I’ve been accepted to both schools and love them both for different reasons. I’m just struggling to make a decision because they are both so different! I’m trying to get a better sense of the social life at both schools. What are the best and worst parts of each school? You don’t have to know about both schools, but information about one will help too! Also, I have toured both schools and will probably visit each one more time. I’m a minnesota resident so madison is closer, but I am not worried about moving across the country and money is not an issue. Thank you!
Urban1996, are you serious about academics? If so, Santa Clara University isn’t even close to UW-Madison in terms of your education, as well as many other resources. And, unless Santa Clara University gave you a nice financial aid package that makes it hard to beat, I can’t see any reason other than weather to choose SCU.
And I say this having lived in both areas, and having been accepted to peer institutions as an undergrad in both areas. Example: a peer institution to UW-Madison would be UCSD, not SCU. And this does not imply that UCSD is better, nor worse, than UW-Madison. They both have many strengths, and attract students from all over.
University of Santa Clara has a significant commuter community. I agree with anhydride that the two universities are by no means peer institutions.
What are your goals and possible majors?
@anhydrite I am very serious about academics. I was accepted to the business school at scu and plan on being a marketing major. I’m very interested in the job opportunities that come from being located in the Silicon Valley. For business, would you still say madison is the better choice?
@PurpleTitan I want to be a marketing major. I have already been accepted into the business school at scu, but you can’t apply into the business school at madison until sophomore year. So there also is the unknown of if I will get in.
Yes, Madison is still a better choice. If your heart is truly set on Santa Clara, then go. But it cannot compete in the same class as UW, or with peer institutions of UW. UW and SCU are entirely different, structurally and historically.
Here is a recent undergrad business ranking, which compiles data from multiple sources. UW at 18 for undergrad business, Santa Clara at 81 (the reversal of numerals here – 18 vs. 81 – is purely coincidental):
U.S. News does not consider Santa Clara a nationally-ranked school (see last column). UW is most certainly nationally-ranked.
Right, so that’s a point in favor of SCU.
For business (unlike in STEM fields; besides CS), I don’t think UW-Madison has an advantage over SCU.
Go where you want to work after school. If that’s Silicon Valley, I think that going to SCU would make more sense.
@anhydrite @PurpleTitan thank you for your advice!
You are welcome. PurpleTitan also offers good advice. I think you should gather as much data as possible, then make your own, personal decision. My main point is that these two institutions are fundamentally different in almost every way.
I might caution, however, that you haven’t offered any details on your cost of attendance. While you say finances don’t matter, I would be wary of spending much more $$ to attend a program such as SCU, which is a predominantly regional school. Especially so for a potential business major, where cost-benefit analyses will inform your thinking in school, and thereafter. You might also, as a business major, consider brand appeal. UW has global appeal. I can’t speak much to SCU, but I doubt its brand penetration is similar.
Lastly, if you are quite serious about academics, you’d likely consider more than just marketing courses; also factor in economics, other business, communications and the like. In other words, I’d recommended availing yourself of resources in order to enhance your career prospects.
Good Lord, do the people ripping on Santa Clara have any firsthand knowledge of the school? It’s very well-respected here in the Bay Area, and it uses its location in the middle of Silicon Valley to great advantage. This is probably the most entrepreneurial area of the country, and that will rub off on anyone who goes to school around here.
If Wisconsin is like other big state flagships I’m familiar with, for the first two years you’d be sitting in lecture halls with many hundreds of other students, and interacting mostly with grad student TA’s rather than professors. According to US News, only 1.6% of Santa Clara’s classes are over 50 students, while 19.1% of Wisconsin’s classes are over 50 students. I spent my freshman year at Ohio State in huge lecture halls with TA’s who couldn’t speak English. I had a great time, but didn’t learn a damn thing. Transferring to a small school (not SCU) where the largest class I ever had was about 60 people made all the difference in the world.
SCU is not categorized as a National University by US News because it doesn’t offer doctoral degrees, not because it’s an undistinguished school. It is ranked #2 in the West among non-PhD granting schools. Wisconsin is a research university. SCU is a teaching university. Wisconsin has a student-faculty ratio of 17:1. SCU has a student-faculty ratio of 12:1. SCU also has a slightly lower acceptance rate than Wisconsin.
I’m sure the party scene at Wisconsin is better than at Santa Clara, but I would expect someone would get a better undergraduate business education at SCU,
Those are all very accurate and valid points, (my dd was a graduate teaching asst at UW) except I don’t know that you can really make the final claim. UW has the edge for college town vibe though.
If the costs are the same, and if the OP is serious about beginning a career in Silicon Valley, then SCU is the clear winner here.
If SCU would be more expensive, then UW might be the preferred option just for the $ savings.
Run the numbers again, and think about it: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
This should be a pretty easy choice…about the only thing they have in common is that you could get an excellent undergrad education at either of them. In everything else-- football, climate, size, local town, etc-- they are vastly different.
The only worry on my mind about madison is that I am not in the business school yet. I will apply at the end of my freshman year and if I did not get in it will feel like a waste. Whereas I have already been accepted into the business school at scu. Thanks for your comments everyone!
Bump
SCU is well thought of on the West Coast and if your goal is to work in start ups or in the management side of tech companies, it’s the place to be.
It’s also much, much more expensive than UWisconsin.
Also, UWisconsin’s degree will have more national recognition.
What do you parents say about the cost difference?
@MYOS1634 cost isn’t really an issue. But obviously saving money for grad school is always a plus. How are the job opportunities available to madison graduates?
About 29,000 undergrads vs over 3,000 undergrads is one of the biggest differences.
UWisconsin is one of the top public universities in the nation. It’s located in one of the towns that wins “top college town” in the US about every other year. Being very large, it’s got lots of alumni.
However, ultimately, job opportunities don’t come from the university’s name. They come from you: Did you establish relationships with your professors and other adults by going to office hours, working in research labs, rising through the ranks in work study thanks to responsible behavior and initiative? Did you get internships (and thus maintained the GPA necessary to get them)? What skills did you develop? What does your GPA say about your work ethics and priorities? Did you find your way to the career center as a senior, or the second semester of your freshman year? This will matter much more than the name of your university.