I was lucky enough to be accepted for Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and for the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. However, I’m having a really hard time choosing between the two. I’ve laid down my thoughts about the two colleges below- any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Cost: I get the reciprocity agreement because I live in MN. I did, however, get a $3,000/yr scholarship at UM- TC, but I don't think the cost is too big of an issue for my family.
Intended Major/Job Prospects: As of now, I am looking to go into investment banking/finance. Which school (and which major) will prepare me best for my goals? (This is where I hesitate a bit on Minnesota- I'm not sure if Carlson is the best choice for me as I don't forsee becoming an entrepreneur in the future. But then again, I've read that a business degree is very flexible. Ahh! I'm just not sure what to do.)
Location: Firstly, I'm concerned about the distance from home. At UM-TC, I would be able to easily visit my family on the weekends/in the evenings when I don't have class. Madison, on the other hand, is at least a 4-hour drive from home. I would really prefer to stay as close to home as possible, so this is where UM-TC wins. Secondly, I'm just curious about everyone's perspective on the college-town vs. city environment. I feel like the college-town atmosphere would help me be more productive just because the city has so many distractions :))
Student Body: To be honest, I'm not sure how Minnesota and Madison differ in terms of campus culture. I've been trying to do some research on my own, but most of the threads I find basically say that Madison = parttiiiiiiies and Minnesota is more chill. Are there any other significant differences and is the Madison = alcohol + partiiiiiies really true? (I don't really want to have to drink alcohol at all in college.)
I would greatly appreciate any advice!
P.S. I may be accepted to Madison’s Honors program- I should be hearing back in a few days. Would being accepted into the Honors program at Madison change things?
Congrats on the acceptances. Carlson offers a finance track…it is a very good “school within a school”. I think it’s a no brainer to go there over Econ in Madison. I would say that the schools are more similar than different, but Wisconsin does have the party rep.
The tie ins with the very healthy business community in the Twin cities from Carlson are there if you want them. Internships, jobs, etc..
S1 is like you. Doesn’t want to drink in college. I pushed him to apply to Wisconsin as well as U of M, but he simply didn’t want to feel “left out” when the hard partying started, so he didn’t apply.
Yes, the Honors acceptance would change things somewhat, but I would think for what you are interested in (Finance) Carlson would be a good fit.
Sounds like you would prefer a business degree over an Econ degree for investment banking. A difference is that Econ is a liberal arts degree and you could take a wider range of electives.
@57special Thanks for the advice! It was thanks to you that I (who had almost decided to commit to Madison) decided to do some more research
I originally believed that an Econ major was the best way to ‘break’ into banking/IB, but I was totally wrong. Finance is my best shot + prepares me much better for banking, so I’ve pretty much decided on going to the University of Minnesota and majoring in Finance at the Carlson school.
I completely agree on the drinking issue- even though I wouldn’t participate even if I were to go to Madison, I would definitely have more fun in college if most of the social events didn’t revolve around drinking/partying.
I still haven’t heard back from Wisconsin’s Honors Program (which is a bit weird considering I turned in my application sometime back in early Feb.), but I agree, I don’t think it makes much of a difference.
@barrons That’s true as well. I’ve been doing a lot of research, and most people are saying Wisconsin has much stronger placement for investment banks, and that they send a lot of people to Chicago and even a few to New York/Wall Street. On the other hand, Minnesota does not seem to enjoy the same level of popularity among non-Minnesotan investment banks.
I actually have to say that I’ve been swayed the other way xD I’m really thinking I am going to choose Madison. Another thing is that even if Finance doesn’t work out for me, I could jump ship and maybe major in Computer Science (not sure if that’s even possible but haha) or another major- Wisconsin is generally a stronger school than Minnesota (at least according to what I’ve heard).
Also, after calling the Wisconsin office to see if I was accepted into the Honors program, I was lucky enough to open a letter yesterday that told me I was accepted into the Honors program!
Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed- you’ve all helped me a lot in deciding! I really appreciate so much!
