UW vs. Edgewood (Madison, Cornell, Dane: transfer to, schools, universities)

[Tiggerr888]

Anyone have any opinions on which school would be the best to attend? I've set up appointments to visit each one, but right now I'm kind of leaning towards Edgewood. They both seem to have good wildlife biology/coservation programs. Also does the animal research at UW sway a lot of students against going there? I think it would look bad going to a college that does animal research when I'm trying to get into the wildlife conservation field. I'd love to hear from someone that goes to either school on whether they like it or not.
THanks for the help

[tchemgrrl]

Depends on what kind of environment you want.

I went to a "little sister" type of school as an undergrad (Ithaca College, across town from Cornell U), and attend the UW for grad school, so I know a bit of what it's like to be on either side. Just some generalities here.

Aspects of going to a smaller school:
-more individual attention. It's more likely that you'll be able to cultivate relationships with your profs, because you're not just one of 1000 kids that walks through the doors every day.
-more responsibility in research: You won't have grad students there doing the hard stuff, it's all up to you. I think this cultivates more independence than a lot of what I see of undergrad research at the UW.
-less competition: I'm talking about outside interests here, what I mean is that let's say you like singing, but don't want to make it your lifes' work. You're more likely to be able to find a small group that doesn't have tons of people auditioning. It's the "big fish in a small pond" phenomenon.
-feeding off the larger school: the UW has world-class libraries and research that you'll have access to, being in town, and you won't need to deal with being at a bigger place if you don't want to.
-better teaching: The profs you have are more likely to really enjoy teaching, rather than just having it be something they have to deal with amidst their research.

Aspects of going to the UW:
-You can find your niche: *Any* kind of hobby you have, you'll be able to find students that also enjoy it.
-Sometimes individual attention is bad: A prof teased me duing my junior year for handing in some homework late, after I'd handed in *everything* on time that semester, because I'd been a slacker in his class during freshman year. There can be advantages to being a little fish.
-Worldwide name recognition: If you plan on staying in the Madison area or if Edgewood has the #1 program your area of interest this might not be a problem, but most of the time, no one will know what Edgewood College is if you go outside of Dane County (people sometimes think that Ithaca College is a *part* of Cornell out here, and I have to explain that it's not). You'll never have that problem with a degree from the UW; you won't have to worry that people might think you had a sub-par education, just because they don't recognize the name of the school you attended.
-You can change your mind: If you decide you want to do something different, there's an excellent chance that if you went to the UW you could change your mind, whereas there'd be a good chance that you'd have to switch schools if you went to Edgewood.
-Better-funded research: If you want to do research, there's a better chance of getting paid at the UW, and of having every facility you can dream of available to you.
-Better-connected profs: Again might not be the case if Edgewood really has a top-rated program in your field, but profs at Research I universities travel a *lot*, and know a *lot* of people.

I don't regret the choices I made. Going to a bigger school for undergrad might have been better in the long run in terms of door-opening, but I would have had a much harder time of it if I was one of five hundred kids in the 101 classes.

Oh, and I don't think that the animal research thing will be an issue unless your goal is to work with an animal-rights group (even then, a good friend of mine got hired at PETA and went to school at Cornell). UW is a major research university. Animal research happens at major research universities.

[trizkutt]

This is a joke, right? Edgewood over UW? Lets see:


Edgewood:

-A regional, very average liberal arts school
-Very Small
-You will likely not find many job prospects out of Wisconsin
-Little recognition, perceived as medicore even by Madison residents
-Fewer opportunities
-The only flipside: More personal attention. But if you want that, why not go to a better school? If you can get into UW, you can probably get into much better liberal arts colleges than Edgewood.

Madison:

-The 2nd largest research University in the country after Johns Hopkins
-Literally dozens of top-ranked programs (in many cases, ranked #1 in the nation. That's out of every school)
-Internationally and nationally recognized for excellence
-Top 10 in producing fulbright scholars, right after Stanford
-Endless educational and extra cirricular activites
-Exciting atmosphere and "badger community" feel

Not to sound mean, but most people, both local and not, would laugh at you for wanting to choose a really average, obscure liberal arts school over one of the nation's fines universities.

[Tiggerr888]

"Not to sound mean, but most people, both local and not, would laugh at you for wanting to choose a really average, obscure liberal arts school over one of the nation's fines universities."

Lol I guess it's a good thing that I don't really care what other people think of my decisions then :P
I'm not planning on graduating from either of the colleges. My plan is to get some of my classes out of the way and then transfer to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. From what I've heard that school has the best wildlife program of any schools. I'm just afraid that I wouldn't like how big the UW school is. It's nice to get to know your teachers and not be lost in the crowd.

[Meteor10]

"I'm just afraid that I wouldn't like how big the UW school is. It's nice to get to know your teachers and not be lost in the crowd."

It certainly is a very big school, and if you're only looking to take a few classes at UW, you may feel distant from people, such as professors, etc. That being said, I think it really depends on exactly what classes you're taking. The more introductory lectures (100/200 level classes) can be huge lecture halls with smaller discussion sections. But more advanced classes would be very small, and you wouldn't feel "lost in the crowd." UW is a great University, and as an undergraduate, I never felt lost there. In many ways, I see it as a school for nearly everyone...you can always find something to do on campus/downtown. Have you been to Madison yet? You'll love it, if you haven't. It's a wonderful city with lots of great restaurants, arts, outdoorsy events (lakes everywhere!), etc.

As far as UW having a history of doing animal research, I definitely don't foresee that being a problem in the future, simply because the school has such a tremendous research history. The only way that might be a problem is if you were an animal researcher, and you were looking at jobs in the future on conservation and animal rights/protection. So definitely don't worry about that.

Good luck with your choice!!

[liveurdream]

I went to Edgewood College and I think it would be reasonable for me to provide my overview of the campus, education, etc.

The important stuff....

Education: You will take the same classes in most of the majors as a big university does, but the quality of the professors doesn't match the quality of "expertise" and "knowledge" of a bigger university. If you want to go to medical school, don't go to Edgewood College. There hare been some students from Edgewood College to get into medical school, but that is only handful of hundreds of doctor wannabes that have come through the school and ended up being lab techs at Covance or UW Madison after graduation.

Tuition: OVERPRICED for the quality. Do yourself a favor and don't go there if you don't have much aid.

Commute or campus student environment: Most of the students are commuters. They come in from area small towns and some small towns from around the state.

Prestige: There isn't any.

Edgewood college is for the type of students who want to go to physician assistant school, nursing, area Madison entry level jobs, or to prepare for graduate school at UW-Madison.

Some Edgewood College graduates have become successful in life, but most work for area Madison companies as entry level employees, managers and supervisors.

If you want to make it big in life, graduating from Edgewood College is going to make it hard, but it can still be done.

[gallon]

Originally Posted by trizkutt

This is a joke, right? Edgewood over UW? Lets see:


Edgewood:

-A regional, very average liberal arts school
-Very Small
-You will likely not find many job prospects out of Wisconsin
-Little recognition, perceived as medicore even by Madison residents
-Fewer opportunities
-The only flipside: More personal attention. But if you want that, why not go to a better school? If you can get into UW, you can probably get into much better liberal arts colleges than Edgewood.

Madison:

-The 2nd largest research University in the country after Johns Hopkins
-Literally dozens of top-ranked programs (in many cases, ranked #1 in the nation. That's out of every school)
-Internationally and nationally recognized for excellence
-Top 10 in producing fulbright scholars, right after Stanford
-Endless educational and extra cirricular activites
-Exciting atmosphere and "badger community" feel

Not to sound mean, but most people, both local and not, would laugh at you for wanting to choose a really average, obscure liberal arts school over one of the nation's fines universities.

Fullbright scholars? Heck, UW Madison is known for its Nobel prize winners. Some 17 are associated with UW. The guy that invented the transistor? That guy went through UW. UW's next Nobel winner will be the guy who happens to be the father of stem cell studies. Et cetera. As to being influential, the UW is considered to be in the top 15 in the world.

Still, some people might be better suited to a quieter school like Edgewood. No problem with that.

[barney_rubble]

Originally Posted by Tiggerr888

=
I'm not planning on graduating from either of the colleges. My plan is to get some of my classes out of the way and then transfer to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. From what I've heard that school has the best wildlife program of any schools. I'm just afraid that I wouldn't like how big the UW school is. It's nice to get to know your teachers and not be lost in the crowd.

I hope you know what you're doing. Fairbanks is a tough place to live, and while UAF may be great for wildlife (I wouldn't know) it is nowhere close to UW in most other areas.

Still, if you absolutely know you want wildlife and you can handle the cold, you'll see some great northern lights!

Good luck.

[Tappan Zee]

Wow, this thread was brought back to life. LOL, I bet OP is on his way to grad school by now. As a UW grad, I hope you chose UW. Go Badgers!

[Harpoon]

This shouldn't even be a consideration, there isn't really a comparison between Edgewood and UW. I'd never even heard of Edgewood before moving to Madison, it reminds me of Bushwood Country Club from Caddyshack. UW will get you farther in your career than Edgewood ever could, unless you plan on staying in Madison your entire life. Once you get outside of Madison and are looking for a job, recruiters will see Edgewood on your resume and think that it is one of those online schools like Phoenix and toss your resume into the circular file.