<p>I'm an international student and have been accepted by both UW-madison and UMN. I major in statistics or mathematics(maybe i will minor in economics in the future). I got accepted by UMN's honors program, and it offers me $6000 scholarship. it's a really hard decision to make, b/c wisconsin has a better reputation while UMN is really cheap for international students. </p>
<p>in fact, money isn't really a big matter for me. i'm just not sure if that $14000 tuition difference between UMN and madison really worth it. i've read a lot of threads here about these two schools, but i just cant make the decision.</p>
<p>if you could provide any ideas, i would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>If $56,000 is not a significant issue for you, then it would be Wisconsin. If that sum is meaningful, then you can rest assured that Minnesota is also a well-respected university.</p>
<p>But, honestly why don’t you go by what school you feel is a better fit for you? Often times between these two schools it’s going to come down to whether you’d prefer a city with a college inside of it or a “collegetown” where the city wraps around the school. The reputation, prestige or whatever else you have yourself wrapped around isn’t discrete enough in this case to choose one school strictly on that.</p>
<p>In my view,Wisconsin is not $56,000 better. As gadad has mentioned, Minnesota is a well-respected institution. Also, in the OP’s intended fields of study, departmental quality is essentially the same.</p>
<p>Here’s how U.S. News ranks the grad programs in the fields you mention:</p>
<p>MATH:
Wisconsin #16
Minnesota #18</p>
<p>STATISTICS:
Wisconsin #12
Minnesota #17</p>
<p>ECONOMICS:
Minnesota #10
Wisconsin #14</p>
<p>In my opinion these schools are so evenly matched in these fields that it would be foolish to throw away $56,000 to attend the more costly one. The Wisconsin brand is a bit stronger overall, but Minnesota is a highly respected institution and you won’t be losing anything in the actual quality of your education; in fact, entering in the Honors Program at Minnesota probably gives it an overall academic edge as you’ll be taking small classes from top professors from the very beginning. </p>
<p>There are some intangibles that might favor Wisconsin for some students: it’s in one of the the all-time great college towns, with more of a traditional college-town atmosphere, though some students, particularly internationals, might prefer the big-city feel of the Twin Cities. Wisconsin also has better sports teams these days and a great college sports atmosphere, while Minnesota’s football and basketball programs—and lately even hockey—have been down in the dumps. But again, that’s often not a big concern to international students.</p>
<p>As both a Badger and a Gopher alum, I’d have to agree with bclinktok’s observations. In general I believe UW provides the superior undergraduate experience but not $56K worth of it. If the extra cost really is of little concern to you, take $20K or so of the difference and lease a car for a few years to ease your transportation needs and see more of the country. That could add value to your education, too.</p>
<p>@ Coolbrezze and liu02bhs
thanks for replying! I have to admit that Wisconsin has a little bit advantage over Minnesota, but I am wondering if this little advantage worth I using $16000 to trade… (I know I should not to use money to measure the education) :-P</p>
<p>Hello jotajota218,
thanks for replying! the thing is I cannot go to these two campuses and “feel” the schools like most local students do because I am currently in asia. The only way i could use to get to know about these two schools is to use google and collegeconfidential…:-D</p>
<p>thanks for your useful information! in fact, i grew up in a big city and i would love to live in an urban area. Just like what you said, I (or international students) don’t really concern about the local sports team blah blah blah or something like that, and the grad school rankings of my majors are essentially the same… so it would be foolish to spend $16000 more to get the same quality education.</p>
<p>actually it’s the people around me who got accepted by UMN(or already in UMN) that make me hesitate… Some of them know nothing about college admissions and they even make other people write their essays and apply on the behalf of them. (i think this is cheat…) there is one guy i know who went to the UMN last year, and he even make his friend help him finish the online placement tests…</p>
<p>I feel so sad when I see they can get what I want very easily(college admissions) while i have been working so hard to achieve the same things.</p>
<p>"I feel so sad when I see they can get what I want very easily(college admissions) while i have been working so hard to achieve the same things. "</p>
<p>In this case, you shouldn’t have applied to any public universities in the first place. When you come here, you’ll see that the in-staters arent as smart as the internationals and out-staters. This is because it’s also much easier for in-staters to get into their state universities. The only exception to this is probably UC Berkeley because they have plenty of good students in California.</p>
<p>Bunk. If you attend the University of Minnesota you’ll be in the Honors Program. Your classmates will be the best of the best: out-of-state, international, and in-state alike. Don’t listen to such blind, uninformed prejudice against public higher education.</p>
<p>Which university is better known in your country? That may be important when you are looking for internships or jobs. On the other hand, this may not matter if you plan to go to graduate school.</p>
<p>
This may change after you’ve been here for a year or so.</p>
<p>thanks for replying this thread. in fact, I do have a plan for pursuing further education after college. Maybe I will work for one or two years as an intern after graduation to gain some experience and then apply for grad school.(you know how hard it is to get a H1B work visa…) However, I would love to stay and work in the US in the future, it doesn’t matter how people in my country see my education…</p>
<p>haha, I am not really a sports guy… so… :-D</p>
<p>thanks again for following up on this thread! anyways, i have decided to go to the UMN instead of the UW-Madison. I can only “feel” the school when I am actually in there. If i don’t like the school, I can always work hard and transfer to another school.</p>
<p>Different people have different opinions towards public education… i think it’s no big deal. :-)</p>
<p>@rjkofnovi
HAHA, how come you know that i have been accepted by UI. UI is a good school for accounting, engineering, and computer science… BUT I really don’t want to spend four years in a place surrounded by a large field of corn… :-D</p>