College- Going to Madison!

[T B0NE 10]

Went to Eau Claire today. Its a very nice campus there. I don't know how much I'd like "the hill" though http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I think its crazy how similar La Crosse and Eau Claire actually are. If I were to decide between these two, I wouldn't know which to pick.

[Chio151]

Going to Eau Claire tommorow,

 

I really do think I'm leaning towards going to Marquette or Madison though, because of name recognition. If I really want to get an awesome job someday wouldn't it be of benefit to go to one of those schools?

 

Also I got my AP test results back today.

I got a 5/5 on US History, surprised myself

 

It really depends on the field you are going into. Some hiring managers I know actually shy away from Marquette a bit. The Madison name is great if you plan on pursuing a graduate degree and need to get into a top school -- otherwise the undergrad degree is just as useful to land you a job as any other state school. In fact, I work for a large Milwaukee company that recruits at all the state schools EXCEPT Madison. And even though Marquette is close, we do not actively recruit there because we've struggled to find the right skill sets. It all depends on the field.

 

 

 

And major props on the AP exam -- I remember how difficult that test was. A 5 is terrific.

 

 

 

[FVBrewerFan]

Going to Eau Claire tommorow,

 

I really do think I'm leaning towards going to Marquette or Madison though, because of name recognition. If I really want to get an awesome job someday wouldn't it be of benefit to go to one of those schools?

 

Also I got my AP test results back today.

I got a 5/5 on US History, surprised myself

I hate to be negative, but I don't think 3.7 GPA and 27 ACT will get you into Madison. If you are minority, it's a different story. (None of my business, just stating facts.) I have recent history with this, and Madison is very, very competitive. Think top 5% and/or 30+ ACT to get in the running. How many times did you take the ACT? Might be worth it to try to take another shot or two.

[Tailgat0r76]

Going to Eau Claire tommorow,

 

I really do think I'm leaning towards going to Marquette or Madison though, because of name recognition. If I really want to get an awesome job someday wouldn't it be of benefit to go to one of those schools?

 

Also I got my AP test results back today.

I got a 5/5 on US History, surprised myself

I hate to be negative, but I don't think 3.7 GPA and 27 ACT will get you into Madison. If you are minority, it's a different story. (None of my business, just stating facts.) I have recent history with this, and Madison is very, very competitive. Think top 5% and/or 30+ ACT to get in the running. How many times did you take the ACT? Might be worth it to try to take another shot or two.

I can attest to this. I graduated high school in 2007 and had a 3.7 GPA and a 31 ACT and Madison put me on the waiting list. I decided not to do the supplement application and eventually got declined admission. Now maybe if I actually did the application I could have gotten in, but regardless it really is a tough school to get into.

 

[Glennron]

FVBF, I think you're overestimating what you need to get into Madison. I know of a couple kids from my class ('06) that got 26's on their ACTs and had a GPA of ~3.6 that were accepted, they were both white males. ACT scores and your GPA aren't the only things they look at. If you have a 3.7 in tough classes (I'm guessing you do since you took AP US History this year), that'll be looked at much more highly than a 4.0 in the easiest classes your school offers. It also helps if you're in extra curricular activities. I know you mentioned you play baseball so that's probably a plus. If you maintain your high GPA next year while taking more challenging courses, I'd guess you'd get into Madison, even with "only" a 28 on your ACT. You just have to make sure you apply early enough.

 

If you're not sure what type of job in gov't you'd want or how to get into it, your adviser could probably help you out a lot. I go to UW-La Crosse and I'm a Poly Sci major, and my adviser gave me a big packet on several different jobs you could get into with that particular major. I remember there being a section on jobs in government.

[FVBrewerFan]

FVBF, I think you're overestimating what you need to get into Madison. I know of a couple kids from my class ('06) that got 26's on their ACTs and had a GPA of ~3.6 that were accepted, they were both white males. ACT scores and your GPA aren't the only things they look at. If you have a 3.7 in tough classes (I'm guessing you do since you took AP US History this year), that'll be looked at much more highly than a 4.0 in the easiest classes your school offers. It also helps if you're in extra curricular activities. I know you mentioned you play baseball so that's probably a plus. If you maintain your high GPA next year while taking more challenging courses, I'd guess you'd get into Madison, even with "only" a 28 on your ACT. You just have to make sure you apply early enough.

Interesting. Maybe it depends on what Major you plan on pursuing? Because I know a lot of kids in recent years couldn't get in with GPAs in the 3.8+ (with AP courses) and 28+ ACT. Did these guys have family members that are alums? I know that makes a big difference also.

[RyDogg66]

FVBF, I think you're overestimating what you need to get into Madison. I know of a couple kids from my class ('06) that got 26's on their ACTs and had a GPA of ~3.6 that were accepted, they were both white males. ACT scores and your GPA aren't the only things they look at. If you have a 3.7 in tough classes (I'm guessing you do since you took AP US History this year), that'll be looked at much more highly than a 4.0 in the easiest classes your school offers. It also helps if you're in extra curricular activities. I know you mentioned you play baseball so that's probably a plus. If you maintain your high GPA next year while taking more challenging courses, I'd guess you'd get into Madison, even with "only" a 28 on your ACT. You just have to make sure you apply early enough.

 

If you're not sure what type of job in gov't you'd want or how to get into it, your adviser could probably help you out a lot. I go to UW-La Crosse and I'm a Poly Sci major, and my adviser gave me a big packet on several different jobs you could get into with that particular major. I remember there being a section on jobs in government.

Who is your advisor? I was a pol sci major at UW-L.

And if I had to rank the OP's choices I would go:

 

Madison

La Crosse

Eau Claire

Marquette

[hawing]

Over the last decade, freshmen applications at UW-Madison have just skyrocketed, to the point where getting accepted is almost like winning the lottery. OK, the odds are better than the lottery, but they're getting upwards of 25,000 applications for a freshman class of not more than 5700. I think it's more sheer volume of applicants getting in a prospective "good" student's way than much else.

 

Here is a link to a PDF file helpfully called "UW Freshman Expectations." http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif Man, I'm glad I got in and out in the 1980s, and I thought I rocked a pretty solid grade point (3.9) back in the day.

[T B0NE 10]

I have taken the actual ACT just once and got a 28.

 

What is this OP's choices?

 

In US News and World Report Madison is the top WI school at around 30, then Marquette around 80. La Crosse is in the top 3 I believe in Midwestern schools category.

 

According to that chart that hawing posted above I'd have an 80% chance of getting into Madison.

Some of you were wondering my excurricular activities, I'm in baseball, football, FFA, and quiz bowl, sadd, and I think Ill join NHS this year.

3.7 GPA with all the CP and AP classes my school offers.

 

I was thinking that when I go somewhere looking for a job, will some people have heard of La Crosse or Eau Claire? I figure everyone knows Madison and Marquette. Or doesn't it really matter?

[ewizabeff]

Like another poster said, unless you're in a highly specialized field, the school you get your degree from likely won't matter, as long as it's a legit school. Go the place you think "fits" you, not to the place with the most popular name.

[jjfanec]

Went to Eau Claire today. Its a very nice campus there. I don't know how much I'd like "the hill" though http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I think its crazy how similar La Crosse and Eau Claire actually are. If I were to decide between these two, I wouldn't know which to pick.

I went to Eau Claire and graduated almost 3 years ago (my GPA and ACT scores were similar to yours). I loved the college and you get used to the hill. Don't put a ton of stock into the college rankings because they change so much at least amongst state schools. When I was in college Eau Claire was the highest ranked state school outside of Madison. I think it really does depend on the major you pick. I liked Eau Claire because they are strong in a lot of different fields so there were a lot of good majors to choose from. If you are looking to go into government work I know a good amount of people who were political science majors or other things close to that there.

 

As for the club team they were actually really good while I was there. They had a down year but one year they made the club team equivalent of the College World Series. I knew some guys on the team and they took it seriously for a club sport. I like Eau Claire a lot as a city too. You are close to a lot of things to do with the Twin Cities an hour and a half away and Madison not that far either. I live in Eau Claire now after graduating and I love it here. If you live close to Point it seems like a good distance from home as well although I went to a college 30 miles from home and it was good.

[Glennron]

Interesting. Maybe it depends on what Major you plan on pursuing? Because I know a lot of kids in recent years couldn't get in with GPAs in the 3.8+ (with AP courses) and 28+ ACT. Did these guys have family members that are alums? I know that makes a big difference also.

I'm not sure if their parents were alums or not. Obviously a lot of it (like Hawing mentioned) depends on the number of applicants. Maybe there were fewer in 2006?

 

Who is your advisor? I was a pol sci major at UW-L.

 

Reithel, but this was my advisor when I was Undeclared my first semester freshman year. I've actually never even met Reithel, but I have two classes with him this fall semester.

[Chio151]

I think if you were to tier the public schools in the state you'd end up with something like this:

 

 

Tier One - Madison

 

Tier Two - La Crosse, Eau Claire, Whitewater, Milwaukee

 

Tier Three - Green Bay, Oshkosh, Stevens Point, Platteville

 

Tier Four - Parkside, Superior, River Falls, Stout

 

Tier Five - Extensions

 

 

And yes, employers are going to recognize and appreciate degrees from all state schools.

[blatzlight]

I think if you were to tier the public schools in the state you'd end up with something like this:

 

 

Tier One - Madison

 

Tier Two - La Crosse, Eau Claire, Whitewater, Milwaukee

 

Tier Three - Green Bay, Oshkosh, Stevens Point, Platteville

 

Tier Four - Parkside, Superior, River Falls, Stout

 

Tier Five - Extensions

 

 

And yes, employers are going to recognize and appreciate degrees from all state schools.

UW-Milwaukee is actually a tier four school. UW-Madison and Marquette are the only tier 1 schools in the state.

 

[Chio151]

UW-Milwaukee is actually a tier four school. UW-Madison and Marquette are the only tier 1 schools in the state.

 

I only highlighted the public schools, but if we included private than Marquette would be on par with the tier two schools. It's not nationally recognized like Madison.

 

You really underestimate Milwaukee though, it has a really great business, engineering, and architecture school.

[bucks2281]

Do any of the Marquette grads have any advice for prospective students at Marquette? I'll be starting there in August.

[blatzlight]

UW-Milwaukee is actually a tier four school. UW-Madison and Marquette are the only tier 1 schools in the state.

 

I only highlighted the public schools, but if we included private than Marquette would be on par with the tier two schools. It's not nationally recognized like Madison.

 

You really underestimate Milwaukee though, it has a really great business, engineering, and architecture school.

Actually Marquette is tier one according to all rankings. So is UW-Madison. UW-Milwaukee is a tier four school. Those are just the facts.

 

[homer]

UWM is not tier four relative to all the other public schools in the state.

[Chio151]

UW-Milwaukee is actually a tier four school. UW-Madison and Marquette are the only tier 1 schools in the state.

 

I only highlighted the public schools, but if we included private than Marquette would be on par with the tier two schools. It's not nationally recognized like Madison.

 

You really underestimate Milwaukee though, it has a really great business, engineering, and architecture school.

Actually Marquette is tier one according to all rankings. So is UW-Madison. UW-Milwaukee is a tier four school. Those are just the facts.

 

Oh, so the arbitrary ranking I came up with now have factual basis - and totally contrary to my opinion. Amazing how this internet works. I am tiering STATE public schools.

 

 

 

Just my opinion here, but Marquette is nowhere near Madison is far as national recognition. And Milwaukee is MUCH better than you assume.

 

 

 

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is ranked by Vanguard College Ranking among the top 100 universities in the U.S. ^{[9][/sup] It is also ranked as one of the top 500 world universities in the Academic Ranking of World Universities compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2007.[10][/sup] It is also ranked 181th in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities produced by Cybermetrics Lab, a unit of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the main public research body in Spain.[11][/sup]}

The School of Architecture and Urban Planning was ranked among the top twenty by U.S. News and World Report in a recent report. Design Intelligence has also ranked the School of Architecture and Urban Planning among the top twenty and second in the Midwest, as well as tied for third in their 'Most Innovative Programs' category. The Key Center for Architectural Sociology ranked School of Architecture and Urban Planning 18th in research performance among more than 130 schools in North America. The Journal of Planning Education and Research, ranked UWM's Department of Urban Planning 10th nationally among masters-only programs based on the number of publications per faculty member. The Ph.D. program in architecture also has been recognized as a leader in environment-behavior research.^[12][/sup]

The graduate program of the School of Education is ranked top by U.S. News & World Report and is cited among the top 3% of research universities by the Carnegie Foundation. The College of Nursing has also been consistently ranked in the top 10% by US News & World Report.^{[13][/sup] The Management Information Systems (MIS) program of Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business is ranked 19th in the U.S. and 24th in the world by a study published in Communications for the Association for Information Systems[14][/sup] The School of Information Studies is also ranked among the very best in the nation.[15][/sup] In addition, many other individual programs at UW-Milwaukee are also nationally or internationally ranked.}

 

 

[blatzlight]

UWM is not tier four relative to all the other public schools in the state.

No it is not. I was looking on a national scale.

 

[T B0NE 10]

Well when I went to La Crosse, the admissions counselor said of the schools I'm considering that 1. Madison, 2. La Crosse, 3. Eau Claire, and she didn't know where to put Marquette.

 

Tomorrow I'm visiting Madison.

[tristarscoop]

A lot of getting into Madison relative to other Wisconsinites can have to do with the region you're from/high school you attended. I went to a fairly high profile high school and the class president with a 3.7 got wait-listed. They're not going to let in the whole damn class and a lot of kids had above 4.0 and AP scores, so a lot of fully qualified kids didn't get it. They don't want 500 kids from Milwaukee's 3 or 4 top high schools. They want diversity.

[Brewbadger]

I'll be a junior at Madison (so admitted in 06) and I had a 3.8 GPA with a 29 ACT in high school and took 6 AP classes. I'm a white male from Milwaukee and I had lots of extracurriculars (played vball, bball, golf and baseball as well as joined some clubs) and I didn't apply all that early (Novemberish I think?). Madison is a great school and don't let people tell you otherwise. For just an overall good college experience, it's a good place. The athletics are obviously highly ranked, the nightlife is good, and the city is beautiful being on the isthmus and all. The academics are top notch, and I very strongly believe that an undergrad degree from Madison will get you further/more highly considered for positions than someone with an undergrad from a different state school (aka a UWM, Whitewater, EC etc.). Be warned though; school is hard. High school was a breeze, even with the so called AP/college preparatory classes. Once I came to college, I learned what it's really like so be prepared to study. I've been kind of lazy thus far and still have a 3.2 GPA here so I guess I feel kind of good about that, but to get into specific majors/programs be ready to work for that 3.6+ GPA at a minimum.

[FVBrewerFan]

Well when I went to La Crosse, the admissions counselor said of the schools I'm considering that 1. Madison, 2. La Crosse, 3. Eau Claire, and she didn't know where to put Marquette.

 

Tomorrow I'm visiting Madison.

All that is relative, depending on your major and what kind of grades you get. For example UW-Whitewater Business School is very highly regarded- especially Accounting. If you graduate UW-W with a 3.9, you would be FAR better of that graduating from Madison with a 3.4. Lots of other examples of this, but that's the one I'm most familiar with.

[tristarscoop]

Do any of the Marquette grads have any advice for prospective students at Marquette? I'll be starting there in August.

I didn't go to Marquette, but another Jesuit school and I have to say that I completely did not understand what being at Jesuit school meant. This is not at all meant as a disparaging Marquette/Loyola/Jesuits/Catholicism. I actually ended up really liking the whole experience and learned a lot and got super involved in service because of Loyola's Jesuit teachings, but to start out on campus as someone who didn't have any experience with it, it was a little overwhelming.

 

If you're not from a Jesuit HS, I think you'll find it very different to begin with. I went to a public high school and I was completely not prepared for the Jesuit/religion thing to come across so strongly. Maybe that was naive of me. I had never been in a place where so many young people were so strongly religious.

 

Don't get me wrong, it certainly wasn't like I was getting hit across the head with religion every moment of every day, but the basic Jesuit teachings like Ad Majorem Dei Glorium, education of the whole person, and service come across in pretty much every on-campus activity.

 

I'm worried that I'm going to turn people off by saying these things, but let me add that I am not highly religious, nor Catholic and I was at school for 4.5 years and never felt uncomfortable. I found the experience so wonderful that I considered joining the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

 

But I do wish that I had known these things before I stepped on campus because I found it very off-putting at first.