Reputation of University of Wisconsin Campuses

[jz1988]

UW-Madison is the only UW System school that is ever ranked high in national rankings. It's almost always ranked anywhere between 20-50 in the country and in the world, depending on what rankings you look at. It is without a doubt the most prestigious and most well known school in the state, and has an increasingly strong national and international presence. UW-Madison attracts tons of students outside of the midwest and from all over the world, especially students from New York and Boston. UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, and UW-Lacrosse all seem to be becoming good schools, although they are mostly just regional schools with limited presence outside of Wisconsin. I wouldn't say UW-Madison is the biggest party school though. I would say UW-Oshkosh, UWM, UW-Whitewater and UW-Steven's Point are bigger drinkers.

[sconnielove]

Originally Posted by TAB1452

Back on topic...obviously UW-Madison is hands down the best for the amount of programs they offer...the D1 athletics and some of the best teaching you can get...

and it seems as though there is a pretty big UW-Milwaukee bias on here...

I guess if you are just looking at the university then it is OKAY for a D1 school...even though most would consider going to UW-Milwaukee at or below some of the D3 schools...not to mention the crime rate in milwaukee and recently around campus I dont see why anyone would want to go there...my best friends went there and one still does...I'm not saying its a "TERRIBLE" university...but amongst D1 and even some D3 schools in Wisconsin...I'd say it's subpar by far

I am also shocked that UW-Whitewater hasn't gotten much mention...it's probably the top D3 business school in Wisconsin as their accounting programs rank near the top in the nation and thats not just for D3 schools...they also have one of the best marketing departments in the country as their AMA chapter routinely finishes in the top 3 in the country...in fact the last 4 years they have finished 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st...going up against every division of school and private schools thats pretty good...throw in their great athletic programs and you have one of the best D3 schools not only in the state but possibly the nation...they have a student body that is bigger then schools like Vanderbilt and I think Notre Dame even...but it still has that small town feel...but then if you get bored Madison and Milwaukee are under an hour away and you can enjoy that party scene...also...WW has recently spent millions upon millions improving their dorms into suite type dorms (still in progress) just finished the building of the new Business School which is beautiful...recently just built the new Sciences building...and all of their athletic fields have been updated as well...so much positive to say about this school I wish I was going there...I don't think it is a big deal for OP but it's a very handicap accessible school

After WW I would pick LAX...I think those are by far the top two D3 schools in Wisconsin...as stated LAX also has great academic programs and it's in a larger city along the Mississippi...it's a BEAUTIFUL city with the bluffs and the river...campus is pretty nice and the girls here are tops of all D3 schools...

if I had to put the rest in order it would go

UW EC - Good schooling in a larger city located close to the Twin Cities...also close to 2 other WIAC schools
UW SP - Good school for what they offer and I personally love the area but its not for everyone...it's kind of an isolated city compared to a few other top campuses but still a quality small town college and great partying atmosphere
UW O - As much as people knock UW-Zero...I always loved going there to party...as much as I NEVER wanted to attend the school I always had fun visiting...I love the Fox Valley and there's always something to do...but the schooling isn't the best and they do have some characters there
UW P-Vegas - "Where the men are men and so are the women" basically summed it up when I was in school but it is a great engineering school and its located very close to Dubuque Iowa...its kind of an isolated school as well and in a small town but it depends what you are looking for
UW Stout - It appears everyone else has said what I would say..."when in doubt..."
UW RF - A great school for anything ag related but outside of that and the beauty surrounding campus theres not much going for this school...maybe that the Chiefs stay there during training camp?
UW Superior - IDK...can't say much about this school...if it was a vacation home I might enjoy it...but not going to school there...

How can you put River Falls at the very bottom, just above Superior??? Outside of Madison and Milwaukee, RF is the only school in a real "metro area," (bigger than Madison or Milwaukee's metro areas combined, I might add). In the last 5 years it has been accredited as a top business school and draws over half of it's students from the MSP metro area, as opposed to other state schools where everyone comes from a hick town. Yes, it started as an "agricultural school," but the percentage of students that go there for ag are very, very small now! It is more well known for education and business now than agriculture, and if you're looking to get a job in the Cities after college, I guarantee River Falls will look better on your resume than Oshkosh, Stevens Point, Whitewater or Platteville because people actually know where River Falls is! Good luck finding a job in "metro" Dubuque, Iowa, the Fox Cities or sprawling Stevens Point!

[Milwaukee City]

Where is River Falls again????

[Wellstone]

Originally Posted by sconnielove

How can you put River Falls at the very bottom, just above Superior??? Outside of Madison and Milwaukee, RF is the only school in a real "metro area," (bigger than Madison or Milwaukee's metro areas combined, I might add). In the last 5 years it has been accredited as a top business school and draws over half of it's students from the MSP metro area, as opposed to other state schools where everyone comes from a hick town. Yes, it started as an "agricultural school," but the percentage of students that go there for ag are very, very small now! It is more well known for education and business now than agriculture, and if you're looking to get a job in the Cities after college, I guarantee River Falls will look better on your resume than Oshkosh, Stevens Point, Whitewater or Platteville because people actually know where River Falls is! Good luck finding a job in "metro" Dubuque, Iowa, the Fox Cities or sprawling Stevens Point!

River Falls as part of the twin cities metro is more than a stretch, they are 30 miles apart. you might as well call uw-parkside as part of metro chicago then.

And I guarantee nobody cares if you have a degree from River Falls if they "know where that is" means anything over a degree from any other school. It depends on what your degree is in. If you are majoring in basket weaving which is pretty much what you get from a lot of these schools, nobody cares which one you went to.

By the way when you diss UW-Platteville realize they have the best placement rates of any schools in the UW system. And no they don't all work in Dubuque - most end up in Fox Cities, Peoria, or Iowa where some of the major large equipment manufacturers are - you know like John Deere and Caterpillar. But if you're looking for a job at Abercrombie, maybe that UWRF degree in basket weaving gets you a leg up.

Who expects to stay in the same town they went to school to, by the way? Most UW grads don't stay in Madison either.

[sconnielove]

Originally Posted by Wellstone

River Falls as part of the twin cities metro is more than a stretch, they are 30 miles apart. you might as well call uw-parkside as part of metro chicago then.

And I guarantee nobody cares if you have a degree from River Falls if they "know where that is" means anything over a degree from any other school. It depends on what your degree is in. If you are majoring in basket weaving which is pretty much what you get from a lot of these schools, nobody cares which one you went to.

By the way when you diss UW-Platteville realize they have the best placement rates of any schools in the UW system. And no they don't all work in Dubuque - most end up in Fox Cities, Peoria, or Iowa where some of the major large equipment manufacturers are - you know like John Deere and Caterpillar. But if you're looking for a job at Abercrombie, maybe that UWRF degree in basket weaving gets you a leg up.

Who expects to stay in the same town they went to school to, by the way? Most UW grads don't stay in Madison either.

Actually, RF is less than 25 miles and 20 minutes from downtown St. Paul and is part of the MSP metro. Obviously you've never been to this side of the state. Also, Parkside is a lot closer to Milwaukee than Chicago, and STILL farther from MKE than RF is to Mpls or St. Paul...just FYI. I'm not saying everyone that goes to school in River Falls ends up working IN River Falls, or even in the MSP area...I'm saying if you ARE, most people would recognize the school and know that it's a good institution! Basketweaving isn't a very popular major here either, btw. Maybe at Stout or Stevens Point which are apparently both better than RF..?? People are obviously taking this post the wrong way...it's not to bash one UW school over the other. I don't think ANY of the UW schools are bad! We have probably the best college opportunities of any state and should be proud of that! I just get upset that River Falls is so neglected by the rest of Wisconsin.

[Milwaukee City]

What are we splitting hairs here?

UW-Madison
Marquette
UWM

Then the rest of the UW schools are basically the same, you're not going to get more respect or look if you say went to Oshkosh or River falls. You'll still get the same question..."So it's part of the UW system ? and where in Wisconsin is it?"

[Wellstone]

Originally Posted by sconnielove

Actually, RF is less than 25 miles and 20 minutes from downtown St. Paul and is part of the MSP metro. Obviously you've never been to this side of the state. Also, Parkside is a lot closer to Milwaukee than Chicago, and STILL farther from MKE than RF is to Mpls or St. Paul...just FYI. I'm not saying everyone that goes to school in River Falls ends up working IN River Falls, or even in the MSP area...I'm saying if you ARE, most people would recognize the school and know that it's a good institution! Basketweaving isn't a very popular major here either, btw. Maybe at Stout or Stevens Point which are apparently both better than RF..?? People are obviously taking this post the wrong way...it's not to bash one UW school over the other. I don't think ANY of the UW schools are bad! We have probably the best college opportunities of any state and should be proud of that! I just get upset that River Falls is so neglected by the rest of Wisconsin.

Parkside is farther from Downtown chicago but the chicago metro area also covers a much larger area than does the twin cities. You may not have realized that Kenosha is actually a stop on Chicago's Metra train - it's an hour in but it's also an hour in from places like Elgin which are considered part of Chicagoland area.

I know River Falls is not part of the Twin Cities transit system, maybe there are special buses connecting the two areas but there aren't regular lines even running into Hudson.

Now Kenosha is no more part of Chicago than River Falls is part of Minneapolis, especially since nobody in their right mind would make those types of commutes.

I have been to western wisconsin because I live in the Twin Cities and I've also lived all over Wisconsin through the years, so I know what I'm talking about. And I also know that generally speaking the Twin Cities consist of the 7 county metro area which includes Anoka, Washington, Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Scott and Carver counties. Some people think of Hudson as part of the metro but I've never heard River Falls in that conversation. If that's the case where does it end, Menominee? Should we include St. Cloud then too?

[Drover]

^^ I say Tomah.

[sconnielove]

Originally Posted by Wellstone

Parkside is farther from Downtown chicago but the chicago metro area also covers a much larger area than does the twin cities. You may not have realized that Kenosha is actually a stop on Chicago's Metra train - it's an hour in but it's also an hour in from places like Elgin which are considered part of Chicagoland area.

I know River Falls is not part of the Twin Cities transit system, maybe there are special buses connecting the two areas but there aren't regular lines even running into Hudson.

Now Kenosha is no more part of Chicago than River Falls is part of Minneapolis, especially since nobody in their right mind would make those types of commutes.

I have been to western wisconsin because I live in the Twin Cities and I've also lived all over Wisconsin through the years, so I know what I'm talking about. And I also know that generally speaking the Twin Cities consist of the 7 county metro area which includes Anoka, Washington, Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Scott and Carver counties. Some people think of Hudson as part of the metro but I've never heard River Falls in that conversation. If that's the case where does it end, Menominee? Should we include St. Cloud then too?

You are a bigger idiot than I thought. Kenosha is "technically" a part of the Chicago metro...I'll agree with you there...but it's also over an hour to downtown Chicago on a ****ing train that doesn't stop (twice as long to drive). It takes 20 minutes to DRIVE from River Falls to St. Paul. And no, there aren't bus lines connecting River Falls to either Minneapolis or St. Paul yet...just like there aren't "metro bus lines" connectiing Chicago to Kenosha. Both River Falls and Hudson are closer to Minneapolis/St. Paul than most of Carver and Scott counties in Minnesota though, so I don't know where you're going with this argument. www.emporis.com. Look at the metro cities listed or try to read a map, if you're capable. Valleyfair, which is the cities theme park is farther from downtown St. Paul than River Falls is.

[Drover]

You know, I'm a little skeptical that UWRF holds such a prestigious place in the hearts and minds of Twin Cities-area hiring decisionmakers. I think maybe UM overshadows it just a teeny bit.

I just did the River Falls to St. Paul drive a few weeks ago (in reverse order actually). Two observations: 1) it takes 20 minutes only if you have no regard for the safety of your fellow motorists and no fear of law enforcement; 2) nobody can seriously consider Assbriar Falls a part of the TC metro area; there's an awful lot of open space between the two, and not even enough sporadic development to "fake it." I could see it happening 25 years from now, but not today.

Decent little brewery in RF though.