@Natalie278 thanks for mentioning the thread from spring. I found it. As this thread is also about transfer admissions, I find it is appropriate to post it here for other transfers that may be in the program
I’m writing to update you on the status of the transfer agreement with UW-Madison and to provide information about what you will need to do to be able to transfer to UW-Madison.
This is what we have learned in the process of advocating for your immediate admission. Due to budget cuts, UW-Madison has been forced to suspend the transfer program as it was previously administered. Budget cuts, combined with swelling enrollments, particularly in key areas such as engineering and business, have made it impossible for certain academic departments to accommodate transfer students under terms of the guaranteed transfer agreement.
UW-Madison is currently developing a new transfer agreement and hopes to have this in place within the next few months. The new minimum GPA is likely to be either 3.4 or 3.5 and contain additional conditions designed to assure students admitted to UW-Madison meet certain writing standards.
While the previous transfer agreement never guaranteed admission to the major of choice, in the past, transfer students who were unsuccessful in gaining admission business, engineering or other competitive degrees were offered enrollment as “undecided” in the College of Letters and Science and could then choose a major in this area. The College of Letters and Science is no longer capable of absorbing all of these transfer students, many of whom swell certain degree programs such as economics and chemistry. During this current interim period and later when the new transfer agreement is in place, prospective transfer students who unsuccessfully request admission to competitive degrees such as business or engineering, will likely not be admitted to UW-Madison. Those students will likely have to either transfer to another university or wait another semester and attempt to re-apply to UW-Madison by choosing another major. Choosing “undecided” for a major will likely no longer be a plausible transfer strategy. Admission to business and engineering degrees will remain highly competitive and it is likely that only the very top, high-achieving students will receive consideration. So prospective transfer students will have to weigh the relative risks of attempting to transfer in those degree areas.
Regarding your personal transfer situation, since the transfer agreement has been suspended, you were evaluated by UW-Madison based on the general merits of your application. In talking with UW-Madison about your situation, we have a suggestion for improving your prospects for admission in the fall. It is suggested that you demonstrate another successful semester taking courses in the humanities in order to better enhance your chances for acceptance in the fall.
I’m sorry that we do not have better news for you regarding your transfer to UW-Madison. We all feel extremely disappointed about what has happened. But this is just one of the many severe implications resulting from the budgets cuts that have been imposed in recent years on the University of Wisconsin System.
Please work with your campus international coordinator, Aaron, to plan your next steps. I also would be willing to set a time to talk with you via Skype or phone, if you would like.
While it unfortunately won’t help you this semester, please know that we are urgently pressing UW-Madison to put the new agreement in place immediately so that students like you will have a clear pathway for transfer by fall.