Student Profile
Heidi
- Class: Junior
- Major:
- Gender: F
- High School: Jefferson High School, Alexandria MN
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
wisconsin is the most amazing place in the world. i haven't talked to anyone who can imagine going anywhere else for their college career. we legit do feel so privileged and it's hard to understand other people's college careers that aren't quite.. as exciting. the school is huge.. but like i said.. it's impossible to not see someone you know. after about the second year it just seems normal to walk down the street and see 6 people you know in a stretch of 3 blocks.. even though there are like 41,000 people at the school! the more you become involved with.. the smaller it becomes. i spend most of my time at the library..surprisingly. the remainder of my time is spend on the terrace, on bascom hill (in the spring and fall), and bouncing from bar to bar or eating place on state street. it's indescribable. plus.. the student body seems to have a pretty similar mindset on school/party balance.. so people wil WANT to go study w/you by the lake before you go out.. or they'll want to go tan on bascom hill just to be worthless. the town is 100% a college town. it's interesting though.. because the futher down state street and closer to the capital you get.. the older the crowd gets. that's where the upperclassmen and graduate students often get internships.. and where a lot of the jobs after graduation are centered. it's a college town.. but there's opportunity for "adult sprawl " WI admimistration is.. there? i think they're about as good as i'd want them to be.. but i'm a pretty independent person. you can always talk to an adviser and they'll tell you what you want to know. there are a ton of resources on campus.. almost so many that if you just look up what you want on the wisc website.. you might find a club/student org directly related to your question and bypass the administration completely. school pride is rediculous. alumni school pride is even more rediculous. i haven't even graduated yet and i'm already a member of the wisconsin alumni group just so i can easily be informed as soon as i do gradutate!!
Academic Life
very hard school.. but do-able if you work hard. you can get a lot out of it.. i think my freshman year doubled my knowledge of the world. i had a 4.0 in high school (as did a ton of the people who go here) and getting an A in a class here was almost out of the picture. it's hard.. and i study a lot. to answer the "suggested topics"...: 1) professors will know you by name if you go to their office hours. in my classes of 20 or 30 they obviously did... and in discussion sections the TAs knew our names.. but as for the 300 person lectures--they couldn't pick you out of a crowd. I kind of liked this aspect of it.. but i know a lot of kids who did go to professor's office hours to be on a first name basis with them.. it all depends on what you want to get from it. 2) favorite class was BY FAR women's studies 103. grrrrrrrreat class and i'm not even a feminazi. plus.. it counts as a science credit! PLUS I'D RECOMMEND IT TO BOYS TOO. this is your chance to understand women.. ...plus if you can answer the question "T or F.. women have been oppressed throughout history" correctly... you've got an A. 3) lord. wisconsin students DO have intellectual conversations outside of class. it's kind of sickening how many really smart people there are here. but then.. at the same time they are balanced with the conversations of "DUUUUDE.. did you see the COORS girls promotion outside the grocery store?! lets go get some beer and pizza" 4) studnets are very very competative. almost every school within UW-Madison (school of business... school of journalism... school of education.. etc) is really hard to get into.. so the best of the best are competing once we're in still! 5) most unique classes i've taken? human sexuality, anthropology of religion, career strategies and development, eat for credit (food sciences/tasting), geography of the city.. or geography "power of place"... scandinavian studies- life and civilization 6) i'd say it's split down the middle on whether education at wisconsin is geared toward meeting requirements and getting a job.. or just learning for its own sake. for example.. you might have to write a paper that's 30% of your grade... but you'll get to pick a topic that interests you and actually find the project somewhat beneficial. also a lot of people go to the academic speakers that aren't required for them. and stuff.
Student Body
Some suggested topics: What are your experiences with racial, religious, LGBT, socio-economic, and/or other groups on campus? there's a good amount of diversity and acceptence. plus people can usually find a group to hang out with that shares the same preferences/lifestyles as them.. yet you still are friends with all types of people across the map. What do most students wear to class? sweats Do different types of students interact? YES. wide ranges. especially because we do a pretty good variety of group pairing for classes so you get to know the different courner's of madison's student body There are four tables of students in the dining hall. Describe them. they are all completely mixed freshman year. after that.. not a lot of people eat at the dining halls. ha. --you find your niche. Where are most Wisconsin students from? "suburbs of chicago" ...east coast... california.. minnesota. and of course wisconsin. those together make up probably 95% of the madison population. What financial backgrounds are most prevalent? those from the east coast and from chicago area don't get reciprocity and obviously have to pay the fairly pricey out of state tuition.. so they're generally a little more wealthy. it's a real steal if you're from MN or WI!! jump on that! Are students politically aware / active? yessssss. you can get by without knowing much about politics (me) but there is a huge presence. Are they predominantly left, right or center? madison is known for being pretty liberal.. but i think it's somewhat of a misconception. i think our generation is more liberal than our parent's generation overall.. but there is still a huge presence of conservative outlooks in the student body. i'd say that assuming everyone had to pick a distinct side--left or right--about 35-45% would be conservative. Do students talk about how much they'll earn one day? no.
The Best Things
that you can have double the amount of experiences than you've had in 20 years.. in 4 or 5! you become the person you ARE!
The Worst Things
that it only lasts 4 years
