<p>Which school is better overall/ campus/ location/ city/ things to do...</p>
<p>Madison is clearly the winner</p>
<p>I am in the same situation, but I am leaning towards UW because it is closer to home. I would say Twin Cities is a better location and city, but Madison has the better campus in my opinion. The academics are so close that it’s really whichever you think you will be happier at.</p>
<p>But UofMinn is less pricey.</p>
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Most people making this decision will have reciprocity, in which case the two are pretty close (aren’t they?)</p>
<p>I think UW is a bit more uniformly strong; in order to make this choice you need to know which college/program you are in at the UofM. Visit both.</p>
<p>Madison is probably more fun in terms of partying. U of M is in a metropolitan area, so there are probably more things to do but are further away from campus. U of M is also much more diverse, which might attract you if you’re a minority. </p>
<p>In terms of academics, Minn. is better at business, most liberal arts and chemistry. Madison is better at biological sciences, and slightly better at engineering (I think).</p>
<p>It all depends on your desired major and your personality/background.</p>
<p>Tour them. They’re so similar that they’re almost the same.</p>
<p>^^I wouldn’t say that UMN is “better at most liberal arts”. Both have their strengths. I think business is the clear Minnesota advantage. </p>
<p>UW-Madison does enjoy the mild Wisconsin climate.</p>
<p>How does anyone figure UMinn business is any better than UW?? UW has a more national recruitment base. Only advantage I see for UMinn is freshman admission.</p>
<p>I’m currently at the U and LOVE it. There is so much to do. Its really easy to find your kind of people. There are 50,000 students, and it’s really diverse. However, be prepared to walk. A lot. East bank, west bank, and st. Paul campus are all part of TC. I’ve had semesters only on east, and a semester on all three. I can’t comment on UW. I’ve been brainwashed into hating Wisconsin.</p>
<p>If you are worried about walking, UW campus is massive too. At least 1.5mi long, though I don’t know if there’s anything on the west end besides the hospital, there still a pretty long area. My sister goes to Minnesota and loves it, and she chose Minnesota because so many people in her hs go to UW, and she wanted to branch out a bit. Madison is a much smaller city, which is something I really like about it. I also think it’s safer than Minneapolis, though we’ve been having a bit of a crime wave recently. Also yeah, I agree that saying Minnesota is “better at liberal arts” isn’t true. I was recently told my a prof, for example, that we have a really top history program. (For the record, I’m not an undergrad, and didn’t go for undergrad, I’m a law student.) Minnesota does have a ridiculous amount of annoying nannying, and also does not have enough housing, which is a bit of a problem. My sister was originally stuck in a room with 3 other girls, which would’ve been kind of awful. In the end though, you need to visit, see the campuses and the area, and look at the programs you are interested in. I always thought I would go to UW, then I visited and was not too excited, ended up going somewhere else. They’re not so different it’s a blatantly obvious choice though.</p>
<p>I live about 2 hours away from Madison (near Milwaukee area), but I’m definitely gonna be attending U of M in the fall. For me Minnesota had so many more opportunities to be successful than Madison did, and I thought the campus really felt more like home than UW-Madison. It all depends on where you feel more comfortable, but I would definitely say Minnesota has a more welcoming vibe than Madison did, and the opportunities to be great are innumerable. Hope this was helpful, and good luck on your decision :)</p>
<p>I know some people who had to make the same choice, though I go to UW, so most people I know picked UW. I went because UW’s campus felt more like home to me, a few of my Minnesotan friends wanted somewhere further from home, others thought UW had more school spirit and liked the atmosphere better. The academics in my major (and most of theirs) is similar, so it wasn’t a deciding factor. The one person I know that picked U of M thought that campus felt more like home than UW, so there’s that. I recommend visiting both, by car they are 4-5 hours apart.</p>