<p>I am a mother of a senior who has been waitlisted at many colleges and has been accepted to Tulane, Marquette and the UW-Madison Connections program. I am a graduate of UW-Madison with a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I have lived and worked in Madison for almost 16 years - at both UW-Madison and UW-Extension. Through my job at UWEX, I have been active at the UW-System level and have had the pleasure of working with many extraordinary colleagues at every UW-System campus. These colleagues are, like me, very committed to the improvement of student learning through more effective teaching methods and integrating technology into the learning process. So, I have seen proof that wonderful learning experiences are to be had at each and every UW-System campus.</p>
<p>That said, my son's stated preference is UW-Madison, so we've been exploring the options available to him as a Connections student. This is what we've learned: </p>
<p>UW-Madison Connections program is offered to in-state students who qualify for admission, but are not at the very top of the admissions pool that year. In my son's case, he had a 70% chance of admittance according to the UW-Madison admissions grid. These students are duel-enrolled at their choice of one of the 2-year UW-Colleges, Madison Area Technical College, Milwaukee Area Technical Colleges, Nicolet Area Technical Colleges, College of the Menomonie Nation and, new this year, UW-Green Bay. According to the dean I spoke with recently, more 4-year UW-System campuses will be joining the program next year. IMO, the significant advantages to the Connections program vs. other transfer opps is that the Connections student has a UW-madison advisor and access to all of the perks of student life at Madison, just not the large lecture hall Gen Ed classes. After 54 credits and a 2.0 GPA, the connections student can transfer to Madison with Junior status. Here is the link to the Connections Program: UW-Madison</a> Connections Program </p>
<p>My son is exploring the MATC option after visiting UWGB and not feeling the "fit." I was concerned about MATC being like year 13 of high school and that MATC doesn't even offer some classes at the level my son would need (specifically languages and higher level mathematics), the Connections dean said that she would help him enroll as a Special Student in UW-Madison for those classes, so my academic concerns are addressed. My other concern is social and thanks to other postings on this forum, the idea of living in the private dorms is a possibility. When I spoke with the Dean, she mentioned that about 1/2 of the Connections students go to MATC and about 1/2 of them live in the private dorms. Here is a link to a Connections student's reflective letter to the editor of the Wisconsin State Journal: WISCONSIN</a> STATE JOURNAL </p>
<p>Other transfer options that have been mentioned on this forum include going to MATC/tech colleges or one of UW-Colleges in their liberal arts transfer program. While similar to the Connections program, the big differences in the guaranteed transfer program are no UW-Madison ID/adviser and you need at least a 2.6 GPA to transfer. here is a link to the Guarenteed Transfer program: UW</a> Colleges Guaranteed Transfer to UW-Madison and MATC's Liberal Arts transfer program: MATC</a> Bachelor's Degree Completion Options .</p>
<p>Also it has been suggested that it might be best to go to one of the other 13 UW-Systems campuses and apply for transfer. Of course, I agree that this is a great option because, as stated above, there are learning and social opportunities on every campus. The big downside is that there is no guaranteed acceptance at UW-Madison. You'll need to apply with all the other transfer students. Of course, you could also find that the campus you start as a freshman could be a great fit and decide to stay and graduate from there.</p>
<p>So, no final decision made yet at our house - but thought I'd share what we've learned so far for those who may be in the same boat.</p>