The University of Wisconsin - Madison

“UW Madison likes involvement in extra-cirriculars, so emphasize thatMay 01 2009Neuroscience/Cognitive Science
UW Madison likes involvement in extra-cirriculars, so emphasize that for sure. You need about a 3.7 or 3.8 GPA to get in and a good ACT score...it keeps getting more competitive every single year cuz it's such a great education and great experience for a decent (although currently rising) price
ACT: 32 Female

“Get around a 4Apr 26 2009Undecided
Get around a 4.0 in High school and an ACT of ATLEAST above a 28. Good luck!
ACT: 32 SAT: 2260 Female

“A GPA above 3Jan 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 “Elementary Level” 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

“As an in-state student you just need to beDec 22 2008Psychology
As an in-state student you just need to be in the top 10% of your HS class and have about a 27+ on the ACT to get in to UW...
ACT: 31 SAT: 1420 Male

“As an in state student, I had a 3Dec 03 2008Genetics
As an in state student, I had a 3.98 (unweighted)GPA, and similarly high test scores. Expect to show that you are well rounded on the application (i.e. extracurriculars, volunteer work, leadership roles, etc.). Show that you are more than just a brain; that you are willing to take in more than just knowledge at the UW. If your numbers aren't so good, write a convincing essay, one that makes your values shine.
ACT: 31 SAT: 1650 Female