<p>lol rjkofnovi I know UMich is a great school, it might even be the best in the Big Ten. But that doesnt automatically make me want to go there (if I get in). I’ve just visited Madison many times and everytime I think of a perfect college I just think of it, its such a cool campus and school. UMich is prob like my second or third choice.</p>
<p>^^^That’s cool. Madison is a nice town too. Perhaps you should visit Ann Arbor if you haven’t? Also check out the U-M threads in the “CC Top Universities” section. :-)</p>
<p>have you considered UIllinois?</p>
<p>He said cool campus and school. Not dull school in cornfields.</p>
<p>I’m a big Madison fan in general, but it seems to fit your criteria very well too. I don’t have a lot of experience with other schools, but it really is such a fun, lively, exciting campus. There’s always a million things going on, and you really can’t go wrong there. Especially if you’re going into biology and considering med/grad school, its probably one of your best options.</p>
<p>Given your schools and your criteria…</p>
<p>Best fits:</p>
<p>Wisconsin
Michigan
Texas
Carolina</p>
<p>Madison, Ann Arbor and Austin are the among the best college towns anywhere, that’s not to say Chapel hill isn’t nice, but it’s a notch below the first three “college town” wise.</p>
<p>Notre Dame - great school, great college sports, South Bend is awful
Northwestern - great school, OK sports atmosphere, Evanston nice, Chicago 30 min away
Purdue - This is an outlier given your interests, I think Indiana - Bloomington is a better fit given the criteria
Yale - great school, Ivy “sports”, no college town
TAMU - Know nothing about it</p>
<p>You’ve done your research, and you’re leaning towards Madison. It’s a fabulous school, great faculty, wonderful sports atmosphere, and even a relative bargain tuition wise. Seems like you’ve found your perfect school. (Says the parent whose kid is going back for a masters after a great four years).</p>
<p>According to Forbes, best “college sports” towns-</p>
<ol>
<li>Ann Arbor, Mich.</li>
<li>Chapel Hill, NC.</li>
<li>Austin, Texas</li>
</ol>
<p>None of the other schools you are considering were listed, although this is just one ranking so I’d take it for what its worth.</p>
<p>[In</a> Depth: Top College Sports Towns - 10. State College, Pa., Penn State University - Forbes.com](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/05/college-sports-towns-lifestyle-sports-college-towns_slide_2.html]In”>http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/05/college-sports-towns-lifestyle-sports-college-towns_slide_2.html)</p>
<p>As much as I like that A2 is at the top of Forbes list, any ranking that has U-Maryland College Park in the top ten is not to be believed. Once again, Forbes is a publication not to be taken seriously. Madison is easily a top ten college town.</p>
<p>Best college sports towns by an actual sports magazine.</p>
<p>[SI.com</a> - SI on Campus - Best College Sports Towns - Thursday September 11, 2003 10:59AM](<a href=“http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/sioncampus/09/10/top_ten0916/]SI.com”>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/sioncampus/09/10/top_ten0916/)</p>
<p>^^^Any list that doesn’t include A2 in it as a top ten college sports town is also not to be trusted…Then again I see you had to dig back seven years to find one that did! ;-)</p>
<p>Barrons, Ann Arbor should be among the top 5. What the SI says about Madison can just as easily be said of Ann Arbor. Michigan has the largest football stadium and one of the most active Ice Hockey programs. University Park, PA should also make the top 10. Bloomington, Boulder, Eugene and Syracuse don’t belong in the top 10 in my opinion.</p>
<p>Sports Illustrated is a national publication that has to hit each corner of the country. Notice where the schools were located.</p>
<p>The SI list doesn’t include Chapel Hill either, so I join rjk in calling bull. :)</p>
<p>I meant no ill will to UM. But the national media has really bought into the whole Madison game day experience thing. The pre-gaming, the jump around, and then post game on State Street. They all seem to find it pretty unique, crazy and fun. ESPN was talking about it the other night on their football outlook show.</p>
<p>More recent stuff.</p>
<p><a href=“Hodges posts 63 for one-shot lead in 3M Open, Thomas 6 back - ESPN”>http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=4899366</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.uwtke.com/bestcollegesportstown.php[/url]”>http://www.uwtke.com/bestcollegesportstown.php</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://bleacherreport.com/articles/367553-the-10-best-pre-game-and-tailgating-experiences-in-college-football#page/11[/url]”>http://bleacherreport.com/articles/367553-the-10-best-pre-game-and-tailgating-experiences-in-college-football#page/11</a></p>
<p>BTW, new B10 alignment</p>
<p><a href=“Hodges posts 63 for one-shot lead in 3M Open, Thomas 6 back - ESPN”>http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5519832</a></p>
<p>Yea I like how Madison is a great sports town. Its too bad we dont get hockey too much down here in the South. My parents also said we could visit Michigan if I got in there early action. I definitely want to see Ann Arbor too, to compare to Madison. UNC also seems like an awesome sports town (visited this summer). Any similarities, differences I should know of? I mean between UMich and Madison?</p>
<p>If you think you’ll be traveling to Chicago for Thanksgiving, then the drive from Madison is much nicer than the drive from Ann Arbor. Madison is a great city. Great flights out of Milwaukee are nearby.</p>
<p>I think your instinct is good - go to school somewhere in the Midwest.</p>
<p>A UMich alum swore to me that her school is stronger than Wisconsin academically, but I’m not sure that the difference is significant except perhaps in a couple of specific programs. Michigan is definitely more expensive. The opportunities on campus and in the city of Madison are amazing (I’m not familiar with Ann Arbor). UW sounds like a great fit for you.</p>
<p>“If you think you’ll be traveling to Chicago for Thanksgiving, then the drive from Madison is much nicer than the drive from Ann Arbor. Madison is a great city. Great flights out of Milwaukee are nearby.”</p>
<p>Madison is a bit closer to Chicago than Ann Arbor, but it’s no treat to drive into the city of Chicago from any direction. Amtrak service is also in town to get you to Union Station. Ann Arbor is also much, much closer to a major airport with flights everywhere.</p>
<p>They run a bus many times a day from Ohare right to the UW Union so you have very easy access from the busiest airport in the northern US–or you can connect right to Madison and the extra costs are much less than they used to be.</p>