<p>I have been accepted to the carlson school of management at the university of Minnesota and also to the college of letters and science at Wisconsin Madison and I am having a very tough time deciding between the two. I find it very hard to find any cons in either school. What does it take to get into the college of business at Madison? Are there any factors that I should make sure to consider in my decision? Any help would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>One year and good grades in required pre-business classes (3.25+). Some leadership skills. UW Business enjoys a wider placement scope and the school has a strong overall spirit. UW leads in CEO production among state U’s year after year and usually ties or beats Harvard at the UG level.</p>
<p>Minnesota has a better undergraduate business program and, due to its location in a city, also has access to internships.</p>
<p>UW has a nicer campus and probably a little more school spirit. </p>
<p>The schools are pretty different. MN is urban, Wisc is rural/Suburban. You should visit and see where you fit in.</p>
<p>Also, obviously don’t believe the ■■■■■ above who says it ties or beats Harvard. Obviously not the case, but that doesn’t mean that these are bad schools. They are actually pretty good for being public schools (cost is going to be much better if you are in-state).</p>
<p>
You mean from this Bloomberg article referenced on the UW website? [Wisconsin</a> Ties Harvard for Educating Most CEOs](<a href=“http://www.bus.wisc.edu/wbanews/august2004/ceos.asp]Wisconsin”>http://www.bus.wisc.edu/wbanews/august2004/ceos.asp)</p>
<p>File not found. It was a 2004 article, so understandable.</p>
<p>I don’t know where “informative” has been but this study has been published for several years with UW either tying or beating Harvard as undergrad source of CEOs’.</p>
<p>Another just came out today and for undergrad, UW was second and #1 overall for publics. Including grad school UW was 4th overall and #1 public.</p>
<p>"Wisconsin stood out among its state school peers, granting 17 degrees to the CEOs, which put the school fourth overall, despite having an average U.S. News rank of 33 for the school’s undergraduate, business, and law programs. In the Fortune analysis, Wisconsin finished ahead of highly ranked schools like Stanford University, Dartmouth College, and Northwestern University. "</p>
<p>[Where</a> the Fortune 500 CEOs Went to College - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/01/03/where-the-fortune-500-ceos-went-to-college.html]Where”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/01/03/where-the-fortune-500-ceos-went-to-college.html)</p>
<p>Then of course there is this on Reuters</p>
<p><a href=“Business News - Chicago Tribune”>Business News - Chicago Tribune;
<p>^ But barrons, don’t you need to adjust for size?!! Haha! :p</p>
<p>But let’s not steal this kid’s thread… Go Packers! Go Aaron Rodgers! ;)</p>
<p>But we easily beat out UCB and all other similar state schools so bite me. 
As I said elsewhere, how many UW kids would have been hand-picked for Harvard and compare that ratio.</p>
<p>barrons not only doesn’t adjust for size, but also shifts between total and undergraduates (using undergraduates to match Harvard, and using total to beat Dartmouth). [Where</a> the Fortune 500 CEOs Went to College - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/01/03/where-the-fortune-500-ceos-went-to-college.html]Where”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/01/03/where-the-fortune-500-ceos-went-to-college.html)</p>
<p>That aside, both of these schools are fine, and the OP should really choose base on where he/she think he/she would enjoy more, not on which would enable him/her to become one of the 11 CEOs out of the tens of thousands of undergrads who went through these to schools.</p>
<p>The quote mentioning UW over Dartmouth was from US News not me. That’s what those little “” things mean.</p>
<p>Ok, no one is giving you a straight answer. So I will. For undergrad, go for U of M. Carlson is a very good business program for undergraduate, and the metropolitan area of the Twin Cities have a lot of opportunities for interships and on the job experience. You’ll need to ask yourself what you want in your college experience besides the academics. Madison and Minneapolis are very different environments. Madison is farmy, pretentious, and just weird, in my opinion. Minneapolis is more modern and contemporary. How about party atmosphere? Madison is a blue collar, beer drinkin’, party college. The party scene is not as prevalent at U of M–I guess it’s all a matter of preference. Like outdoorsy things? Go Minnesota. Madison has outdoor stuff, but there are tons of lakes, decent ski hills, and nice state parks in MN if you like that sort of thing. Campus safety- I feel more nervous of getting shanked at U of M than at Madison. I guess that’s one thing that’s good about Madison. I don’t know what else to tell you. If you are pretty certain you want to do business for undergrad go to MN. But consider the other important factors and think about your own personal preferences for what you want in a college experience.</p>
<p>You should visit both and see which you like better, which feels “right.” </p>
<p>I don’t think the academic distictions between these two are sufficient enough to override fit issues…</p>
<p>One huge pro I found here at Carlson is the ability for me to intern while still taking classes. During this school year as a sophomore I intern for a fortune 500 company. I couldn’t do that at Madison.</p>
<p>As far as more comparisons I lay out my opinions pretty well in the University of Minnesota section of this site.</p>
<p>The party scene at Minnesota is not bad at all. There are frat parties and house parties are prevalent in the Dinkytown and Como neighborhoods as well as the more private apartment parties on campus. Plus if your 21 (or have a fake) Dinkytown’s bars are fun and if you get bored with those things you can always go 10 minutes to downtown Minneapolis (clubs, bars, concerts, whatever you like).</p>
<p>Campus safety? For being in the middle of a large metro area our campus is safe. Obviously try not to walk alone at not (but I wouldn’t do that at Madison either). I wouldn’t choose between these two schools based on safety.</p>
<p>As far as career placement goes, Minnesota centers its placement more on the metro area here (due to all of the obvious connections). But, of course there are alumni spread out across the country. For example, I have to friends who are seniors at Carlson who will be analysts full time after graduation at Barclays in Palo Alto, CA. Carlson has an online alumni network with the contact info for all the (willing) alumni. It’s excellent to conduct informational interviews.</p>
<p>If you have anymore questions I will gladly help out.</p>
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</p>
<p>USNWR disagrees with you. </p>
<p>Wisconsin UG Business #14
Minnesota UG Business # 19</p>
<p>Not a large difference but you had the order wrong.</p>
<p>UW has plenty of access to internships from NYC to LA as it places more nationally while Uminn is very regional. And Madison a farmy little town? Get real. It is the Biotech research and emerging corporate center of the Midwest. Also very big in insurance and medical supplies and software. </p>
<p>[Next</a> American City Magazine Will Midwest Biotech Boom?](<a href=“Building Better Cities - Urban Transportation and Housing News”>Building Better Cities - Urban Transportation and Housing News)</p>
<p>Both are very good. Anyone who tells you that the answer is clear has a personal interest and is not providing objective advice. The strong support on both sides in this thread should show you that you can have a great experience at either.</p>
<p>I can definitely see the value of being located in a major metro area for internships, but as barrons points out Madison isn’t exactly a tiny hamlet.</p>
<p>Visit both and see if you like one more.</p>
<p>I assume there is no significant cost difference. If there is, go to the cheaper option.</p>
<p>Madison is not a farm town at all. However, you can’t compare the amount of corporations (especially one a 20 year old business student would want to work for) between the Twin Cities and Madison.</p>
<p>Carlson is not some school that will just place you here in the Midwest. Between alumni and our career center you can get contacts anywhere in the country. Someone saying that Carlson can’t get you to the coasts or a larger city like LA or NYC is a lie.</p>
<p>Therefore, visit both. If you are content in a smaller city where the city basically revolves around the college, Madison is more your place. If you want a larger metro area with more things to do then Madison has to offer then go to Minnesota. However, you will notice since it is such a large metro you will not see everyone bleed maroon and gold like the city of Madison bleeds red. In my case Minnesota was a great mix of everything I wanted in my college choice: school pride, Big Ten, a city large enough to do more than just stay around campus, and a well regarded academic institution. On the other hand UW has its qualities: it is a college city (I can’t see calling a city of roughly a quarter million people a college town), well regarded sports and academics, and other things you can see if you visit. I go to Minnesota and I love it, but I’m sure if you are considering both of these schools you won’t really regret either one.</p>
<p>I really don’t understand the UWisconsin bashing. I don’t know any UW grads and by the way, I admire UMinnesota. These are both excellent universities and I’d encourage Lake Jr. to attend either one if financial aid for non-residents was generous.</p>
<p>I don’t think I am really bashing UW, just getting over some misconceptions that have been said by other posters.</p>