I really love Wisco and would probably go there if i got in. the reason I didn’t apply EA is because I didn’t find out about the school until recently. I have a 1230 SAT score, should I even bother applying?
i’m an OOS student
It really depends, what is your GPA like? ECs? I personally wouldn’t bother for direct admit like the College of Engineering or School of Business, but the College of Letters and Science is probably worth a shot. Their 25% SAT is 1200, so you’re in the middle 50th percentile but that’s probably off a bit because in-state applicants are going to lower that significantly.
If it means a lot to you, apply. Worst case scenario you get rejected and you lose what? Like $60 that you won’t miss a year from now. But if you get in and you love the university, that’s worth a lot, probably enough to justify the risk.
I’m applying for political science, so the college of letters and sciences. I have a lot of EC that are good for this major (full tuition program w the ACLU, debate team, varsity ethics team, as well as an internship w a government official) but i was looking at their common data set and it seemed as though they don’t weigh EC that heavily so idk
^ @Watrs
@bleedorangebaby It’s a state school, so it’s going to come down more to grades and test scores than anything but your ECs will have a slight affect. As long as your GPA is good and you’re in the top 20% of your class it’s a good shot. At this point it’s too late to change test scores or anything so just focus on the essays as they can help. Their acceptance rate is in the high 40’s for OOS students applying to CoL&S so it’s not implausible even with a lacklustre SAT score. If you’re set on UW-Madison, maybe try applying to another UW school like UW-Milwaukee or UW-LaX and transferring.
^ Ditto #5. UW-Madison is going to give a bit more weight to academic performance than test score. For instance, OP, a 1230 SAT with a 3.9 uw might have a higher shot than a 1330 SAT/3.4 uw. If you are set on applying, then throw yourself into the essay since everything else is baked into the admissions cake at this point. And don’t rule out other Wisconsin system schools. Finally, keep in mind that UW-Madison won’t be doling out any need-based fin. aid other than what you might qualify for in federal grants and loans. You can apply for merit, but those awards are going to be very competitive.
Have you looked into UMN’s college of liberal arts (CLA)? the deadline for RD is Jan. 1 and the application is 100% self-reported, including grades and test scores. No rec. letter required. They are specifically looking for OOS applicants this year and their OOS tuition is still less than UW-Madison’s. Check them out: https://admissions.tc.umn.edu/apply/
Good luck to you!