<p>I'm from Texas and am deciding between University of Texas-Austin and University of Wisconsin-Madison for Chemical Engineering. I got into UW for biological engineering, and UT for physics and will be transferring to ChemE next year. The problem I have with UT is I will have to transfer colleges within UT to go into Chemical Engineering, while in UW I will already be in the college of engineering. Which one would be best? Also, how hard is it to transfer colleges in UT?</p>
<p>Have you visited Madison yet? My son has also been accepted to both UT and UW for computer science. Madison’s campus is beautiful and the engineering school has a great career placement office. There are some similarities between the two cities, and obvious differences such as climate. We just got back from UW with a visit for my son and his friend and they both loved UW. My son is flying to Austin next week as he has never seen it.</p>
<p>You should look at both the program (academics, job placement/internships, COSTS) as well as the overall “fit” – where would you get out of it what you want for a college experience? If you were CAP at UT, then it might be easier to go to UW if cost is not an issue.</p>
<p>Your freshman year will be preengineering at UW- math, sciences and breadth electives plus perhaps an engineering survey course (read the UW website info). You will get an engineering advisor at SOAR, but like the vast majority of freshmen you will likely be classified as being in L&S. No big deal. You then apply and for Chem E likely get into the program- presuming your grades are fine (if they aren’t you shouldn’t choose it). Some engineering majors are competitive- more students wanting them than there is room for. At UW going between colleges is easy as you are accepted to the university as a whole. Wouldn’t know at UT- ask them.</p>
<p>I have heard that Austin is nice and more liberal than other cities. I know UW is beautiful, great and liberal with many opportunities. In order to choose your college experience, which is much more than just your major, you should have visited both campuses. Choose the one that seems the overall best fit.</p>
<p>I haven’t visited madison yet, and by the looks of it I might not get a chance. The only problem I have with madison is the cold because I have never lived in the cold (in fact I’ve never seen snowfall). I got into UT Austin, not the CAP program, but am worried that I might not be able to transfer into the engineering school. Thankfully cost is not an issue for me, I just need to find out which college would be the best fit for me.</p>
<p>It might help to directly contact each school. I know that there is VIP day at UT on March 3 – maybe you could get some answers there about transferring colleges within UT. Perhaps UW has online videos, etc. (or check YouTube) to see more images of the campus/city. You can also search through all the threads here about life in Madison, or go onto College *******/Insider’s Guide websites to check out student reviews.</p>
<p>While we were in Madison this past weekend, a parent we were touring with has a son at UT. She described UT as a more compact campus, but Madison as a slightly bigger city. She also mentioned how Austin is land-locked, but Madison has two beautiful large lakes. She told us that her son (from Wisconsin) loves UT because he wanted to live somewhere warmer.</p>
<p>It would be ideal to visit, though. It helps to see the other students (don’t go during the spring break) while the campus is alive, to see if you feel like you belong. Good luck in your decision – my son is still figuring out his options as well.</p>
<p>Austin is actually about 3 times the size of Madison today. UW is much closer to downtown that UT which is a LONG walk. Both are great schools in great places to go to school. UT certainly is warmer in winter. UW probably has more influences from outside the state while UT is very much Texas. But has all kinds from frat rats to old hippies to mod hipsters. Hard to choose really. Have lived both places and like them both.</p>
<p>It may come down to staying with the warmth and familiar or venturing out of Texas for a chance to be someplace different. College is a good time to try new places- you can usually transfer easily if the weather gets to you or you are homesick for things Texas. If you choose Wisconsin you are choosing to leave the familiar Texas vibe. That could be a wake up to how things are done differently OOS. It may help you in later years when deciding whether to stay in Texas or leave for a job opportunity.</p>
<p>You really should visit Madison before deciding to go to UW unless you are totally enamored with the school.</p>
<p>You are lucky to have such choices. I have met students from UT but have a kid in Chem E at UW. So, bias admitted. My parent/scientist perspective is overall chemistry is stronger at UW, which is great for ChemE and my D is getting great advising and is getting degrees in both ChemE and Chemistry in 4 years (assuming things continue to go well 
) Her experience as a sophomore this year in getting an internship was fantastic, she got one for this summer, and had lots of interviews on site and some offered off site interviews. A full week of opportunities and a well run system. This spring she is taking a one credit “prep for the internship” course engineering is running. It is cold, but this might be a chance to experience something new, even hockey! The farmer’s market downtown rocks.</p>
<p>Thank you for the on the ground input. Very glad it is working well for her and you.</p>
<p>The odds are very good your first job will *be in a 250-miles radius of the campus you attend.</p>
<p>But those who wish to “return home” will look there and be able to be considered with a UW-Madison degree. Many will find they like the region they chose for college, hence the staying in that area.</p>
<p>If you graduate UW Eng you can go wherever you want. Same for business grads. I actually went to Austin.</p>
<p>Yes, you can home again. But on campus recruiting is tilted to the region. More Texas jobs will walk in door in Austin. The same is true for Madison and the Midwest.</p>
<p>Yes, you can get a job in another part the country but there will be less options on campus or more work by a student.</p>
<p>If you want to see who actually recruits at UW you can see it here. Some are local, many are national and international. Most of the largest and well known are not local. Currently and in the recent past both Exxon and Halliburton were headed by UW alums. They are HQ’d where, Texas. </p>
<p><a href=“Engineering Career Services – College of Engineering – UW–Madison”>Engineering Career Services – College of Engineering – UW–Madison;
<p>That link shows 112 companies with 54 of them had job located in IA, MN, WI and IL. Yes, you are correct there is national recruiting at Madison but the largest per cent of companies are from the Midwest. That 54 does not count companies such 3M, General Mills, Ecolab and Cargill that recruit across USA but have corporate office and R&D in MN.</p>
<p>Looks like plenty of options either way to me which is what I said. Thanks for counting though. Did you include companies that recruit there but do not send out reps in person? Many of those are more distant and in modern times sending recruiters out in person is declining due to cost and the ease of using the net, skype, etc.</p>
<p>Get the degree from a top school and there will be lots of options.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice guys. I’m going to the VIP tour for UT in march and probably going to be visit wisconsin in a few weeks, so hopefully I can see which school would be better for me.</p>