What are some good things about UWM & some bad things?
UWM is what most people call UW-Milwaukee. Madison is typically University of Wisconsin or just Madison. It depends, what do you specifically want to know? Are you from WI?
PROS:
-It’s a well-known university, employers will know it
-Lots of different options for majors
-Madison is a great college town
-Football games at Camp Randall
-Attracts a lot of great speakers/bands/events
-Great academics in almost any major
-Good need-based financial aid
-Lots of things to do, lots of groups and activites
CONS:
-It WILL be cold and snowy. Now, if you’re used to that, you’ll be fine. But adjusting to Wisconsin winters can be tough for some OOS students without experience in the cold
-It is a HUGE party school. Huge.
-A lot of classes are taught by TA’s, and there are a lot of very large classes. Your professors might not always be accessible or you might get a TA who really doesn’t know what they’re doing.
-It can be costly for a lot of OOS students
-The campus is not compact and it’s going to be a lot of walking. I know some Madison students who still haven’t been to certain parts of the campus. It is a possibility that you will have a class at one end of the campus and then have to go to the other end. It can be a hike
-You’re going to have to put in a lot of work to be a standout at Madison
They’re responsible for some pretty terrifying research using lab cats. I don’t know how common those kinds of program are at larger research universities, but I could never attend a school that condones such use of animals.
@Badgers21 I am looking at studying a language and I heard they have a great department. Also, what is a TA?
Thank you.
A TA is a teacher’s assistant. They are not actual professors and are hired by universities to aide their professors. It’s generally not good when you have a high percentage of TAs teaching classes.
thank you!!
TA = Teaching Assistant.
TAs are generally either Master or PhD students, and may teach discussion or lab sections while a professor teaches the corresponding lecture. All have office hours for students.
What language?
Madison has many of the advantages of other large public universities. It has a large and loyal alumni base, it offers a large range of degrees (i.e., you do not have to transfer if you change your major), it has a fair amount of diversity, it offers numerous opportunities (intramurals, clubs, undergrad research, study abroad), etc. In addition, it ranks as one of the 15 best engineering schools, one of the 15 best public universities, one of the top research universities, and one of the 50 best national universities. It also has several highly ranked athletic programs. It is hard to match the excitement one feels when attending a big time college football/basketball/hockey/wrestling/etc game.
Madison also shares many of the disadvantages of other large public universities. Freshman year will probably be filled with core courses which will be taught in large lecture halls (> 100 students). Typically lectures are given by Prof’s, but study halls or sessions covering homework assignments will probably be taught by teaching assistants (graduate students who are paid a stipend to perform research and help professors grade papers etc). Wisconsin is known for partying so one would need to remain focused on schoolwork. The size of the school and student body could also be a negative for many.
I went to Penn State, so I think Madison is nice and compact. At under 1000 acres, it is half the size of most Big Ten campuses (e.g., Michigan is over 3000 acres). One could, however, end up walking a couple of miles each day going back and forth from classes. Madison is, however, a very bike friendly town so I believe a lot of students own/bring bicycles. Living in Minnesota and going to Penn State, I also do not really think of Madison as unusually cold, but there will be snow and freezing temperatures and wind (it is on a lake). Many people enjoy the fact that there are 4 seasons, others hate the cold.
There is free bus service - miles of walking aren’t a necessity.
Penn State has buses too, but most students walked from class to class. Quarter mile here, quarter mile there … I think it is pretty safe to assume that most Madison students walk at least a mile or two each day
Your comment did remind me that someone should probably also elaborate on the “buddy” walking system (i.e., late night safety escorts as well as possible late night rides … not alumni so don’t know all specifics just recall it being mentioned on campus tour)
French! @Madison85
My S2 is a graduate student at UW in Madison. We are definitely not mid-Westerners – always from the northeast --but we absolutely love the city. It reminds me of Berkeley – very young, hip, alive. Lots of cultural things in the city, and it’s the capital of the state. Has a beautiful downtown.
If you’re OK with going to a really big school, you’ll love it.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Pros/cons depend on one’s viewpoint.
Being known as a huge party school has no influence on many students. It is only a con if you choose to party hard without studying hard. And not everyone parties. Large enough campus to not get bored with it.
No Greek influence- they do their thing and 90% of the campus ignores them. Pro? Con? Depends on your viewpoint. Plenty of room for minority lifestyles.
TA’s conduct discussion groups and labs, they do not run classes- ie be in charge of content. They are a great advantage. Being closer in age they have been undergrads recently, will be some of the smartest around. Better having cutting edge thinking of a research U.
Cats in research- needed I’m sure. If you limit your choices due to a love of cats (too many on the planet in my book) that’s your problem. I love dogs but realize they are also needed for research. As are mice, rats, fruit flies and all sorts of animals. Could get into a long discussion of this, I’m sure.
btw- the colleges that do not do research make use of the knowledge gained by the institutions that do. And their professors may have used animals in their research as graduate students.
Independence is required- no hand holding. Don’t worry about being a “standout”. Better to be amongst peers than the big fish in the small pond. There will be hundreds of outstanding students dispersed among over a hundred majors.
Excellent Honors Program- and the rest of the student body worth attending classes with.
Liberal. Exposure to a lot more than at any one Ivy league school. Breadth as well as depth of experiences possible.
Note the Ivy in name- you need to figure out what academics in your interests are available. You need to figure out costs and many other features. Not all majors are offered at all Ivies, nor are all Ivies tops in what they do offer. Those are confined to the Northeast- entirely different provincialism there.
My daughter graduated from UW-Madison in May. She was in the Business School and landed an excellent job which she loves. The recruiting out of the Business School was excellent and the salary for a UW Madison Business School graduate is excellent. We are not from Wisconsin, but felt paying the OOS tuition was worth it (can’t help but think about return on investment)! Also, Madison is a great city with a fantastic vibe, and if you’ve grown up in an urban environment or even in the suburbs of an urban environment, you’ll love Madison. The Badger traditions at their sporting events are also legendary. I can’t think of a better atmosphere for college. The only cons I can think of is what classes to take freshman year because managing the GPA was important for her application to the Business School. Like many major universities, the general classes are large, so it is imperative to do some research on what teachers are better than others and what general university courses are likely going to yield a higher grade, if your child is applying to a program such as Business or Engineering after their freshman year. Bottom line, my daughter had an amazing experience at Madison, and misses it everyday. We are anxiously awaiting news for my younger child’s application to join U-W Madison’s class of 2020. Crossing fingers!
The SERF, a rec facility, will be closed for 2 years beginning summer 2017 to be torn down and rebuilt. There will be a shortage of exercise facilities during this time. UW was also talking about transferring another rec facility needing reconstruction, the Shell, to the athletic dept during this time, but there was such an outcry that that idea was shelved, for now at least.
The Memorial Union and adjacent street is currently closed for a lengthy renovation project. It should reopen for fall 2016, including the picturesque outdoor lakeside seating, but the building renovation will not be completed for another year after that. There is another union, Union South, that has been completely renovated and is very nice, but everyone misses the iconic Memorial Union while it is out of commission.
There are campus buses, but my older son said that they were always so unpleasantly crowded that he and others mostly opted for long walks rather than ride them. My younger son has all his classes both semesters this year within a couple of buildings across the street from each other, so very easy. He got lucky. There are nice paths for walking. One runs along Lake Mendota and in some sections is divided into separate pedestrian and bike paths.
Until recently many students rode mopeds around campus. It was convenient for those who rode them, but a real hassle for everyone else as they sort of took over the whole campus, zooming around between cars and pedestrians. A couple of years ago a restrictive parking policy was instituted that allowed parking in only one designated lot for a given moped. That has reduced the bothersome moped traffic, but also the campus tranportation options.
If you plan to bring a car to campus at some point, be aware that parking on campus is difficult and expensive. Most students don’t have cars, or if they live off campus and have a car, use it mostly for off campus driving.
The meal system is different than at most universities. Not all-you-can-eat for a set price. Everything is ala carte, pay per item. Prices are discounted for dorm residents whose dorm fees include money that supports dining operations. The food tends to be pretty good, since they don’t have a captive customer base on mandatory meal plans, but if you are a big eater and cost conscious, you might not like it.
Because of ongoing budget cuts, class offerings are reduced. Gym classes for credit were eliminated a few years ago, for example. Professors feel bad about students having trouble scheduling classes. They tend to let in many on waiting lists so that classes may be full to overflowing.
There is so much to do, both on and off campus, whatever your interests. Lots going on all the time. And many free or low cost activities. It’s a fun place to be.
(Union South wasn’t renovated. It was completely demolished. A new Union South was built).