Texas A&M-College Station vs University of Wisconsin-Madison

<p>I am an international student who has been accepted by Texas A&M university at College Station and also by University of Wisconsin-Madison.
These are the 2 best offers I have and so I am seriously in a dilemma over which one to chose as both the colleges are equally good. For instance Texas A&M has a great college environment, whereas Wisconsin Madison is located in a city.</p>

<p>I request all the guys who know anything about the 2 colleges to kindly give me their views on whatever aspect they are aware of as it will surely help me in making my final decision.
THANK YOU</p>

<p>Oh and Just to let every1 know, I have got into the school of general arts and sciences in to both these universities and will want to transfer to the business school of whichever one I go to.</p>

<p>I would check and see how easy it is to transfer into your major at both. The biggest difference is the weather at the two schools. Texas has a very mild climate, but hot in the summer/early fall months. Wisconsin is, well, Wisconsin cold.</p>

<p>Thank You so much for ur reply!
Just wanted you to know that since I am an international student I have not had the opportunity to visit my campuses so any further information on the campus atmosphere would be very helpfeul.</p>

<p>I would also appreciate it if any current students at any of the 2 schools could share their experiences with the faculty.</p>

<p>THANK YOU</p>

<p>uw-madison is MUCH more well respected and better academically than texas a&m!!</p>

<p>Its a little better, I wouldnt say the difference is night and day. Its about even between business schools though.</p>

<p>FG13, thank you for your reply. Just wanted to know whether your comment was based on personal experience, as in have you just heard about what you wrote or actually experienced the difference between the 2. If what you wrote was based on the impression you have from the US NEWS rankings, then let me tell you that Texas A&M is ranked higher than Wisconsin-Madison in the businessweek rankings and also in the washington post rankings.</p>

<p>As for reputation, I have been doing my own research and have found that both have an equally good reputation. There are also other factors which I have considered other than reputation, like weather, average GPA needed to get into the business schools, recruiters who go to each of the colleges, average salary of a graduate student from each college and many other factors. And you'd be really surprised to know that Texas A&M beats Wisconsin Madison, in majority of them!</p>

<p>I don't know where FG is getting his stats from. I think the two schools are about even. If you are planning on settling in the southern part of the USA, then TX A&M will definitely benefit you with their Aggie network. They are both well respected flagships,highly rated. YOu would need to visit and see where you are more comfortable, because Wisconsin and Texas are DEFINITELY two different cultures! YOu couldn't go wrong at either. it is where you will fit in better.</p>

<p>Thank You so much for your reply bandnerd91321.
And would you or anyone else be able to tell me whether its true that in Wisconsin Madison it snows 9 months a year? And is Wisconsin a city like Boston or Houston?</p>

<p>I agree with bandnerd91321. Visting, if at all possible, will help you if you haven't already visited.<br>
I'm from Texas A&M, and I absolutely love it here. The people are amazing. The weather's usually very pretty. And there's just an awesome feel to the campus.<br>
Our academics are well-regarded, too. We're a very science-oriented school, though I've heard good things about English and business here as well.<br>
But it's true that you can't make a bad choice between Texas A&M and Wisconsin Madison. Both are great schools.
Best of luck to you! Thanks and gig 'em!</p>

<p>Actually, I`m almost in the same situation with you. I ve been accapted from Texas A&M and planning to deffer my admissiona semeter to apply uw-madison and virginia tech.
uw-madison ranks 38 th and Tamu ranks 62th in the top college rankings (usNews), so uw looks more prestigious. uw also have more student organization. But out-of-state cost for TAMU is much more affordable.
that were your stats btw?</p>

<p>anyone who is saying TAMU is more prestigious than University of Wisconsin is out of their mind. Yes, while the level of education may or may not be the same as some claim, but the reputation and name of Wisconsin is far superior in all aspects. Internationally speaking, Wisconsin is consistently (as in by 5 or 6 ranks) ranked in the top 25. In other words, Wisconsin is VERY prestigious internationally and far more than TAMU (generally in the 70s). If you're thinking a global job, you should consider the international rankings and not just blindly believe in USN. </p>

<p>Personally, I would easily choose Wisconsin. </p>

<p>On a side note: there is one thing that TAMU is superior in-the Aggie network. But other than that, I would easily choose Wisconsin without too much of a thought.</p>

<p>"Far superior in all aspects"?</p>

<p>Actually it's not that cut and dry. In the humanities and social sciences, yes Wisconsin is clearly the more highly regarded school.</p>

<p>But in engineering, sciences, and agriculture, A&M is stronger than Madison. It's not even close, really.</p>

<p>I live in MN and considered going to UW Madison because we get reciprocity with them, so I know some about both schools.</p>

<p>UW Madison has a much prettier campus than A&M it's also smaller area wise. It's true that Madisoin is a larger city than College Station but boston or Houston it is not. It's one of the smaller cities in the Midwest, the twin cities (Mineapolis and St. Paul) are quite a bit larger and obviously the largest city in the midwest is Chicago. I would check drive times or available transportation to the Twin Cities or Chicago if you need to be near a bigger city for flying internationaly or something, but neither is close enough to go to for a night on the town or whatever.</p>

<p>Weather in Wisconsin is a complete four seasons. This means yes it snows in the winter and you'd better have a winter wardrobe. Temperatures in the summer are typically in the 80's and 90's spring and fall are in the 60's and 70's and winter can get pretty cold with wind chill (think negative 30's, but that's during very cold weeks.) Summer is typically the end of june through August, fall is mid-September to early November, sometimes there's snow on the ground by thanksgiving and sometimes there isn't. Winter is relatively mild in November and December, usually some snow but temperatures stay close to or above 0 degrees (Fahrenheit, sorry all these temps are in Fahrenheit) the really cold months are January and February, winter usually gives way to spring just after St. Patrick's day, but this year it held on super long! (It snowed in MN on May 2, it's a little warmer in Wisconsin than MN though.)</p>

<p>Politically Wisconsin will be much more "liberal" than TAMU, much much more. It's a farming state, so they're conservative compared to the coasts, but liberal compared to Texas by far.</p>

<p>TAMU:
College Station is a college town, which means many things revolve around the college and its students. This is often really nice but it does mean that often times the cultural happenings are all from the college, which sometime gets old (I started to really really miss my favorite independent movie theater by the end of 2nd semester.)</p>

<p>Temperatures for me are killer hot in August, September, and parts of October and May. This means that whatever the temperature actually is, with humidity it feels like it's always in the 100's (again, Fahrenheit temps here, sorry.) Then it settles into nice temperatures, by December it's in the high 60's during the week and 70's on the weekends. I never needed a jacket, but I was referred to as crazy by the native Texans a few times for wearing skirts or short sleeves in "cold" weather so this really depends on what you're used to.</p>

<p>Politically TAMU is not only in a conservative state, but is a very conservative college. I though I was pretty conservative until I came to A&M and realized that there I'm on the more liberal side of conservative. This doesn't mean you can't consider yourself a democrat and go to A&M but it is something to be aware of.</p>

<p>I hope this helps you, being as it's information that you might have trouble researching on your own. Let me know if you have any questions about what I've said.</p>

<p>UW has one of the best college atmospheres in the country. Madison seems to be a pretty kool place too. The major issue I would have with Madison is the weather which will be downright horrible for a few months of the school year.</p>

<p>
[quote]
the reputation and name of Wisconsin is far superior in all aspects

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The overall reputation of an institution should not come into play here. An individual needs to look at what is best for him/her. IE, the individual should look at starting salaries and job placements in his/her intended major and make decision based on that.</p>

<p>BTW, Wisconsin places a lot of people in jobs in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis (for example). A&M places a lot of people in Texas. Where you desire to live after graduation should factor in your decision. Not many companies are going to recruit UW from Dallas, and not many are going to college station to recruit for positions in Chicago.</p>