Hey there, I already posted this on the U Mich board but I wanted to get opinions from both sides.
I got accepted into UW-Madison and U Mich for chemical engineering as a transfer from Miami Dade College in Florida. I have not heard back from either school in terms of financial aid, though Wisconsin offered me in-state tuition with the acceptance. I really like both schools and I can’t decide on one over the other. I do favor Wisconsin at the moment just because it’s got a nicer campus and the in-state tuition is a huge help, but I hear that Michigan has more prestige with employers in engineering.
Assuming financial aid is not an issue, which of the two schools is a better deal? I don’t really care about partying or sports, I’m there for the academics and the research opportunities. I’d also want the school that offers the smoothest transition for transfers as I know very little about the Midwest.
If financial aid truly is not an issue, from what you described I’d actually go to UMich, Madison is a very large party school and I’d say only trumps Michigan in that area. Michigan is better known for its prestige in academics. I myself prefer Madison but it’s up to you.
Chem E at UW is a top department, typically in top 5 though seems to have dropped to 6 in one recent ranking.
With in-state tuition at UW, I’d take the UW acceptance and don’t look back. Michigan has the stamp of approval of being a “top” public, but if you look at specific departments, head-to-head, there is often parity between them, and there are departments where UW is better – including Chem E. Regardless of how people on the street think of the two schools, UW is going to be very well known among employers as a top Chem E department. My UW student has many friends in Engineering and they are hard working, very smart students.
Yes, UW has a reputation as a party school, but there are many many hard-working kids who are not hitting State St bars 5 nights a week. Madison is a great city, a “foodie” capital, with big farm-to-table movement, plus it is the state capital so there is lots going on.
Congrats on a great transfer result, you must be a very strong student!
Darn, was trying to edit to add some additional information, but it timed out. I was adding:
I don’t know specifially about transfer support, but UW has plenty of “midwest nice” as many undergrads are from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois/Chicago area. And who wouldn’t want to live on a lake, with summer boating, winter pond hockey etc?
UW is usually in the top 10 or so (and above Michigan) in tech transfer – bringing innovations from the lab to market, and is 4th (behind Michigan at 2) in NSF research expenditures, so these two schools are much closer in many ways than the general public tends to think. As for budget cuts, Chancellor Blank has been very proactive in finding ways to manage the impact, and UW has raised over $200 million which is only for the purpose of keeping, and attracting, top faculty who might be inclined to go elsewhere.
I was a Chem E at Umich for undergrad. The program is very difficult but a great program with excellent job placement after graduation. As an alumni I am biased but one thing I will tell you is that Michigan offers you great opportunities no matter what you want to pursue. I have had many friends who arrived wanting to be one major and soon changed there mind, but fortunately no matter what program you move to at Michigan (especially within engineering) it is a top program. It gives you flexibility in the future. After graduation you join the worlds largest alumni network, something that words truly cant describe the impact of, and something that lasts the rest of your life.
As far as research goes, about half of the students that I know work in a lab doing some type of research, and the other half don’t by choice not for a lack of opportunities.
My girlfriend transferred to Michigan at the beginning of her sophomore year. She found the experience to be very smooth. Wherever you transfer to, I encourage you to find a student organization, for her it was the taekwondo club, and join. Student organization are always welcoming new members and it is a great way to find new friends and become apart of the school something that transfer students often struggle with after missing freshman dorm room bonding with there classmates.
“Reputation” as a party school- not the experience for many students. This has no bearing on any student’s decision to attend UW-Madison. It is a large enough campus that those who p[arty will do so and those who don’t won’t. Likewise with sports events. Natalie- even when you spend the summer in Madison it will be a different experience than during the school year. You have no first hand knowledge of life at UW. My own experiences eons ago and son’s in recent years show there are many different lifestyles possible. Some students are gung ho athletics and parties, others have an equally great experience without that lifestyle.
Excellent Chemistry and Chem E ( I still get my badger Chemist- I got my undergrad degree in Chemistry). Both UW and Michigan will be good. Choose the campus that is most appealing to you. Climates the same on either side of the lake (Michigan). btw- Wisconsin alumni are also active and I question the statement about Michigan’s being larger. That doesn’t matter if you don’t care (I’ve never joined alumni activities).
If you choose UW it may be easy enough to find an apartment on the west end of campus even currently, near the engineering part of campus (near Union South). Michigan has a split campus from what I’ve heard while UW’s is contiguous.
It may come down to a coin flip- two good choices.
I prefer UW and I agree both are fantastic schools. Yes, I’m not a student during the academic year, but I keep in touch with current students on a daily basis and have asked them about their experiences when I was searching on potential transfer schools. Heavy influence on drinking and sports. Its avoidable, but plays a huge part in the social community. I love the university but I think its important to also recognize the negative aspects of UW rather than upholding this notion that it is “the perfect school” which many people seem to believe.
In-state tuition saves you almost 30k a year at Madison, that’s a huge difference. I’d say its pretty clear you’ve already made up you’re mind.
Natalie- YOUR friends at UW are into a totally different social scene than many other students. Looking at UW is like the blind men examining the elephant- depending on who you talk to you get an entirely different perspective on the campus. The nice thing about such a large campus is there is diversity of lifestyles. Some are serious STEM students while others are more typical of the general college population. There are plenty of people for this student to find his niche among like minded people.
@wis75 you also are basing your opinion on the social aspects of campus years ago, and your son’s opinion. I included links of differing opinions as well to show many sides of the campus, so the original poster may come to their own conclusion. I’m not saying it’s an impossibility that this person will not feel socially included. I’m merely stating a common opinion of campus life from what I’ve gathered of people in different social scenes (Engineers, Education, Business, Mathematics, English, partyers vs. non-partyers), beyond my “friends.” Please understand that UW can be a poor fit for some people, and is not this flawless school you seem to be so convinced it is. I stated with the financial aid this student will be receiving, he should attend UW. It is likely he will be exposed to a larger emphasis on partying and athletics at UW and whether he is okay with this is up to him.
I finally got the financial aid packages, and I must say they’re both pretty generous. Umich is a full tuition scholarship, while UW-Madison is $1500 in excess. The remaining cost (housing, etc) is covered by loans. So in terms of money UW-Madison has a slight edge.
You can’t just say things like that and leave us hanging like this. You got full tuition at Umich AND UW-Maidson WITH excess at Madison AS an OOS Transfer student. What are your stats???
@XaosKen I went to the Miami Dade Honors College, a very challenging program where you’re required to keep at least a 3.50 while taking 20+ credits. The program also encourages us to take difficult courses, contribute to campus organizations, and offers all sorts of internships and seminars. Naturally, most of us make very strong transfer applicants.
My high school record is nothing remarkable, but that’s mostly because I moved to this country halfway through tenth grade. I did not send SAT scores to either school as they were not required given my number of credits.
Anyways, I discussed the matter with my family and it looks like it’s going to be UW-Madison. I’m still waiting on Cornell for my final decision, but I might as well just post my deposit now. Once again, thanks to everyone who posted here.
That “excess” money- check on it, you likely can’t get more than what is needed to pay. Perhaps this includes money for books et al. Remember dorm fees come with no meal plan- if you can even get into the dorms at this late date. Off campus living can be right at the edge of campus, sometimes closer to a needed academic building than a dorm.
I stand by my assessment of UW for different personalities. Introverts in sciences are vastly different people than extroverts in humanities- there is room for many types, both in personality and academic interests. I disagree with Natalie on her knowledge of campus living since she only has her circle of friends for fall and spring living. People with one social lifestyle may not be aware of those who do not share it- especially those busy with activities.
No no, I meant to say that. I graduated from MDC with 83 credits. It’s not required, but pretty much everyone on the program takes at least 17 credits every semester. Engineering majors do much more than that since we have to get to linear algebra in two years and many of us have to start from college algebra.