<p>Cryto you have written several times about the "Wisconsin respect" issue. It seems like you are always going to have to justify your decision of going to UW to your CA friends. Are you sure this is what you want to do? Just out of curiosity, would you be willing to share where else you were admitted? Any other schools outside of CA? Did you consider U of Michigan or U of Illinois, two other good Midwestern schools?</p>
<p>I wouldn't have applied to UW if I didn't really want to go here. Yes I always need to justify it, but its just more annoying than anything. People around here consider UM really good and ask why I didn't apply there, but I don't know what they think about UIUC. I decided not to apply there because they are considerably more expensive for OOS. It might just be because Wisconsin as a whole is more rural it ges some stereotypes, not really about the school because people don't know much about it around here.</p>
<p>I only applied to 5 school total, UCB, UCSD, UCSB, University of Washington and UW. People don't really question Seattle because they know more about it and its West Coast. I guess the "disrespect factor" towards UW comes up because people are ignorant about it. It really doesn't sway my decision however, and I would love to attend UW when I get denied from UCB :)</p>
<p>I mean, there is also the possibility that people in California may think you kind of crazy (I know I do ;))! </p>
<p>Think about it.....you are living in sunny CA and you want to go to a place where it gets below 0 frequently (and we're not even factoring in windchill)? Ah, crazy.</p>
<p>:).</p>
<p>Interesting discussion. I am originally from California but have lived an hour from Madison for a long time now. I have many adult friends still in Cal.</p>
<p>My daughter is thinking of going to UW next fall, most likely in the honors program from the get go. All the other schools that she has applied to are very small midwestern privates, several in the top 50 nationally and one in the top 10 to some people.</p>
<p>People around here know that uw is a good school, but not HOW good. They are considered by many to be in the top 20 in the world for certain programs, nationally they have I believe 70 or so programs in the top 10. They are on the cutting edge as a research institution. They have a LOT to offer.</p>
<p>From people I know who have gone to UW for part of thier education, and "big coast schools" for part, most would take the atmosphere at UW any day. It is just a different "feel". Some have described it as a "more well rounded feel" or "a community that cares" type of thing. and they almost all liked the seasons too. (or at least 10 out of 12 months :)).</p>
<p>The only reasons that my daughter is considering some privates too are; some are substantially less money (even with IS tuition) after aid offers, and she most likely wants to double major in Creative Writing and Studio Art and minor in Psychology as prep for Grad School. These are fields that she wonders if they might be better served at a smaller institute. We are going to do more in depth visits over the next few weeks to help her with her decision.</p>
<p>Sooooo, yes, UW defineitly deserves more respect on a national basis from those who havent taken the time to look into it. Crypto, if you feel the need to "justify" your thoughts of UW, maybe have a set of bookmarks that you can email to people of all that UW has to offer. They would be more likely to understand and validate your choices.</p>
<p>Good Luck,</p>
<p>DJD</p>
<p>I will weigh in with some perspective. I am a UW alumni, lived in California (SF Bay Area) for 30 years and now have a daughter at UW. I have been able to observe the UCs and its grads; my D has good friends at many of the UCs including Cal and UCLA. The UCs are selective, but they have a huge pool of in-state students to draw from. So they can take the best and brightest from CA and this makes their academics look stellar. I work in business, know a reasonable number of Cal Alumni and some UCLA alumni and other than being more plentiful in this area, I don't see them as being exceptional. In fact some of the important business leaders in the Silicon Valley are Badgers. I often tell fellow Midwesterners it takes two California raised people to equal one from the Big 10. We have better work ethic. In the end you will be judged on performance and not the rating or ranking of the university...UW does pretty well in this regard too.</p>
<p>I live on the east coast and I have the same kind of issue. People at my school always ask me why I would want to go to a place like Wisconsin...they don't really know anything about Madison, and always end up saying something ignorant like "It's in the middle of nowhere" or "Wisconsin???" (in an incredulous tone). It's pretty annoying. For some reason people think the entire Midwest is nothing but farmland. Oh well, since I know better, I don't really mind what they have to say that much.</p>
<p>Some folks are ignorant. UW attracts a national student body (something most state u's do not). I'm a UW alum and live in the Pac NW. Many folks I meet here have no idea how great UW Madison is, but who cares? The same people barely understand that Michigan or U of Virginia are great schools either. </p>
<p>I was an out of state student (Chicago) and made life long friendships with kids from all over the country - not something you get at a SUNY, Rutgers or the nearby U of Washington.</p>
<p>I can DEFINITELY understand where you're coming from, cryto. i'm from the bay area too, and kids from my school give me the same exact reaction (especially the cheese/in the middle of nowhere comment). a lot of kids from my school got into SLO with really low GPA's and it bothers me a lot because I tell them I'm either going to pitt or wisconsin or osu, and they're like, what, why would you ever leave california?? it seems like everyone (that i know, at least) thinks california schools dominate everywhere else</p>
<p>I knew it wasn't just me lol. What part of the Bay are you from?</p>
<p>UW has a great rep on the East Coast (BosWash). Definitely very well respected here in Philly.</p>
<p>Love the California bashing here. Wisconsin is a very well-rounded, top-notch public research university. I work with a few Badgers...just good, honest, genuine, salt of the earth hardworkers. </p>
<p>People are ignorant and scoff at something that is unfamiliar to them.</p>
<p>Don't let that discourage you.</p>
<p>Very funny to complain about stereotypes, then do it right back, lol. Well, I'm posting because my daughter is having the same reaction about grad school at UW-Mad. She is pretty excited to have a PhD acceptance to the computer science department, because there is a particular professor who has her top interest. She was also accepted to UCLA and still awaiting a few more schools. She's going to be visiting the last weekend of this month and it is very cool that they will show the school one day and the city the next day.</p>
<p>She is from CALIF but going to school on the East Coast. I'm very afraid of that miserable weather for her (I could never do it), and a conservative atmosphere. But it is more important to decide on the program (Computer Science) and profs.</p>
<p>But my sister, in Silicon Valley, is totally dismissing the school and saying that 'no one has heard of it here.' Well I can see that she may not be aware of PhD level reps (US News ranks it 11th), but at least she should be seeing some CS undergrads and grads. She strongly thinks that UCLA (13th) name is just a huge advantage here. Anyway she will decide on her own after visits. Research rep is not the same as industry rep anyway.</p>
<p>^Your d deserves a huge "congratulations" on her acceptance to the Comp Sci graduate program. A couple of things:</p>
<p>If your d is in school on the east coast then the weather will be easy for her. It's a bit colder, but not that different. </p>
<p>UW has one of the largest alumni bases in the nation with nearly 10k in SF and over 5500 in LA. Likely more around San Jose. Both Msft and Google have research offices in Madison. If you Sister is in the software/computer business, it is likely she's worked with Badgers. </p>
<p>Wisconsin</a> Alumni Association - Fact Sheet: About the Wisconsin Alumni Association</p>
<p>While parts of the Midwest are conservative, there is also a progressive tradition - particularly in Madison - with some social changes embraced before the coasts.</p>
<p>Good luck on your d's decision!</p>
<p>Brownparent, your sister is an ignorant fool. For a couple the former head of Cisco who built it from a small company to the major force it is now is a Badger and a large contributor to the UW. The new head of Yahoo and former head of Autodesk is also a loyal Badger. There are many more at high technical admin levels. UW has produced FAR more Fortune 500 CEOs than Stanford, UCLA or UC Berkeley. More than any west coast school. The ignorance of west coasters is starting to irritate me. UW alums also basically invented the key building blocks of all computers--transistors and integrated circuits. They won a few Nobel prizes for that work. (Bardeen and Kilby)</p>
<p>John</a> Bardeen - Biography</p>
<p>Jack</a> S. Kilby - Autobiography</p>
<p><a href="http://www.discovery.wisc.edu/about/%5B/url%5D">http://www.discovery.wisc.edu/about/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bus.wisc.edu/news/0292.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.bus.wisc.edu/news/0292.asp</a></p>
<p>I presume you are talking about the conservative east coast- Madison, UW in particular, is extremely liberal!</p>
<p>hey i only read the beginning of this thread so i feel like it has taken a different direction but ill give you my input regardless.</p>
<p>I am from los angeles, CA and i am pretty much for sure going to wisconsin. It is very respected at my school, and at least a few people from my school go every year. People think of mich and wisco as the berk and ucla of the midwest, which in my opinion is a form of respect for wisco. LA has a very large alumni base of badgers and it is very prestigious here. </p>
<p>...i think the only reason people look at you like you are crazy, is because we are leaving the best weather in the entire country to go to one of the coldest places in the country. </p>
<p>none the less, it is very respected in so-cal, and holds more prestige than a lot of the UCs excluding berk, ucla, and sd</p>
<p>I feel that Wisconsin is THE most overrated school in the midwest, at least from everything I've seen. It gets too much credit, whereas UChicago and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities are underrated. UMinn is pretty comparable to Madison (I'd give it the edge, though), but, yet, Wisconsin is "ranked" higher overall. I just think they get a better rep than they should, at least in the midwest. Don't know about elsewhere, though.</p>
<p>And for the person who says that Wisconsin-Madison has a great business school... Not in particular. They're like in the 30s-40s? I don't live by rankings, but...</p>
<p>They (B School) is in the Top 15 in US News and higher than Uminn. Wisconsin has been highly regarded since the early 1900's. It has double the NAS members of UMinn and wins double the major national faculty awards every year. UMinn is still playing catch-up.</p>
<p>Always thought Northwestern was the most overrated...</p>
<p>I'm from California as well as sooooo many people ask me the same questions...It's an amazing school and recognized internationally yet California kids barely know about it!!!!</p>