I was accepted to both of these schools and am having a hard time choosing. I am from Wisconsin, with many family members that went to UW Madison, so I am very familiar with it. I really love it there; I love state street, the sports, and the atmosphere. I also like the campus and dorms better than UMN. I would need to apply to Madison’s business school at the end of my freshman year, but I am confident that with hard work and a lot of studying I would be accepted. However, I am already accepted to the Carlson School of Management at Minnesota. I have visited it a few times, for a tour and an event they held, and I really like it. I love the atmosphere and family feeling they have at the school. There are 18 fortune 500 companies in the Twin Cities, and recruiters are always coming in and out of Carlson, so I feel that the opportunities are very good when it comes to getting a job or an internship. UW Madison is ranked higher for business (especially for Marketing, it’s 9th in the nation, and that’s what I think I will go into), but I feel that Carlson has better opportunities. I also got a $2,000 dollar scholarship for UMN, but that isn’t enough to sway my decision. I haven’t heard back from Madison about financial aid or scholarships. The other thing is, I eventually would like to live out on the east coast, Washington, or Oregon, so I want a school that has more opportunities to make connections and get interviews out there. I am worried that I will be stuck working in the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, or Chicago, which would be fine to start out with, but I do want to eventually to try living somewhere else. So basically, I like Madison as a college more overall, but I like the business school at Minnesota more. I can picture myself going to either school and having a wonderful time, which is what makes this so hard. I’m sure others have this same problem and I would love to hear about people’s experiences at each business school.
Have you visited and done an overnight, talked with students, with professors?
I have visited each and stayed overnight at Madison with one of my friends. I have also gone to an admitted student event at Carlson. I just fell in love with both campuses and could picture myself at either of them
Any difference in costs?
Are you in the Honors College at either - and if not, how difficult would it be for you to join after your first semester?
Ask admissions to put you in contact with a student who does your major so that can compare their experience?
I’d tend to favor the “college town” though, because the best time to enjoyr a college town is when you’re in college… you have your whole life to enjoy a big city.
No main difference in the costs. No I’m not in either honors program. I could have applied for honors at Madison but I didn’t have enough interest in it…Thanks for the advice!
Carlson is a better program in business than Madison.
UMinn feels more like it is in a college town than you would think. Between Stadium Village and Dinkytown, you are never really in Mpls. or St. Paul.
Mad City is a mess. Go to Minnesota.
Caveat. If you are going for sports teams versus academics, choose Bucky.
I’m glad to hear that it feels like a college town, because that’s what I want! I’m also happy someone else sees the appeal of Carlson