The University of Wisconsin - Madison (StudentsReview) - How to Get into WISC-Madison (Undergraduate)

Students who got into WISC-Madison:

Tips mention: Interview (0), ACT/SAT (36), Grades (56), Sports/Extracurriculars (19), College Essay (14)

“A GPA

Jan 31 2009Math
A GPA above 3.0, a couple finished gen-ed requirements (particularly core courses like Math and English), a few extra extracurriculars listed, and a decent personal essay will get you in. I'm saying this as an out-of-state student.

However, keep in mind that they like to milk the pockets of out-of-state students by making you repeat courses (this is true for UW-Milwaukee as well, but at least it was not for core courses). For me, it involved my gen-ed English courses, which should be counted for their Com. A requirement, only being counted as â€œElementary Levelâ€ even though they were advanced courses, at least by the University of California system. As was the case, I had to do some ridiculous English aptitude test which I didn't pass. From what I've seen, the English aptitude test had nothing to do with whatever their communication requirement needed. A similar situation happened to a friend of mine who transferred from Texas and he had to repeat a Calculus II course and a language course. Apparently, he was provisionally accepted and if he didn't complete the language course, they would kick him out.

Anyway, I tried to petition with one of the Communication department heads to exempt the requirement, however, the dept. head I talked to refused my English and Speech courses (from City College of San Francisco) as they were deemed not "sufficient" enough, even though they were very similar (and possibly more advanced) in books and content to what they had at UW-Madison. Let's just say that I wasn't too pleased about it. However, I've heard that it might go easier to petition with a transfer counselor instead but I wouldn't know for sure.

While I'm sure there are some lucky folks who don't need to deal with this idiocy, I had lost a semester's worth of work in this transfer. A very disappointing experience, to say the least.
Female

“Get really good

Nov 04 2008Communications
Get really good grades, do really well on your ACT, and then consider if you're really cut out for top of the line competition from all around the country and all around the world. UW-Madison is definitely a great party school, but in order to survive and even prosper you need to have strong academics. Good luck.
ACT: 28 Male

“I got in with okay

Oct 25 2008History/Histories (art history/etc.)
i got in with okay grades, some extracurricular activities and because im not white. do the same and your spot is assured.
Female

“If you're in-state (or from Minnesota), all they care

Mar 05 2008Psychology
If you're in-state (or from Minnesota), all they care about are your grades and ACT scores... It's supposed to be more difficult to get in from out-of-state...
ACT: 31 Male

“I consistantly worked on keeping my

Feb 05 2008Pharmacy
I consistantly worked on keeping my grades up, getting a good ACT score, and really tried to get involved, and take leadership. I recommend that students really work hard to branch out and try things, also I recommend taking the hardest classes possible because adjusting to the level of work needed at madison is not easy.
Female