Which one is a better option for an international student in terms of overall prestige, research, and social life. I’ve been admitted to both for mechanical engineering (bachelors)
Are you instate for either one?
What are your parents saying about paying for the OOS costs?
I’m an international student, both would roughly cost the same.
Have you visited either campus? Having lived near Madison WI, you may find more of an international support/network there. Purdue has perhaps an edge on engineering reputation, but if you are less comfortable there as a student, is it worth that? Do you know anyone at either? What do your parents say?
Madison, WI is considered one of the great college towns in the U.S. – it is a small city, the capital of the State, with big sports (football, basketball, hockey) and a vibrant restaurant scene right by campus (State St.) There is both nature – campus overlooks Lake Mendota, with sailing (and pond hockey in the winter), plus nature trails, on one side of campus and a busy urban area on the Capital/State St. side of campus. Transportation to Chicago Ohare airport is easy – Van Galder bus runs a coach bus service from campus to O’hare every day, throughout the day. It is about a 2 hour drive by car, longer by bus.
West Lafayette is not known as a great college town, and an international student would fly in and out of Indianapolis airport, which may not have as good connections. Purdue has excellent engineering, including mechanical.
Winters will be cold in both locations, though colder, longer, in Madison.
Both great options, congrats!
For Purdue, you are in First Year Engineering. To declare your major (other than BME), you need a 3.2 technical and overall GPA for automatic admission; otherwise, you compete with others by technical and overall GPA for admission to the major.
https://www.purdue.edu/futureengineers/What%20To%20Know/Applying%20Info/Transition%20to%20Major.html
Wisconsin directly admits to engineering majors, but imposes progression requirements to weed students out. Recent GPA requirements for ME were 3.2 technical and 3.0 overall.
UWi has better campus, but I think Purdue may have a larger percentage of international students.
Stats for both schools:
Purdue:
Ethnicity of Students from U.S.
0.1% American Indian/Alaskan Native
7.7% Asian
3.6% Black/African-American
5.3% Hispanic/Latino
2.7% Multi-race (not Hispanic/Latino)
0.1% Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander
77.7% White
2.7% Unknown
International Students 17.7% from 89 countries
Wisconsin:
Ethnicity of Students from U.S.
0.2% American Indian/Alaskan Native
6.0% Asian
2.3% Black/African-American
5.2% Hispanic/Latino
3.2% Multi-race (not Hispanic/Latino)
0.1% Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander
82.7% White
0.3% Unknown
International Students 7.4% from 108 countries
Between the two, I would go with UW-Madison.
My only concern is that by few metrics Purdue has been ranked quite higher in terms of mechanical engineering (QS or even US news) whereas it’s a fact that Madison has an edge in terms of connections, social life and maybe overall ranking. I’ve gotten into the Honors program at Purdue if that matters. I’m just confused at which factor I shall emphasise more on as an international student looking to work in the states.
Both are excellent schools. Purdue is known for a being a big school that has a smaller feel. You may feel a bit stronger collaboration environment there. My junior in high school recently toured both. He is looking for an urban environment and while West Lafayette does not quite compare to Madison he still liked it very much. In fact of all the schools he has visited so far (across the country) he feels most comfortable here. It’s quite possible there is transportation to O’hare (Chicago airport) from Purdue - I would check into it. I know many Illinois students attend Purdue so definitely there will be some kind of convenient bus option to the Chicago area.
Purdue is more of a science and tech school with a higher male to female ratio. UW-Madison would provide for a greater diversity of learning areas and thus students. Both of have great school spirit. Madison will have a bit of a longer and colder winter (not a significantly large difference in my opinion).
They really are both excellent choices – there is no “wrong” or “bad” choice here. Other than the differences I noted above, the things I can think of are:
Purdue is known as tops in engineering, so being in the Honors program in Engineering puts you in the best of the best, you are among the most respected students, with great opportunities on campus. That might be attractive to you. UW is well known for all kinds of programs, not just engineering, so being an engineering student at UW might feel less “special” than an Honors Engineering student at Purdue.
UW has a reputation as a “work hard, play hard” kind of school, whereas Purdue seems more serious overall. But those are broad generalities, a student can have plenty of fun at Purdue and can have an intense academic experience at UW. We know a few Honors Engineering students at Purdue (we are from Indiana), and they have had phenomenal experience, getting good paid internships around the country after their freshman summer, and plenty of full time job opportunities. Then again, my UW son’s engineering friends have all had plenty of job options too.
If it were my student deciding, I would focus on the specific department, the requirements for the major, benefits of Honors etc. Good luck!