I have narrowed down my college selections to two: UChicago and UW Madison. I am from Wisconsin, so with in-state tuition Madison would cost me 10k less than UChicago. My concern is if UChicago is worth the student loans that it would cause. I know that it is an elite school, but is it really that much better than UW Madison? I am undecided on a major and I like the environment of both schools. Any insight would be very appreciated.
Is the extra $10K a strain for your family? If not, I’d choose the U of C just because of the extra opportunities it offers.
You probably have some high school classmates who will also be going to Wisconsin. Is that important to you, to see them in college? Most students at Wisconsin will be from that state, or neighboring states, while students at U Chicago will have a wider array of backgrounds and origins. Does that matter to you? What about visiting family on weekends – will it be easier at one university versus the other, and is that important to you? Where do you envision working when you graduate – Chicago? Or a smaller town close to home in Wisconsin? Do you enjoy going to football and hockey games and getting involved in school spirit, or is that really not your thing? Are you eager to live in a big city like Chicago, and explore all there is to do there? Or would you prefer the much smaller Madison?
Deciding whether U Chicago is worth the extra cost should involve a look at the entire scope of what each university offers, and deciding what is important to you. If graduating debt-free is a top priority for you, that also needs to be considered, but keep in mind that you may be able to make money in summer internships or part-time jobs if needed. My daughter makes about $10,000 a year in a low-paying lab job while attending college, but she is gaining experience related to her major and pays for all her spending money, plus puts some aside in savings.
Small elite undergraduate schools always have an advantage due to there limited size of classes. They can control the quality of their enrollees much better through the admission process than large universities. Having said that if you do go to UW and graduate with a 4.0 you won’t have any problems going to grad school or finding a job.
One of the most fun colleges vs.one of the least fun…
This is a slam dunk. Go with Chicago.
Chi isn’t for everyone…Are you the UC type?
I’m not sure that I am…College isn’t just about academics for me. Madison offers social events that I’ve heard are practically nonexistent at UC.
Chicago is a very particular kind of intellectual community located in a great city with a wealth of arts, etc. It seems to be the kind of place a student either embraces or runs from. What is the OP’s reaction to Chicago? Exhilarated?? Overwhelmed?
UW has superb academics – engineering (of course), plus in Letters & Sciences, but not everyone is intense about their academics (and some are intense about their partying). Graduating without debt is something to consider – for instance, while engineering and business summer internships are usually paid, for students in other fields, being able to take an unpaid summer internship to get the experience, rather than having to work for pay in order to pay for the next year of college, can be important in preparing for the post-grad job.
About 60% of UW undergrads come from Wisconsin, and another 15-20% from Minnesota – the remaining roughly 20-25% come from all over, including both coasts. Chicago is one of the primary post-grad destinations for work for UW grads.
Bottom line – I would think that Chicago, like MIT, Swarthmore etc., is the kind of place which a student can feel something like “finally, I have found my home.” If the OP feels that way, then absolutely, Chicago is worth $10k debt per year. If it does not feel like home, then UW offers top notch academic experience plus big schools sports etc.
Then why did you apply? You must have seen something worthwhile in the school. Not trying to be rude, but UChicago is a pretty unique place and most people who apply there self-select for that lifestyle for four years.
From what you are saying, Northwestern might be the right school for you.
There are many reasons why I applied and I apologize for sounding rude by voicing my concern of the “where fun goes to die” reputation that UChicago has. I appreciate the environment at UChicago, but I have this inferiority complex which makes me feel like the academics would be especially challenging for me which is a concern of mine.
Northwestern possibly would be a better option, but I chose to apply to Chicago because of the academic reputation and no barriers financial aid policy.
Don’t let the inferiority complex stop you - lots and lots of students who get into elite schools have that. It’s called imposter syndrome. Most of your classmates will also have it.
However, the feeling of comfort and social atmosphere are good questions to ask yourself. To me, based upon the way you phrased the question, it sounds like you really want to go to UW-Madison but are having a hard time giving yourself permission to say no to Chicago because it’s elite. Is that true?
If Chicago accepted you, they think you can do the work. As for being better, UW Madison is a great school, but it is still a big state school with the limitations that brings. UChicago will have more support, and will provide you with significantly greater opportunities for whatever you want to do.
Good luck whatever you choose.
“One of the most fun colleges” if that is what your looking for then that is where you should go.
If you are looking for fun. go the UW. If you are looking for the best ticket as an investment in your future (graduate school, jobs etc), UChicago is in a different universe than UW.
You’re very right. Not choosing UChicago seems like giving up opportunities that I won’t encounter at other schools yet Madison has a degree of comfort (and financial practicality) that makes it an appealing choice. Thank you for your affirmations!
In sciences and many areas UW easily holds own or is better than UC. UC is stronger in some more arcane liberal arts areas, econ (but UW still very good) UW also has twice as many undergrads go on to get doctorates in sciences and eng. https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf13323/
There’s no law that you have to attend the most selective or prestigious college that accepts you.
However, if you like the UChicago environment, then I do think it is worth some price premium over a good state flagship. How much of a premium? That largely depends on what you and your family can afford. $10K/year is at the outer limits of what you could cover through “self help” (federal student loans, work study, summer jobs).
Affordability aside, it’s hard to address the “is it worth it” question objectively, but let’s consider one data point. In 2015, according to IPEDS (https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/Data.aspx), Wisconsin-Madison spent $15,121 on instruction per full time equivalent student. UChicago spent $85,372. Now it’s possible those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Maybe Wisconsin’s larger size yields greater economies of scale; maybe it isn’t counting everything UChicago is. Nevertheless I think it’s reasonable to assume that of that ~$70K difference, more than $10K is going to benefits that UChicago students/parents/faculty value.
@barrons Wow, that is extremely misleading. UChicago does not have engineering. Of course it is not going to be as high in a list that includes a huge percentage of engineers.
In every hard science program that both schools offer, UChicago is going to be better for an undergraduate than Wisconsin is. Math, physics, chemistry, biology, you name it. The student to factulty ratio at Chicago is 6-1, at Wisconsin it is 18-1. Classes are much smaller. A much larger percentage of undergrads get to participate in research. UChicago actually sends a much higher percentage of its undergraduate class to PhDs in every field, STEM or non-STEM, except engineering. It also places a much higher percentage of its class into top law, medicine and MBA programs.
UW does $1 Billion in research a year. UC not even in Top 20 Chemistry, biochem, ranked higher than UC. Bio they are right together.Computer Sci much better at UW. Nearly all faculty at UW actually teach undergrads–not so much at UC as it was always more of a grad school.
http://www.bestcolleges.com/features/colleges-with-highest-research-and-development-expenditures/
The number of eng degrees is not large compared with all the others on the list
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctorates/surveys/srvydoctorates_2015.pdf