I am currently enrolled at Madison and am on the WL for Tulane and Wake. If there was the possibility to get off of WL at both I’m trying to decide what I would do. I like the city vibe of Madison and NOLA, and Winston Salem seems boring. I like the smaller undergrad population at Tulane and Wake and that they are well regarded universities. I know all are party schools which doesn’t affect my decision. I like the idea of smaller classes and the population at Wisco seems daunting. I also hate the cold. But Madison has more specific majors and research opportunities. I’m worried Wake is too bland but Tulane is too cliquey not enough student activism
, NOLA being dangerous etc whereas Madison is a good dose of a liberal lively city. Any insights?
I’m also enrolled at UW-Madison! Go Badgers!
What are you planning on majoring in? If you want to study STEM I would stick with UW-Madison because it’s very strong in those areas. Wake is very good for humanities, social sciences, and business. Tulane is good overall for undergrad. I also agree that Wisco student population seems daunting. I was very hesitant to choose such a large school but there are so many resources available such as office hours, free tutors, writing center, student research, and hundreds of organizations to find your niche/friends. You’ll also meet the people in your residence hall on your floor and get involved on campus, so it won’t seem like such a big place after a few weeks.
I chose Madison over Wake Forest because I loved the town and campus when I visited in March. Tulane was my top choice and I was offered a guaranteed transfer after one year but that doesn’t appeal to me.
Idk if you visited or haven’t visited these schools but Madison has an awesome vibe that is unmatched at Wake. Wisco students are insanely passionate about their school and Madison is an amazing/lively college town. Wake doesn’t have a real college town if that is important to you. Wake is dominated by Greek life and bars aren’t really a thing until junior year whereas Tulane and Wisconsin have a mix. Wake is definitely a bubble because Winston Salem isn’t much of a college town, the campus is in a neighborhood, and it’s gated.
I don’t like the idea of large lecture halls but I’ve heard from college students it’s all what you make of it. Sit in the front, go to office hours, establish relationships with professors etc. Also, at UW, once you get into your major courses junior and senior year, classes will be smaller. You will get classes with 10-25 students and some larger. A Wake student told me that once she got into her major courses her classes got larger, like 40 students. Idk how important price is or what your financial situation is but in my opinion, Wisconsin is the best value school out of the three. All three are similarly ranked and draw similar student bodies even though their acceptance rates differ.
All three are really great schools. I think you should either prioritize the 3-4 most important aspects of what you want or go with your gut feeling from visiting. For me, Wake made more sense as an academic fit (smaller), but I went with my gut because I loved Wisconsin so much when I visited. Good luck with the decision if you get of any waitlists and feel free to ask more questions. Even though I’m not a student these schools, I did a lot of research because they were my top schools too.
how are the winters in UW Madison? Whats the social scene like -especially during the winter months?