<p>OK, it's decision time. Our D is ready to make a decision and is in the process of conducting more thorough campus visits. The three choices are (poli sci and english dual major):</p>
<p>Miami University - Oxford: accepted into Academic Scholars Program with $22K p/yr scholarship (at least)
Indiana U: accepted into Hutton Honor College with at least $11K p/yr scholarship
UW - Madison: still waiting to hear on any scholarships and honor designation</p>
<p>So, can anyone with experience in these schools help weigh our choices? We are interested in hearing about program strength and experience of academic honors programs, but we are also very interested in hearing about school culture and internship experiences. Any feedback would be helpful!</p>
<p>Do not count on any merit aid from UW. They don’t need to entice good students by giving them money. Finances may determine where your D decides to go. If affordable I certainly would rank UW highest. Climate also makes a huge difference, as does the culture of the surrounding area.</p>
<p>The UW Honors program is great. It is not a “college” so students can choose live wherever they choose- Honors students are just as diverse as the rest of the student body. There are purely Honors courses, Honors sections of courses and the ability to make arrangements to take other courses for Honors credit. There are no junky Honors survey courses like I’ve seen on other schools’ websites. Math, Chemistry and Physics have some excellent sequences freshmen can start. The Biocore sequence requires Organic Chemistry so a biological sciences major choosing that would need to wait. ILS (Integrated Liberal Studies) also offer Honors sections I believe. There are many other Honors options at all levels- they are not just freshman/sophomore courses. To get the Honors degree in L&S (some other schools/colleges have their own versions) either a senior Honors thesis (research) for two semesters is required, or some grad level courses (a math major might choose this route). In Chemistry some lab coursework may be done in grad labs for the Honors part. Some courses may get the professor instead of a TA for the discussion group. Some require extra papers. The peer group in Honors classes will be those who could do well at elite colleges.</p>
<p>School culture. Of course, this is the UW site and we are biased. UW has been known as a party school but that is not at all the case for many. Even those who party need to study hard first. The Greek system may be important to its members but it has no influence on the rest of campus and has only a small fraction of students involved. There will be a huge diversity of opinions so while UW is liberal a conservative can find their niche. UW is a great place to be a Poli Sci major- for the courses and any activism.</p>
<p>Beautiful campus. Students mainly from Wisconsin and Minnesota (tuition reciprocity) but plenty from Illinois and the east coast for learning about people from elsewhere.</p>
<p>I have moved from Wis to Florida (not Miami). The weather can be equally brutal with heat and humidity compared to winter up north. Miami (the city) has a huge Cuban influence. You are also comparing public to private. Indiana- lived there a few years, visited very often. Bloomington is a small college town. UW dominates the larger city of Madison (also home of the state government- proud to say my son did his share of the Capitol protests a few years ago when Walker did things to public unions).</p>