I am having trouble picking between UW-Madison and Texas A&M. I have been accepted into A&M as well as their college of engineering. I am waiting on a decision from Wisc (fingers crossed). Both colleges appeal to certain things I want in a college. I plan on majoring in Computer Science, if that helps narrow which one is better academically.
As for me I’m not a big partier, I want to go to a lot of sports games, I’m joining ROTC in college and I want a college with a great surrounding city. Any advice is appreciated!
UW is one of the great college towns/small cities. I think they are both very large so it is not going to be a really personal experience at least as far at the first couple of years. But UW has a very good CS dept, I’m sure A^M is good too. Can you visit each? If you are instate for one that would be the winner because of price.
^^^ Everything BrownParent said, plus take into account that if you plan on joining the Corps of Cadets at TAMU, that it will be a very different experience vs ROTC at UW-Madison. Both can be good, but different.
Going to Texas A&M and doing ROTC is almost like going to West Point. ROTC would be your lifestyle; wearing uniforms at least five days a week and living with other cadets.
UW and TAMU are about as different as they can be. If you do a little research it will become clear which one you prefer. TAMU is quite conservative, for example, while UW is rather liberal.
Both are very reputable large public universities and you should be pleased (and proud) to attend either, because you likely will be well-served – if you do your part, and that is critical – both as an undergraduate and for lifetime thereafter. With this said, @NROTCgrad’s comments are are spot-on. For most undergraduates, I suspect the academic experiences and education would be essentially equal; however, the cadets and midshipmen in the two ROTC programs will have decidedly different experiences. You may want carefully to assess which community-, university-, and ROTC-culture better suits you – all three are rather dissimilar.
Yes I have been doing a ton of research on both school, almost to the point of obsession. I think that either lifestyles of ROTC will be fine for me. I have been leaning towards UW-Madison because of the fact that it’s more liberal, but I wanted to make sure that I’m not the only one who found A&M to be very conservative. I won’t be able to visit the campuses because I live in the middle of an ocean (Hawaii). So I kind of have to go off of what people tell me or what I find.
Both are great, but so different! I feel like a visit or talking to a few current students would clear this up for you. UW would have more of a town, and city life beyond the college. College Station is all about TAMU. Aggies are quite passionate about their school. They have a unique culture.
I ask again: is one of these in your home state? Cost could be the deciding factor.
A&M (and especially the Corp there) has a really distinct culture.
Generally, people either love it or hate it (which is unique for a state school) with little in between.
Either A&M or UW-Madison may be fine, but it’s hard to believe that anyone would be equally happy in the Corp at A&M or at UW in Madtown.
Just a little research would have given you the idea that you’re not the only one who finds A&M to be conservative (A&M in general may not be very conservative but the Corp of Cadets very well may be).
@dburns1: To answer your question in post #5 (and to supplement my post #4), yes A&M is quite CONSERVATIVE (faculty, most students, community, and much more). However, Wisconsin is ultra LIBERAL (also, faculty, most students, community, and much more). If they are not polar opposites, they are not far from it. Consequentially, **YOUR CULTURAL FIT/b is, in my opinion, simply critical for you to investigate (I know you’re doing so) and accurately to assess. I’m a retired senior naval officer and I can tell you that ROTC at A&M will massively differ from ROTC at U of W . . . and so will a LOT of other things.
UW parent here, just to add some flavor to the “ultra liberal Madison” description – my son’s experience at UW has been that, while the town is quite liberal, the student body is pretty balanced and even as a Social Sciences major, he hasn’t picked up “leanings” one way or the other from his professors.
I know that this is obvious, but the weather at each location is also wildly different. Given that you are from Hawaii, it is likely that you would adapt better to the weather in Texas. Wisconsin is brutally cold in the winter. Average high temperature in January at UW-Madison is only 26 degrees. At College Station, the average January high is 61 degrees! Far closer to Hawaii’s temperature.
Another tidbit… TAMU has a reputation for fanatically loyal alumni. It has been reported that some alums will hire you simply because you are an Aggie. TAMU has a very distinctive class ring, which has hardly changed in decades. TAMU alums know it when they see it.
Cost is not a big concern because of the fact that an ROTC scholarship will help pay for it, but if it was I would probably go to A&M because they would give me a lower tuition from a ROTC scholarship (at least that’s what they tell me) I am worried that the liberal atmosphere of UW will mean a bad ROTC program, I have heard that’s an issue with UC Berkely, great school but terrible ROTC program. I really like that Madison has stuff to do and has more to offer than just the school. But at least A&M has Austin near by if I need to go to a city. I know that A&M has a super strong alumni, but I hear both schools have a lot of school pride. Weather is not a factor for me, in fact I love the cold. I am originally from Washington so I can handle the cold. I am a military brat so I feel like I would fit in with the more liberal crowd and I hear that UW is a bit more diverse, student population wise.
Both have excellent academics, ROTC, and spectator sports, but the two are very different. You’ll have a more “normal” college experience if you attend UW - you’ll be a ROTC student living in a college town. At TAMU you’d essentially be a cadet. So it all depends whether your priority would be the military camaderie & spirit, or the experience of being a college student at one of the US’ great public flagships.
UW isn’t liberal in the way Berkeley is (and even Berkeley’s reputation rests more on what happened there 50 to 40 years ago!) - the university itself is balanced, since the state of Wisconsin has very conservative parts and very liberal parts. The town of Madison is a college town (ie., more liberal-leaning adults than elsewhere in the State on average for all college towns) and a liberal college town.
TAMU is known as one of the most conservative universities in the US. Its alumni are proud of that fact and proud of TAMU in general (their big rival is UT, in Austin). There’s a strong military culture, too. College Station is a bit in the middle of nowhere (fwiw, no, Austin isnt “nearby”, unless 2 hours driving time is “nearby” for you.)
As long as UW has a good ROTC program I have no problem going there. I was trying to go for a more “normal” college experience. If k wanted to be a cadet I would have put more effort in trying to go to an Academy, UW seems to be taking the cake this time. I’ll just hope and cross my fingers that I get accepted
Are you sure that Berkeley has a terrible ROTC program. Personally, I have my doubts. The ROTC programs are operated, funded and staffed by the military, not the university. About the only thing the university can do is offer better or worse facilities to the ROTC unit, or can offer (or deny) credit toward your degree for ROTC courses.
My observation is that ROTC units range from good to great. Never heard of a terrible one. The great ones have lots of extracurricular activities, including things like field trips and competitions with other schools. The basics of ROTC are going to be very similar at each college. The curriculum is almost identical, and the officers who teach will generally be of similar quality. ROTC duty is some of the best duty for an officer and relatively competitive to get assigned to teach at an ROTC unit.
In sum, I would not worry much about the ROTC program at UW.
By the way, if you went to TAMU you would be one of the few people from out of state. Texans make up literally 97% of students there. I doubt that being a military brat would impress them. :-?
I imagine they are all the same I just want the chance to do a lot of extra activities when I go to either college. I’m not trying to say that being a military brat is a thing to flounder to impress people. I mean that I want a school that has lots of people from all walks of life and from all different places.
Actually, I’d like to supply a correction: UW indeed was liberal in the manner of Berkeley (I’d say progressive is a more accurate descriptor), to the point that Madison is sometimes called the “Berkeley of the Midwest”. And this sobriquet is still used by some today, and not in the misinformed manner that one hears “it’s the Harvard of… [xyz].” Harvard is Harvard. Ain’t no other, for better or for worse. UW has its own, unique identity. It is not the choice for everybody, but it has indeed been known as a hub of progressive thought for the better part of a century – look up the activity in the 1960s and compare to Berkeley. Or UW’s history re: public policy.
That said, I also agree with posters above. It seems the UW student body overall has become more centrist in recent years. But that’s a difficult thing to measure; with such a large student population, rich academic and campus offerings, you’re bound to find people there of all sorts and stripes and political persuasions. I think that still bodes well, because one can find their niche, and find out more about themselves in the process.
Comparing UW to TAMU is like … goodness, I can’t even think of an analogy! Unless, as one poster recently asked about petroleum engineering, in which TAMU could have a slight advantage, I can’t personally see why one would choose this. UT-Austin, now that’s a world of difference, and quite similar in structure and offerings overall to UW. But TAMU is a place where, I believe, Rick Perry had trouble making the grade. If that suits you, go for it.
If not, well, UW is a superb place for many things. ROTC will still be strong, and offer a community among a campus and city of many communities, where you can pick and choose to your heart’s delight.
As long as it has the things that I want such as good CS program, good ROTC program, diverse student body, and great surrounding area. I am definitely leaning towards UW-Madison. I feel that it will better suit me, I just wish I had the ability to visit those two campuses!
To be concrete, I think you’re correct, dburns1. UW supports all four of your criteria. TAMU supports the first two, not so much the latter two. And on the first two, while TAMU may support more of a ROTC-centric atmosphere, UW arguably has a stronger CS department. If you were to take U.S. News rankings at face value – which I do not recommend, but may still offer some barometer of measurement – you’ve got UW at 11 for graduate, and TAMU at 40 right now.
By the way, don’t feel too bad about not being able to visit. It’s a luxury many students just don’t have, and you are not alone. I couldn’t visit all of my acceptances across the country years ago, and back then we didn’t have the great advantage of the internet, with its images, forums, etc. to supply this kind of advice. I still ended up half-way across the country, and I think the change was beneficial, in comparison to most of my friends who stayed on the same coast for college.
I am so glad that I can ask people about these schools. It has made my decision 1000 times easier and I feel better about my decision. If I didn’t have the Internet then I would have no idea where to go, or have the knowledge to make a good decision.