SJW = Social Justice Warrior
Flake = tiresome, nutty people at Oberlin like this:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/the-rise-of-victimhood-culture/404794/
It’s a negligible amount. The more germane question is if you can obtain the same offer at this point in your college career?
If you already turn down Oberlin twice then you’ve been through this decision making twice. Why are you keep changing your mind?
It sounds to me that financially you’re stuck at Madison. So, in your case, put your energy toward finding your tribe and making it work (and planning for study abroad).
Globally ranked, Wisconsin is #50, between #46 UT Austin and #51 Brown.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2016/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25
Oberlin who?
I really believe that this is nothing but buyer’s remorse.
College is exciting when you have lots of choices laid out ahead of you, brimming with potential. Some of the excitement does die down a little when you have to make a concrete choice. There’s always that little sense of - what if? What could’ve been? That intensifies if you run into some trouble adjusting - you start to wonder whether you’d adjust better somewhere else. That’s normal.
Most 18-25 year olds like to party, and many have the stereotypical “college experience” in mind. People don’t flip a switch one day and change over from high school to college - it takes some time for some people. So some of your classmates are going to want to party (that’s not immaturity - that’s just life) and some of them are going to do high school-esque things, possibly for a few more months, possibly a few more years. Also, don’t make assumptions about people - it is, in fact, possible to care about academics and be very intelligent while also wanting to have a good time and enjoy the trappings of college life.
But think about it - you’re there, right? There have got to be hundreds if not thousands of other like-minded intellectuals - students who went to UW because they realized it for the excellent value it is; students who went because they wanted to get a great education and have a great social life; students who attended because it was what they could afford.
Financial aid offers are always better for freshman than they are for transfers. There’s no guarantee you’ll be offered the same amount of money at Oberlin if you try to transfer next year. It’s probably best to put that out of your head for the time being - put your all into trying to adjust to UW, find your niche, do well.
Seriously, most of the country has never heard of Oberlin.
Do you know if you’d get the same FA as a transfer? Many schools are less generous to transfers.
Do this…put your transfer app in…BUT…
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Don’t cut ties with UW
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Continue to make an effort to join clubs, make friends, etc. Look for clubs in your major…
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register for classes with UW…even after you get an acceptance.
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AFTER you receive the FA award and see that it’s enough, then you can decide. At that point, you may have “settled in” at UW.
“most of the country has never heard of Oberlin” (#26)
Oberlin has the second highest SAT scores in a state with 5 dozen colleges and 11 million people. Those who do not know of Oberlin cannot be said to know of colleges in general.
Whenever I think of UW-Madison, I think “hippie.” (??) One of my siblings lived in Wisconsin for a long time, but didn’t go to UW. She gave me that impression.
If it were me I’d probably stay at UW, mainly to graduate with no debt. But I also appreciate your desire to be with your “people.” It might be easier when you get into upper level classes at UW.
I also get your desire to leave high school behind. I felt the same way, and went way OOS for college. But as the years have gone by I have realized that I didn’t need to do that, necessarily, to grow into myself. And it can create some issues down the road (friends, future husband, etc. - all are from far away). That being said, plenty of people do it and have great experiences. Really life is not what happens to you, but what you make of it. Good luck with your decision! There is no right or wrong answer.
I read your original post and it does sound like you are a snob. But like others have said if you transfer you won’t get as much aid as freshman.
" I would feel like I was with a ‘smarter’ group of people." for a smart bunch of students they have really embarrassed themselves with some really stupid stuff over the last couple of years.
NYS has more than 10 dozen colleges (13 if we include our cc’s) and twenty million people. No disrespect to the fine people of OH, but why would a small LAC in flyover country be on our radar unless we were looking for LACs and could afford OOS rates?
Be careful, the term flyover country could be an indication of coastelitist(not a real word).
austinmshauri: I’d say something similar with respect to New York. Those who are not at least loosely familiar with Vassar, Hamilton and Colgate, all of which are within the top fifty nationally by SAT/ACT scores, simply cannot be said to have a meaningful knowledge of American colleges in general.
NYS…other than the hamptons …people from Manhattan have never been to any other part of the state of new york and consider the rest of the state part of flyover country.(including long island, the bronx, staten island …forget about Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany or the rest of the 1000+ other towns and hamlets in a very large state)
of course only new yorkers realize how awesome they are and fail to realize or care the rest of the country considers them a punchline in a joke.
p.s. I was born in Manhattan.
Wait you don’t need to capitalize Hamptons because you were born in Manhattan? 
when I type on a small device it is not worth my effort to fix stuff, like capitalization.
p.s. the hamptons have been ruined.(it is still beautiful …it is the personalities of the people who have been coming since it has become a snobby person playground…now you need to go to see and be seen) maybe the catskills will make a comeback but in the 21st century iw will be for for elitists… not for working class folks who were immigrants or the children of immigrants back when it was the borscht belt.
How did this thread suddenly become a referendum on the educational quality and reputation of Oberlin. The OP should stay at UW not because Oberlin is a loser school full of flakes and cranks, but because 1) the deal at Oberlin is gone so s to get over it and 2) UW is a perfectly fine school where the OP can and will find his “peeps” with a little more time and effort. My advice would be to take the question of transferring anywhere .off the table until at least January. Buyer’s remorse is a common reaction early in freshman year, and my guess is that had you chosen Oberlin you would be posting about regretting UW at this point. Look forward, not backward.
I did not attend UW-Madison but I did attend a midwestern Big Ten university known for sports, partying, frats and sororities.
However, I lived in a Learning-Living Community dorm, then in graduate dorms, and I found my people (intellectual, arts-y, creative…)
Madison itself is a town full of hip and intellectual people. I find it hard to believe that, in the entire university, that you are the only bright, intellectual student there. Well, the truth is, you are not. Your people are in Madison, you just haven’t found them yet.
I recommend, for the time being, you look into joining a club or two exploring your interests/passion… Or what someone else said, find out where the intellectual folks hang out, and go there. Attend a play, concert, poetry reading…
For next fall, check into the LLC residence halls that UW has. Maybe there is one that interests you. You will likely find more “serious” students there.
Also, you will likely end up with the full 25k of debt if graduating from Oberlin (if the original deal offered to you still stand, that is). How will you have time to do the work at a top LAC and still earn 10k? You cannot rely on that.
25 k is a whole lot of debt. (So is 15k) You might imagine yourself happier for the next few years at Oberlin, but how happy will you be after graduating with all of that debt? That debt will really affect where you go, what job you take… You will really know what it is to have to limit yourself because you are obligated to make monthly loan payments - for a very long time.
Or you can graduate from UW-Madison, a very respected institution, with ZERO DEBT. Imagine the opportunities you will have, upon graduation, with no loans hanging over your head.
Yes, look forward, and don’t keep looking back.
The reality is that, most likely, that ship as sailed. Transfers get the leftover offers from freshmen, financially speaking - they never get as good a deal. Forget it for now.
Focus on ways to make UW “oberlin-like”.
- Are you in the HOnors College? If not, figure out how you can apply for 2nd semester, or at least apply for next year while taking a couple Honors classes Spring semester. Start looking for discussion-based classes or smaller sections of classes you might take.
- Are you in a LLC? If not, inquire at Housing to see if there's any spot left. If you hate loud parties, there may be space left in the Substance Free living dorms. If there isn't any, ask about options to switch rooms for the Spring (if it's even possible). http://www.housing.wisc.edu/residencehalls-lc-subfree.htm http://www.housing.wisc.edu/residencehalls-lc-crc.htm
- There are hundreds of clubs at UW. Join several of them, go to meetings and get involved. :)