Wisconsin or UConn or Rutgers

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
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Our D is considering Wisconsin, UConn and Rutgers. She intends to major in biology. Because of the instate tuition at Rutgers, and merit aid at UConn, the differences in cost (limited to tuition and R&B) will be, using Rutgers as the baseline: (i) UConn $5K more than Rutgers per year, and (ii) UW $10K more than Rutgers. We have visited each of the campuses, and D liked them all (Rutgers the least), although the distance of UW may be a concern.

We understand that UW is ranked higher than UConn and Rutgers overall, and in particular, with respect to biology programs (either based on grad school rankings and the somewhat dated Gorman Report).

To add to the equation, D has contacts near Madison who are likely to provide her with internship opportunities in the health care field, in which she has a strong interest.

So, long story short, is UW worth paying (i) $5k more per year than UConn, and (ii) $10k more per year than Rutgers?

She has also been accepted to Fordham and Maryland but no longer seems interested for various reasons. And she has been accepted into direct-nursing programs at UVM, Temple and Scranton (with merit aid making the costs comparable to UW, or $10K more than Rutgers).

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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Finances are a major consideration. Going into debt for $40,000 is huge, while spending money the family has in the bank takes that out of the equation.

A lot depends on ultimate goals. Is “biology” a stepping stone to medicine? UW students usually pick a subset of biology for a major- general areas of zoology or botany or molecular with a major within one of those, for example. There is also biochemistry and there are other related majors as well. If the goal is medical school the school won’t matter. If the goal is graduate school in a biological discipline she needs to pay attention to the relative strengths of her probable major to be best prepared.

You mention nursing. That is an entirely different field than becoming a physician. Many/most entering college freshmen will change their proposed majors (if they even have one) once experiencing college courses. Your D sounds like she hasn’t settled on one path yet. If she is likely to want to be in the UW Honors Program there are excellent science sequences for her to choose to take that could make spending more for UW worthwhile. UW offers several different general chemistry options as well as options in other departments, including organic chemistry required Biocore. But if any general/intro courses suffice for your D’s goals it isn’t worth the extra debt.

As much as I love UW and I’m sure she would I hesitate to tell her to take on extra debt. But- if she is passionate about the Wisconsin experience that changes things. She needs to make a list of pros and cons for her favorites to see if one is a clear winner. If no compelling reason to choose one over the other becomes apparent consider finances.

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UW is worth that much if you can afford it. Much better overall environment. Uconn is nowhere and RU is in a marginal town and has a crazy campus setup with buses.

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Yes, but…What are the prospects for OOS tuition with the potential $300M budget cuts? Hasn’t it been stated that the in state tuition will be frozen, but OOS will not be?

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Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions.

There is certainly some indecision about the ultimate path. One thing appears for certain (at the moment), and that is D would like to work in healthcare, as a nurse, physician, or in research or counseling (perhaps genetics-related). She has applied for the Honors Program at UW, but no response yet, and I’ll suggest that she look into the sequences that were mentioned.

Leaving direct-entry nursing aside, which is the first issue for her to decide, I believe D is grappling with the choice between UW and UConn. Rutgers is not being seriously considered because of some of the common HS student reasons (too close, too familiar, non-selective, the assumption that her HS classmates will be in class with her again, etc.) and those mentioned by barrons. But we have insisted that she continue to consider Rutgers.

Although they are very different, she actually likes both the UW and UConn campuses, but with UW getting the nod for having the far better surrounding area, which may be offset by its distance from NJ and its party school reputation.

So it comes down to depth and scope of academics, experience, research opportunities and the incremental cost difference. Between the two, wisc75, do you share Barron’s opinion (which I take as not being based solely on environment) that UW is the better choice (even with the incremental additional cost), assuming the finances can cover the additional costs?

We appreciate your insights, and any other opinions people may wish to share.

(barrons, we were hoping that you would chime-in based on your experience with both UW and RU, thank you).

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Current UW parent here, wis75 and barons have in depth knowledge and experience of UW, mine is limited to my kid ( junior’s) experience.

For students who are comfortable in a big school environment, UW basically has it all – excellent academics, great school spirit, big sports, and a mid sized urban area which offers, remarkably, both an urban environment with great internship opportunities, and a healthy, outdoorsy lifestyle for those who seek it. For someone from the east coast – there is also a lot which will be familiar, as many east and west coast kids come to Madison. My son is friends with many kids from NY metro region, including NJ and CT.

If it is not a question of taking on unreasonable debt – then it is an easy school to yes to. The academics across the board are excellent, the school is well-regarded on the east coast so the UW degree translates well for folks who do not intend to stay in the midwest, and what is not to love about State St or Picnic Point?

Good luck to your daughter, she has some wonderful opportunities ahead of her.

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If you can afford it, this is a case where I’d definitely give the advantage to UW. I came from the east coast many years ago and chose UW for its superior academics, the campus, and town environment over many other options. Even though the price differential was less then, compared to relative college prices today, your outlay is not unreasonable considering the other advantages. I also don’t feel that the upcoming budget proposals, disheartening as they are, will have a major impact on the undergraduate education and experience in the upcoming years. There’s still quite a bit of talk about keeping tuition low. I am tempted to say that for biology, this is a no-brainer, but I do not want to come off as insensitive re: finances. I will politely suggest that if your daughter intends to continue with biological-related career, she should see what she can do to make the Wisconsin option viable.

You should also consider the impact of what the peer environment will be like: I believe that a large majority of UW students really want to be there, and for quite a few Wisconsin was their first choice. My experience basing on past experience is that, perhaps unfortunately, students at some state flagships in the east are not so eager to be there. Truthfully, while I acknowledge this is the Wisconsin board and there may be consequent bias here, there isn’t another school on your list that would come close to the overall experience at Wisconsin.

If finances are really tight for your family for the next few years, then I’d recommend Rutgers as a second choice – there are some strong departments. While it certainly doesn’t have the allure of UW, it can provide a fine education, and certainly stronger than UConn imo. For the latter, consider the peer cohort: both UW and Rutgers students are likely stronger overall than UConn, and that will have an effect.

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If interested in healthcare, UW-Madison School of Pharmacy is ranked #5.

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Yes, OOS tuition will be going up.Probably 7% or so. But so will Uconn’s and they had had some $$ issues too.

http://articles.courant.com/2014-03-25/news/hc-ctm-uconn-budget-20140325_1_uconn-president-susan-herbst-tuition-hike-further-tuition-increases

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Finances are the only reason to choose elsewhere. Since she isn’t sure of her path it is better she isn’t being a direct admit for nursing (at UW it is competitive after prenursing courses, btw). Your family financial situation is none of our business so I can’t tell you it is worth the money to you. I did not want to go across town to UW but it was a world apart from my suburb and I got to live on campus instead of commute. Son from another city. Students do not need to party, the Greek scene doesn’t matter except to those in it, UW is large enough for diverse lifestyles. There are enough people from the east coast to not be a lonely only, but I would expect her to mingle with the masses.

Wisconsin is academically much better ranked and known (UConn is known for basketball and NJ because there are so many people on the east coast). The Honors program was great and even better now. For academics I look at how many different intro courses there are in a single subject- one size does not fit all. Math majors may want the Honors theory based sequence while other STEM majors prefer the problem based one. Chemistry has 3 sequences that fulfill prerequisites for other courses plus there’s the one for others such as nursing majors. Likewise with biology courses. Also different liberal arts sequences and so very many unusual electives one can use to fulfill breadth requirements- not just standard courses.

You need to decide if the extra expense is worth it. She could go to UW freshman year and then transfer if needed (although she’ll likely find anyway possible to stay). The campus is dynamic- some buildings are renovated or replaced all the time- this fall’s freshmen will see something different than this spring’s grads saw as freshmen.

I know nothing about the east coast alternatives. Had a friend from NJ eons ago- learned differences among various east coast accents in college. Your D likely will not visit home very often, just like most UW students who choose to spend their weekends on campus even when it is easy/cheap to go home. There is bus service from campus to O’Hare (and Midway?) in Chicago- a lot easier/cheaper than flying in/out of Madison.

The cost of living factor- you looked at room and board plus travel costs I presume? Good dorm food, no required spending minimum for food. Many live in apartments near campus after one or two years. The UW website is loaded with info.

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Thank you, this is all very informative and helpful, and I appreciate that none of you are willing to spend our $; there are plenty of people doing that already!

I am hopeful that D realizes that the rational choice is between UW and Rutgers. She has applied for the Honors Program, and being admitted may provide yet another reason to pay OOS tuition.

Thank you all, we really appreciate your thoughts.

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That is interesting, @tachikawa, in that I also would not have attended Wisconsin OOS if I were not accepted and supported by the Honors Program at the time. It just felt that I’d want that extra research attention and intellectual stimulation to make Wisconsin competitive for me with some of the other privates / flagships I had offers from.

Also interesting in that – this dates me somewhat, I’m afraid – those Gourman reports had a pretty strong correlation to my undergraduate programs, and their respective strengths. In my humble opinion, I don’t think they really date as much as some would imply, especially for the bigger research schools. It’s more that the rankings game has taken off like hotcakes, rather than undergraduate academics at historically strong schools all of a sudden becoming unstable and volatile from year to year.

Now that I know, and with many other programs initiated on campus since I attended, for biological sciences I’d still go with Wisconsin, even sans Honors. Other posters here have Honors experience as well, but it is a smart incentive. And I am glad to hear that at least you’d forego UConn in favor of Wisconsin and Rutgers.