<p>We live on the west coast and my son fell in love with both Univ Wisconsin Madison and Univ Washington in Seattle based on campus visits. He's admitted to both now. We know Washington better due to proximity. Any one have familiarity with both who can share their thoughts regarding the contrasts between the two schools (other than the obvious winter issue in Wisconsin!)?</p>
<p>It depends a lot on what his interests are. Seattle is obviously a much larger city than Madison, and offers much, much more in terms of internships and practical training. If success in the field he wants to go into is dependent on substantial internship experience he ought to pick UW over Madison. Is he a city boy? Location should not be a top consideration for choosing a school, but it is an often over-looked one. He will live there for four years, he should not hate the locale where he lives. For example, D would be bored out of her mind in Madison. Can he stand the rain? The freakin' gray overcast skies that hang 3 feet above your forehead for at least 6 months of the year? There is a reason WA and OR are tops nationally in suicides per capita... :-)</p>
<p>I have not looked carefully into Wisconsin, I know the have good science departments, somehow it is my impression that UW is a bit more liberal-arts oriented, but I could be wrong. If he does not know what he wants to study, all other things being equal he should go to a school that puts more emphasis on the liberal arts cirriculum, as opposed to professional training.</p>
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There is a reason WA and OR are tops nationally in suicides per capita... :-)
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That's just a myth, an urban legend.</p>
<p>I've always thought these two schools were quite similar, actually. I've not seen Madison, but I've heard it is a very nice college town. And not knowing what your son is interested in studying (as if he won't change his mind a few times..), I also think both schools provide strength in academics pretty much across the board. Both are also very underrated and underpriced (thankfully) compared to comparable but better known large state U's. I do think Seattle is a hard city to beat for overall quality of life--the access to big time sports, music, restaurant choices, water, beauty....it's just a great place for young adults. Another small consideration is travel. We are west coast also, (with 1 D on east coast) and flying kids to and from school at the UW sure beats dealing with all the planning involved getting kids in different time zones with connecting flights to and from school. Does Madison have a large airport nearby?
Both are great schools--it's a win/win.</p>
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<p>Well, perhaps "tops" was the wrong word, but they certainly deserve an honorable mention:</p>
<p>I have lived in OR for 10 years, and I still cannot get used to the dreary winters and the low clouds.</p>
<p>Anyone who commits suicide because of the weather is pathetic.</p>
<p>Having lived in Seattle my whole life and taken several suicide classes, GroovyGeek, I can assure you that is completely wrong and what is referred to around the grief community/suicide community as the "Seattle Myth".</p>
<p>There is no correlation between the weather here and suicide rates. There are several other places in the country where it rains more (it really doesn't rain that often, there's plenty of sunshine), so if this were the case I'd expect that those places would be swimming in self-homicide. Just because you've lived in Oregon for ten years and "can't get used to the low clouds" doesn't mean it's a superstitiously unhappy place to live.</p>