet for my passion. No crowd for my performance. Not many people to relate to. It's not like I haven't tried to find a fit. I DJ house parties. I am on the student radio. I play loudly in my dorm room. But none of that comes close to playing at a club in front of people who actually like that same type of music. At U Miami, I know I will find that. I will be able to express my passion with a lot of people who share the same taste, but may sacrifice a name that represents a strong engineering background. </p>
<p>in summary..</p>
<p>UW Madison = strong engineering, but no balance
U Miami = LOTS of outlet for my passion, but sacrifice engineering powerhouse</p>
<p>Argument: only 2 USNEWS rankings apart. so insignificant?</p>
<p>So, what would you suggest?
How does UW Madison compare to U Miami (florida)? Overall? engineering specific?</p>
<p>These are two very different schools. You should visit and see which school you like. One is in a tropical setting in a large city with a lot of nightlife and excitement. The other is in Wisconsin. These are two very different settings. You need to figure out which you would rather. </p>
<p>On the academic front, why not transfer? Does Miami have the same program? It is not like Madison is an engineering “powerhouse.” Just a good state school. If you leave the upper midwest, your degree from Wisconsin-Madison is not going to stand out the way you think. </p>
<p>You should take a step back and figure out what you want and where you want to live. Are you just bored? Do you want to live in the midwest or make a change to something a little faster paced and exciting? These are decisions no one on CC can help you with.</p>
<p>may be you do not want to an engineer. then your criteria can change. why only miami. there are other schools you may want to look at.
madison is much better academically than miami. but your heart is elsewhere.</p>
<p>@OP: Engineering isn’t the most prestige-focused field. As long as the program at UMiami is accredited, it should be fine at least in Florida. It may have less prestige elsewhere.</p>
<p>Can you afford to pay for UMiami after transferring?
How do you know that you will have more opportunities for music there?</p>
<p>For engineering, short of MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Berkeley, it doesn’t matter where you go. And sounds like you’ll probably stay if Florida where your people are, so Miami will probably be the stronger job ticket.</p>
<ol>
<li>Do you want to be an engineer or a DJ?</li>
<li>How do you “know” you’ll be able to pursue your DJ passion at Miami?</li>
<li>Will pursuing your passion make it difficult to keep up/become an engineer? Do you care?</li>
<li>Can you afford the cost difference at Miami?</li>
</ol>
<p>Do you want Music or Engineering? The perceived rankings differences aren’t going to matter if this is all just a way to get into a music program.</p>
<p>Going to Miami will certainly expose you to a larger city with more opportunities to perform, but of course there’ll be more people competing for those opportunities.</p>
<p>1) I want to be both. Engineering as my day job and DJing as a side job
However, If i can finically sustain myself with (only) DJing, I would pick that in a heartbea
2) Miami probably the best city in the US and one of the best in the world for electronic music culture
3) I would pursue my passion in DJing but not let it get in the way of my academics.
4) I already pay out of state tuition at UW (im from chicago)</p>
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<p>^^this. Im bored here. No balance, like i said. Everyone just wants to drink, get drunk, recover, then do it all over. It’s fun at first, but it gets old… and kind of trashy imo.
I enjoy music, (city) style, & academics, and I want to enjoy these things with other people who share the same interest. unfortunately, havent found much of that here and am beginning to think (after 2 semesters here) that it doesnt exist here. </p>
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<p>this is good and bad. I want to leave the midwest (unless it’s chicago) after college but have more options than just florida. either go to one of the coasts, or move abroad to europe. im not sure which school will give me more opportunity for that.</p>
<p>I think you might be making assumptions about Madison that aren’t necessarily true. I know quite a few people from the area and it’s surprisingly diverse. You might be able to create a scene if one isn’t already there. But I’d be surprised if there wasn’t one already.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you already made up your mind and are looking for some support. The Wisconsin degree isn’t going to make any difference unless you want to stay in Wisconsin. Isn’t going to the big city and leaving the farmland behind the whole point of this thread? Go for it.</p>
<p>You don’t need a college degree to DJ; why would you make your college decision based upon it? If there’s no scene in Madison, Milwaukee’s only 75 miles away. There’s nothing happening there?</p>
<p>Informative, you make a lot of posts about other regions of the country. What is your actual experience in life outside Boston? You seem to have very little actual life experience and deal mostly in stereotypes.</p>
<p>yeah, that’s why im not going to school for music, so im not considering miami for its music school. im considering it for the city-aspect, and the fact that it’s academic ranking is virtually identical to UW. im just debating if UW is THAT much better than UM that i would risk future job opportunities by transferring.
milwaukee doesnt even come close to comparing to miami’s nightlife scene. been to both cities.</p>