U of M Carlson School of Management vs.University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business

My daughter has been accepted into the business schools at both of these colleges for next fall. Can anyone provide me their thoughts, if they were in a similar situation and why they choose the school they did?

They are both the same. Have your daughter pick after she visits or go with the one that gives you more money if thats an important factor for your family. Personally , I would go with Minnesota because of the positive visit we had. Congratulations to your daughter. What are her stats. Mine has not heard back yet. She applied to the business school.

Both are pretty high quality. Carlson has an excellent career placement rate so look into that for both since placement is a huge aspect of your business school experience. Also check out curriculum - my impression is that Wisconsin emphasizes economic theory a bit more but not positive about that (and a Carlson kid can probably take more econ. if he/she really wants to). Carlson has a really well-organized plan of study including core courses that begin in earnest your 2nd year.

UW business students might be required to learn a foreign language which is NOT a requirement at Carlson. However, as Carlson kids do study abroad automatically as part of their four-year curriculum, your daughter may wish to do a FL anyway. You might also look into whether your daughter can take business courses right away at UW (a nice feature of Carlson is that they get you going on a couple of courses your first year, along with your prereqs. and a Lib. Ed. or two).

Finally, check out both campuses and see how your D feels at each one. My son and I visited UW this past summer and parked right at the business school. Beautiful building. But Carlson’s Hanson Hall is also wonderful. The UW campus is a bit spread out but I’m sure there are busses etc. and being on Lake Mendota or sitting out on the terrace is a unique experience. UMN is on both sides of the river with busses, LR or a 10 min. walk across the bridge (assuming you have to cross). UW doesn’t require a meal plan if you are in the dorms while UMN does. Lots of little differences of that sort.

Overall academics at UW are a bit higher than UMN if you are looking closely at the Lib. Ed. requirements. UW is less restrictive about these - you fulfill breadth requirements but have more latitude as to what to take w/in each subject area for an optimal intellectual experience. UMN’s liberal Ed. description looks utterly confusing to me (and I’ve perused it many times); however, once in Carlson they basically guide you along in that process (or you can look at the 4 year study plan and follow that).

Good luck to her on the decision!

Congratulations to your daughter on acceptance to MN and WI business schools. Our oldest daughter went to Wisconsin’s business school and graduated last spring in accounting; she is doing a one year accounting master’s program, presently, so she is still in Madison. She did an internship at Target in Minneapolis and loved the cities, and was offered a job there. She wanted Chicago, however, so she did an internship at KPMG and liked that more. She starts at KPMG in August 2018 in their Advisory area. She loves Madison and the UW experience.

I do think that there is a reputation for Carlson that continues to build and may surpass UW. Being a bit biased, I think many students prefer the WI-Madison experience compared to MN. She will not go wrong with either choice; have her flip a coin and decide if she likes the outcome.

No real difference in quality there- the decision might depend more on where she sees herself living for the next four years. Football games more fun at UW.