The University of Wisconsin - Madison

The rest (1/3) of the class consists primarily of relatively well-off out-of-staters from major metro areas (usually NY/NJ, Chicago, or somewhere out in Cali). They don't normally get along too well with in-staters (again, there's the reverse-snobbery, but I must concede some obnoxious out-of-staters take a condescending attitude towards the entire Midwest and won't stop complaining about Wisconsin the moment they step off of the plane).

The professors and grad students come from a wide array of backgrounds. They tend to be pretty liberal (some are kinda socialist/quasi-communist IMHO). Most are very research-oriented, so it's basically teach yourself, though there are a few gems who really do enjoy teaching undergrads.

The school is somewhat competitive, but nothing like what you'd see at a Michigan or a Northwestern, both of which are a bit more cut-throat (I'm just naming schools that don't have grade-inflation).

If you're into bar-hopping and that whole weekend morning walk-of-shame thing, you will absolutely LOVE this school. If not, you'll be kind of bored during the weekends. A lot of in-state kids go home Sat-Sun.

Madison is quaint with friendly locals (w/out the UW the population is probably around 250,000), but if you're from a bigger city (I'm from Chicago), you'll find it to be kind of small (but it's still nice!).

The school "name" will command a decent amount of respect (but not Harvard-level mind you) for the more ambitious members of the class who wish to attend a good graduate/professional school.

Overall, UW-Madison is a good school. You can get a lot out of it and still have fun if you put in the effort.