UIUC, UMICH, or UW Madison

<p>I'm in a good place put having to make tough decisions. I've been accepted to these three schools (U of I, Ann Arbor, and Madison) and having a difficult time deciding. I'm going to major in a liberal field and possibly move on to law school in the future. I live in Illinois so that puts a financial play into this. I've been blessed to not be too concerned with finances but obviously they can't be ignored. There is not really a ranking for pre law programs or liberal art programs so any input would be very appreciated!</p>

<p>Wow, you’re really lucky. I was postponed to Madison and wait listed to U of I. I wish I was as lucky as you are. You can take a shot in the dark here and be highly successful where ever you go, because at the end of the day, it’s not the school that makes you successful, it’s how you utilize your resources and what you make of it. If you want more hands on research as an undergrad I’d say go for Madison, because for research facilities at the dispense of undergraduates they’re up there with Johns Hopkins, but all 3 are excellent.</p>

<p>Thanks. Wisconsin’s research facilities are definitely a plus for me!</p>

<p>whats your major exactly? and since you’re planning on law school/grad school. i’d say keep your debts low and go to uiuc. if you’re really that loaded however, i’d go to umich or madison. illinois is just full of rich suburban chicago kids.</p>

<p>my major has not necessarily been decided on as there isn’t a definite track for law school. I’m also not sold on law schol and I am going to embark the university experience with an open mind.</p>

<p>All 3 are good and I feel you’d be successful at any one of them. But in my opinion, I’d go to the one with the most prestige, which is Michigan-Ann Arbor. Names can open a lot of doors.</p>

<p>Out of state Michigan is 40K (junior and senior) per year for TUITION alone. So you’re paying over 200K for undergrad, including only room and board and tuition. Wisconsin is better, but still high.</p>

<p>And then you want to go for 3 more yrs at law school, which could cost another 200K.</p>

<p>Go to Illinois. The prestige is still very high, and you’ll get into just as many law schools.</p>

<p>U of I is best option dur to cost. Use the saved delta for Law School. My son goes to U of I and I have been very impressed with how much he is truly enjoying school. He is a freshman and extremely involved with a social fraternity, business fraternity, networking group and a business club. </p>

<p>If your parents don’t mind spending the additional cost, the U of M would be next option. I do think in Law it might be better due to reputation. </p>

<p>The key in the school you select is to get involved and network. Make sure you have access to the deans/faculty to write the recommendations and that you have opportunities for internships.</p>

<p>Congrats! I got into UIUC and Madison as well :)</p>

<p>Hey I just came over here b/c I though there might be a graduate school sub-forum (I just got into UIUC graduate school, my top choice woohoo!).</p>

<p>But anyway, you’re probably not sure about law school yet, but if it matters, they most heavily weight LSAT (#1) and GPA (#2) - so I wouldn’t let that weigh your decision. You’d have an equal shot at a decent law school from any of the schools you listed.</p>

<p>Hmmm decisions decisions. Good luck!</p>

<p>I got in there too! and i also live in illinois… I was just asking a similar post on here and I have talked to a lot of teachers about the situation. The thing that stuck in my mind the most was, debt is debt and you will always have to pay it off, while your college experience is what you make of it! So you can make “any” school fit your needs, and what is great is that between these 3 schools, all are academically comparable. So i would say go where you do not have to pay as much, because even if you have the money, wouldn’t you rather spend it other something else more fun rather that an unnecessarily high tuition?</p>

<p>Woah, I’m actually weighing the same options, but I’m in business. I got deferred from UMich, but I got into Wisc. I think i’m going with Illinois because the overall vibe i get is more friendly here…
It’s a nice campus, the business school I know is good, but I’m not sure about your program. I’d look into specific programs to figure that out!</p>