<p>Thanks, Hillary. I may PM you, but are you in Honors? What is your major?</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>It is a tough call as far as academics are concerned. Both are great schools, and I'm sure he would be intellectually stimulated at either one. People here on the CC board tend to disagree about the whole "rankings" factor-for instance, there was a topic a few days ago that asked for help choosing between UGA and UNC-CH. Many people recommended attending UGA, even though it was ranked lower than UNC-CH, while I pushed for UNC. Likewise, many here (including myself) would choose Georgia over UW, even though UW may be perceived as more prestigious. In a case like this, I would say put the "rankings" aside and go with what feels better.</p>
<p>As far as grad schools are concerned, the schools really aren't going to care which of the two schools your son goes to. The main thing they are concerned with is GPA and test (GRE/LSAT/MCAT) scores. Wisconsin may be a bit more prestigious, but prestige doesn't come into play as much as the other two factors when grad school admissions are concerned. </p>
<p>I'm currently a student at UNC-Ch, and while I absolutely love my school, with hindsight I might have chosen to attend an "easier" and less "prestigious" school (like U South Carolina or even UGA) with the hopes of earning a better undergraduate GPA which will matter more when it comes to grad school admissions. I can say without too much doubt that the work I have put in to get a 3.4 here probably would have gotten me a higher GPA at other schools, though perhaps not UGA. Anyways, I hate to ramble, but keep that in mind when advising your son about his decision.</p>
<p>Yes, I am in Honors, though I only take two honors classes a semester (out of five) - I'm majoring in classics.</p>
<p>U Wisconsin may be one of the most underrated schools in the country. This should be a no-brainer!</p>
<p>I have to say I agree with nyccard. Fulbrights, Guggenheims, research dollars, prestigious graduate school, enormous resources, national student body - Wisconsin wins hands down. But, ultimately it comes down to what's right for the student so UGA may be a better "fit." </p>
<p>Never been to Athens so can't say much. But, based on your son's interests he sounds a lot like the kids with whom I attended: smart, into ideas with a diversity of interests. For example I wasn't a science kid at all, but with the social sciences and the sciences so good at Madison I was blown away by the combination of both with classes in the:</p>
<p>History of Science Dept History</a> of Science @ University of Wisconsin | Home Page</p>
<p>and the </p>
<p>Integrated Liberal Studies Depts. ILS</a> .: Integrated Liberal Studies </p>
<p>Check them out if you haven't already.</p>
<p>Also sounds like the Jewish community may matter so keep in mind Madison has one of the largest on a college campus (about 5k kids) and it's a diverse group: religious, secular, Israel advocates or not. Hillel will reopen this fall in a ginormous, brand spanking new, facility. </p>
<p>I am still tight with many of my roommates and friends from Madison and we still discuss ideas like we did in our crappy apartments when we took theory from the classroom and practiced on each other. </p>
<p>Also, I think the weather is much easier for kids than us old folks. Many students embrace the seasons: Fall is georgeous with crisp weather and the first parties of the year and sports, Winter brings ice skating on the lake (watch out for the Minnesota kids they were born ice skating) and there is nothing like that first warm spring day on Bascom Hill or the Union Terrace. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Sorry, but I have to interject:</p>
<p>UGA is a scholarship powerhouse, especially for Rhodes. I bet it goes head-to-head with Wisconsin when it comes to the big-name scholarships.</p>
<p>Stooge was referring to awards to faculty where UW is always in the very top group. Faculty typically receive in the range of 40-50 of these a year. UGA--5-10. UW also has over 70 NAS members, UGA 9. Same for total research gramts received-not even close. One is a major academic heavyweight--the other a lightweight.</p>
<p>Oh, well I was referring to students, not faculty.</p>
<p>Top pick would be University of Wisconsin- Madison</p>
<p>Folks:</p>
<p>It is not 1968. UW-Madison (also know as the Wisconsin Institute of Science, Engineering, Business, Medicine, and Law) is not the liberal school that people believe it to be unless of course you think that amorphous support for the Democratic party makes one a liberal. There is virtually no activism on campus unless it involves any threat from the university administration or city or county politicians to the students ability to drink themselves, like their parents, into oblivion. The little real activism on campus involves conservative students as much as liberal students. The two campus newspapers newspapers range from middle of the road to moderate conservative. The faculty is politically unsophisticated, lacks the ability to think strategically, and is more concerned with their own prerogatives then anything else. The State of Wisconsin is, except for the south central area and Milwaukee, very, very conservative, more Joe McCarthy than La Follette.</p>
<p>The state has pretty much abandoned the University in terms of real financial support. If it wasn't for the Feds, private donors, and WARF, UW-Madison would be UW-Rock County.</p>
<p>About the weather--</p>
<p>Let's not make any mistake about it--the last two years the weather has been awful, abusive, especially while the students are in town. Cold, snowy, icy, flooding. It is not for the faint of heart. Unless you are a fan of womens ice hockey or men's cross country the sport's scene hasn't been too hot lately either. And by the way, if your out of state expect Biddy's new plan to soak you on tuition.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who took the time to share - all valuable. DS read all the posts on both threads last night and seemed to appreciate the additional input. We are all still processing everything (visits, comments, school info, etc...), but he hopes to make a choice within the next week or so. :-)</p>
<p>Wow, Lake Mendota, just read your post. I certainly appreciate your straightforward responses and agree that I am concerned with the big supplement just put out on tuition for the next 4 years (it is steep, especially for out-of-staters, and made me gulp!). I really do want all perspectives/opinions in this thread. However, these are your only 2 posts and your comments are quite strong - do you have any positive observations or comments to balance your obvious distaste for UW? Are you disgruntled in some personal way with the university or is there some big general problem/red flag that we should know about?
Thanks</p>
<p>Ahhhh...regarding SEC basketball. The 2006/2007 back-to-back national champions came from the SEC. As usual, the SEC is under-estimated and under-appreciated.</p>
<p>Late spring and summer and early fall (there is really only early fall, late fall is cold) are very nice. The view from Bascom Hill is wonderful. If you are interested in the sciences and engineering it's a great place to be. </p>
<p>Despite a few nice buildings, UW-Madison is not a beautiful campus. The architecture is mostly pedestrian and often buildings, some in yellow brick, others in red brick, conflict with each other. And then we have the brutalist monster, the Mosse Humanities Building.</p>
<p>I do like many of the people at the university and in town. They are warm and welcoming. The students are generally polite although many of them drink much too much as do many of the people in this state. Take a look at the recent statistics on snowmobiling deaths related to alcohol. Do read the "Shoutouts" in the Badger Herald to get a feeling for the real student life at this University. The "Anti-Shoutouts" are especially instructive.</p>
<p>The UW still receives nearly $500 MILLION annually from the state. That is $175 Million more than U Michigan gets from their state. It is $350 Million more than UVa gets from Virginia. It is a very good base to build upon. The other sources just make the UW move from good to excellent. All state schools have faces challenges as state funding becomes static. The UW has been able to move swiftly and strongly by securing the most research funding of any state university, by being in the Top 10 in private fundraising of all schools public and private, by securing public and private funding to build new state of the art science and engineering facilities to continue to maintain and attract the best faculty possible and keep the research money flowing ( 40% of which goes to support the general operations), and now they are focusing on building a state of the art complex for the various performing arts. Hardly a static or moribund institution. I could go on about the new spirit of volunteerism on campus that has replaced often pointless "protests" with actual work to improve life for real people.
As to the campus, I don't know of another that has the miles of lakefront put to good use with paths and buildings set to take advantage of the views and lots of green space left preserved to enjoy as a park withing the campus. The views from Picnic Point are stunning. Better than any stone or bricks and morter and any other school.
And I believe the entire Midwest and East Coast have had roughly the same weather. The Fall was delightful and now Spring is coming quickly. It was in the 60's and 70's last week. I have yet to snowmobiles zooming across the campus unless it was the champion UW Engineering snowmobile design project where students deisgn and build new green snowmobiles and compete with other schools for the best designs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/16431%5B/url%5D">http://www.news.wisc.edu/16431</a></p>
<p>Wisconsin see my other posts for why if you want. :-)</p>
<p>How much is UGA getting from the State? It certainly can't rely on its endowment with merely $619 millions.</p>
<p>Just wanted to provide an update to this thread. Decision became a little tougher after he was accepted to Wake Forest. Still, after much consideration, son has chosen U of Wisconsin-Madison. Thanks for all the valuable input! There is certainly no one perfect place, and he really believes he would have been happy and successful at any of these three fine schools (really pleased to have had such great choices).</p>
<p>Congrats. Feel free to PM me with any questions.</p>