Tell Me About UW-Madison

<p>Is there any way to enjoy Madison without so much drinking? I'm open to it (don't drink right now) but I wouldn't like a school where the only thing poeple do is get drunk. Is it possible to find a group of kids at Madison that has fun without drinking so much or is it just part of the culture? Madison is my top choice but I'm just afraid of getting there and finding nothing to do but drink and nobody to hang out with because everyones drinking.</p>

<p>Well, any campus in the nation has at least some level of drinking. Like-wise, any campus has people that don't drink, people that socially drink, and people that enjoy many other things outside of drinking.</p>

<p>However, living in madison I can tell you that the culture of the town is a lot more drinking-based then anywhere else I have been in a while. Like any campus, you will find many clubs that will not involve drinking (juggling club practices right outside the memmorial union, its kinda cool to watch), but I will tell you from personal experience, it was (and still is to an extent) much harder to fit in if you don't like beer-pong, getting wasted and passing out, etc.</p>

<p>I drink in extreme moderation (one or two beers with buddies), but people around here treat it as if drinking is an activity (Example: " Hey, lets go drink tonight!") and I don't so it was much harder for me to find friends here. </p>

<p>The academics are excellent so don't let the culture discourage you, but at the same time I would do a college visit and see for yourself. I would personally (and am actually doing this fall 2007) go to a school with a bit worse "ranked" academics but a campus I enjoy and has many activities rather then a campus that has bars as the only activity on weekends. </p>

<p>But who am I to talk, I am a big urban guy that enjoys malls, beaches, skyscrapers, and fast paced business cities, madison is definely not that.</p>

<p>Are you a student? </p>

<p>Anyway, the University of Wisconsin is one of the largest schools in the country. If you think that there are no non-drinkers then you are really misinformed. Certainly the UW-Madison campus is pretty social, but there are many alternatives:</p>

<ol>
<li>Substance Free housing</li>
<li>I'd recommend living on the lakeshore which is notoriously "more quiet"</li>
<li>We have honors housing and the honors programs</li>
<li>Alternative spring breaks/alternative weekends where you can volunteer</li>
<li>There are <em>700</em> student clubs and organizations on campus. Very easy to find a niche that does not include drinking.</li>
<li>UW-Madison throws the largest non alcoholic party in the nation. It's called the All Campus Party and it is in April.</li>
</ol>

<p>Listen, this is a rather novice debate going on here. If UW-Madison had a large greek scene, you'd say "Ohhh you will never fit in because it is all greek" but surprisingly for a "large party school" UW has one of the smallest greek scenes in the country. Pretty much everyone on College Confidential likes to boil schools down into one-two easy talking points. Don't be decieved. For SoCal, for the other posters interested in the school, I recommend going to the campus and talking to ... actual ... students.</p>

<p>Let me also stat the Madison has been ranked on the best college towns in the country, one of the safest mid-sized cities in the country, and the best sports town in the country. It's not NYC. It's not Chicago. We don't go to NYU. But it has a 94% freshmen retention rate and the population of students from downtown NY, Chicago, LA, and other big cities really goes to show that the poster leaving the school because of the size of Madison happens to be in the ultra-extreme minority of their expierences. It would be rather obvious to a student that Madison is not Manhattan, and many of the kids from those areas choose Madison BECAUSE of that. You can move to NYC or MExico City after graduation.</p>

<p>Another view--not me.</p>

<p><a href="http://americascollegecampuses.blogspot.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://americascollegecampuses.blogspot.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>isn't madison only like an hour and a half from milwaukee (largest city in WI) and 2 and half from chicago? It wouldn't be that hard to go to either of those cities if you wanted to get away from a smaller city for a little while.. am I right in assuming this, madison students/ residents?</p>

<p>90% of Madison students don't have cars. The bus goes to both Milwakee and Chicago. To Chicago it is a 3 1/2 hour bus ride ($36 student rate roundtrip), to Milwakee I believe it is 1 1/2 hour although I never went so this is purely assumption.</p>

<p>I have taken both buses. If you take the early Chicago bus you will get there around 10AM and need to be ready to leave at about 9pm. Also, the Milwaukee bus is good for Brewers games.</p>

<p>I was just looking for some reassurance that the school did have niches where you can hang out, see movies, go to games or whatever without getting drunk. I've visited the campus and its definitely my first choice, theres just a sense of excitement for me there that I haven't seen/felt at any other colleges. The lakeshore dorms sound perfect for me-close to the action but still quiet enough for me to hear myself think. Does anyone know which lakeshore dorms seem to be the best?</p>

<p>With 28K undergrads, you'll find your niche. With a combination of Lakeshore living + joining some of the 700 + student clubs, you'll find what you want. I know pleanty of non drinkers, heck even some in fraternities on campus.</p>

<p>How competitive are the bio/premed programs and classes? Are people working together or is it really cutthroat?</p>

<p>Okay well I really thought.... would I go Madison... First of all someone said it is like berkeley and extremely liberal with protests all the time, which was a huge negative. I'm not applying to Berkeley for that reason.</p>

<p>Also it will be twice the costs of my other schools, except UMiami but they give out okay financial aid and I could possibly get a scholarship.</p>

<p>So I realized I don't really want to be in Wisconsin, I want to be at the beach in 75 degree weather. </p>

<p>So as of now, I am not applying to UW-Madison.</p>

<p>My main schools are UMiami, UCSB, UCLA, USC, and SDSU.</p>

<p>Thanks for all of your opinions, I got to eliminate a school that really wasn't perfect for me.</p>

<p>And I will only attend a school that is perfect for me and I would never consider a college with any negatives.</p>

<p>I think it's great you are selective and are taking serious lengths to find "match" schools ... but there is not a single school in the world with "no negatives" ... you are doomed to be unhappy in college with that mindset. I disagree that Madison is impossible for a non ultra liberal. The College Republicans run the student government, the campus still has a large number of conservatives from around the state of Wisconsin, and there is even a conservative paper. The editorial board of the largest paper on campus endorced a college republican for a major student race this past year.</p>

<p>That being said, it's still a liberal college campus.</p>

<p>Well, it is 80 degrees today. But in winter--a bit less. Many Cali kids find it a nice difference from the typical Cali lifestyle but others can't give that up. Good luck.</p>

<p>Transfer -- Well to me....the 5 schools i listed are perfect and have no negatives.</p>

<p>I know most colleges are liberal which is fine, but I don't want to be at a school that is dominated by one side. I want to go to a school that is more politically diverse.</p>

<p>Is UW more in the middle of things or is it basically one sided except for a few clubs?</p>

<p>I love California beach weather too, and I don't know if I could live in place that gets way below freezing. I mean I complain about the cold when it drops below 70.</p>

<p>I'm almost 100% sure that UW will be the most expensive school and I don't know if the school is worth it. I don't really want to have to pay back a bunch of loans.</p>

<p>The school still sounds appealing, but I really don't think I want to leave California, unless the school list perfect......Which my favorite school UMIAMI!!!! is.</p>

<p>You might want to also strike USC off your list. There are protests there too. And, get this, there are lots of liberal students. I know because my son co-organized the anti-Iraq war week last year. I was very proud. I wasn't so keen though when he ran into a disagreement with the USC DPS over whether he should leave a campus building where he was involved a pro-labor protest. See, one of the things I'd learned in the 60s is that when the people who have guns tell you to move you pretty much do that.</p>

<p>I'm happy to see you've made a decision. Obviously from my point of view it is the right one, but everyone is different. </p>

<p>I personally feel that many California students cannot take Wisconsin, I have had a couple of friends here that ended up transferring to UCI after a semester because they felt that there is nothing to do, the campus was too alcoholic-friendly, and the weather was terrible.</p>

<p>I love California and feel it is by far the best state to live in, so I would agree with you that if you love it there you would be wise to look at Miami and California schools. Florida and Miami both are terrific schools from what I know (never been there though) and USC and UCLA campuses rank easily in my top 5.</p>

<p>Anyway, good luck with whatever decision you make, and hopefully you'll find what you're looking for. Wisconsin is no California :(.</p>

<p>gshikunov --- thanks for your opinion. and i'm pretty sure that cali or miami is where i want to be. </p>

<p>And tsdad.....I don't really care if their is a few protests, I'm talking about a school that always takes it to the extreme. USC is not overly liberal, bc of one protest so there is no reason to take it off my list. Yadidimean.</p>

<p>Anyone who can't find something to do in Madison besides drinking is a dolt. There are sporting events, films, lectures, concerts, coffee houses with music and poetry every night of the week. What exactly is there to do in Santa Barbara or San Diego that is different--go to a bigger mall? My two roommates from California both loved Madison compared to UCLA because the people were more real and down to earth. Both married Wisconsin women for the same reasons--not fake like most Southern California women.
I lived in LA for five years and the only thing going for it is the weather.</p>

<p>Wisconsin is no UC-Berkeley. In the 60s it was, but Wisconsin has evolved since then, Cal hasn't! hehe!!! </p>

<p>Seriously, I'd say Wisconsin is more similar to UCLA than Berkeley in terms of liberalism. The students I have met from Wisconsin were nothing like my Cal friends and the vide I got when walking around Wisconsin's campus was nothing like the vide I got when I walked around Cal's campus. They really are completely difference campuses in completely different towns. </p>

<p>However, Wisconsin will probably not give you much scholarship money and it probably isn't worth paying twice as much to attend Wisconsin over say UCLA or perhaps even UCSD. Furthermore, if you want warm weather, forget about the Midwest! LOL</p>

<p>Good luck in your decision.</p>