<p>My daughter, from NJ, is considering both schools. Aside from the obvious (one is closer to home than the other) can anyone comment on ways these schools are different/similar.</p>
<p>Both land grant and emphasis on dairy science. Lots more winter in Madison. Lots! Madison is also a beautiful college town on a couple lakes. SC has mountains instead. Wisconsin is much more politically liberal going back decades when the ROTC and sci buildings (I think) were being burned down. See more "out there" stuff in Madison than SC. Lots of foreign grad students @ both. MANY kegs of beer consumed in both Madison and SC. Better hoops @ UW. One's drivable for you. The other's not. Madison is closer to Chicago and Milwaukee than SC is to Philly and Pgh. Lots of engineering, sciences, agriculture, etc. @ both, altho I suspect that PSU has stronger reputation, at least in engineering.</p>
<p>thanks whistlepig. for some reason, my daughter is attracted to Wisconsin. I think because it the midwest feels a little more exotic than a neighboring state. my sense is that they're pretty similar in terms of classes, professors, etc...</p>
<p>wisconson has a better undergrad and grad engineering program</p>
<p>Oh? Didn't know Wisconsin has stellar reputation in eng. My ignorance showing thru.</p>
<p>Btw, you might also note that Madison is a bit more ... not much ... cosmopolitan than SC with the capitol being there. Great place if you love to row, too. Their crew team kills PSU. (Lions don't even have one, btw. Only a club.)</p>
<p>yeah their eng program is very good</p>
<p>Penn State is also very good for engineering, but, Wisconsin is overall better.</p>
<p>Gotta agree. Too many in Eng @ PSU. GA Tech's bettern both.</p>
<p>Definately Wisconsin</p>
<p>Since they are both top 20 eng. and top 50 overall....Id say whichever you like more is the one you should go to ;). Visit the campuses if you can.</p>
<p>mchs</p>
<p>My family and I are originally from the Midwest and were relocated to New Jersey over ten years ago. I personally grew up in Chicago and it's suburbs. IMO, there is definitely a cultural difference between the Midwest and the East Coast. As an adult, I am still adjusting. However, my son, who was relatively young when we moved adjusted well. He is now attending PSU. S has told me that some of his high school classmates, who went to Midwest colleges, are having 'adjustment' issues. PSU has a lot of NJ students, so culturally there would be more 'identification' with the student population. I guess my point is, make sure your D knows that things may be somewhat culturally different in Madison than they are here in New Jersey. Maybe arrange for her to spend a few days on campus with a current student to get 'a feel' for the environment. Also, I would make sure that she is comfortable with the distance U Wisc. is from home. Whereas PSU is about 3-4 1/2 hours drive (depending where you live in New Jersey), getting to U Wisc by car will take well over 15 hours. (Traffic around Chicago can be quite heavy). Both PSU and U Wisc are excellent flagship universities which offer an abundance of educational opportunities. I think motivated students can get an excellent education at both.</p>