University of Wisconsin-Madison Top Questions

I have heard Madison described as "a liberal bastion in the conservative sea of backcountry Wisconsin", and I would have to generally agree with this description. This means that Madison is extremely welcoming of all races, sexual orientations, etc. It also means, however, that the political tirades can get a bit overwhelming after 4 years. Even as a moderate liberal myself, I sometimes grow weary of all the noise (but for those interested in political action or making a difference, this is the place to be). It is possible to somewhat remove yourself from this world anyways. Football and Frats serve as obvious counterexamples, and both cultures are strong at UW-Madison. There are also plenty of conservative students from small towns sprinkled throughout Wisconsin, and almost half the freshmen in my dorm were from my native state of Minnesota (a remarkably different culture from the Wisconsin kids).

I live in Chadbourne Residential College, a dorm that is highly aware of the cultural and identity issues facing adolescents during the college years. LGBTQ has weekly meetings on all the floors, students can form sponsored groups based on mutual culture or interests, and there are even AA meetings every week. I cannot imagine a student feeling out of place once they have fully surveyed the many opportunities available. Many applicants just see a predominantly Caucasian party school, but it is a gross injustice to limit Madison in that way. I myself am involved in a rock band that plays on the terrace, the University Concert Band, board game clubs, activist groups, and feel a strong sense of community with students from many other scenes. It must be said that students and teachers at Madison are pretty much "to the left of the salad fork" in their political views. However, I consider myself a moderate Republican and often find that my views are heard and respected. The right-wing advocates primarily congregate in the business school and talk about how much their salaries will be and where they will summer. It's winter at the moment, so if I were to walk down the street I would most likely see a lot of NorthFace jackets, black leggings, and knockoff Ugg boots. As for the guys, there really is no mold that I have noticed. Anything from black-rimmed hipster glasses to UW jock apparel is common. Having said this, all forms of dress are accepted because really, nobody cares how you dress. They care how you act and what comes out of your mouth. Just last week I saw a music class parading down the street in colorful kimonos doing some sort of chant.

The University is so big and so diverse with thousands of different and unique students. There are hundreds of student organizations from sports, to film, to student political groups and activation groups. There really are so many groups to become a part of, or not to become a part of if you do not want to. THere is no pressure to join a group or stay in a group as well which is important. There are plenty of different sororities and fraternities on campus and some are centered around specific majors, religions or just social views in general. It is very hard to feel out of place here because there are literally thousands of students around campus and not everyone is the same. It is important to follow who you are and find people who share similar interests as you do however, it is also important to find what interests you and don't be afraid to try something new.

There is really no way you can make a generalization about a student body of 40,000 people. Which I suppose is kind of the best way to describe it-- there's a little of everything. There are a ton of really awesome people, ambitious and decent human beings, but there are going to be people you strongly dislike, as will happen with any sample of 40,000 people. You really choose who you surround yourself with. Madison tends to be more leftist politically than the general population, but there is certainly no shortage of Republican voices on campus. I would say, as the general vibe of campus places goes, it is pretty relaxed. Maybe it's just that midwest politeness, but I always sensed very little animosity between groups. You would think that, for example, the hipster/bohemian liberal arts students would butt heads with the career-minded, wear-a-tie-to-class business majors, but I never really got the feeling that anybody took that sort of thing too much to heart. Don't get me wrong, different groups like that would definitely keep to themselves for the most part, but I just don't think people were prone to making suspicions about a person's character based on superficial, social-status-type things like that. I don't know how unique this is to Madison, I feel like it's more of a generational thing. I should also say, the general culture really breeds ambition. If you aren't in 3 student organizations with a part-time job, you feel like a bit of a slacker. Everybody sets huge expectations for themselves, which can be kind of overwhelming, but ultimately is a cool thing to be a part of.

My campus is a diverse community. Although the major group is white, students do respect each other. There is no emphasis or discrimination on either race, religion, LGBT, socio-economy or other groups. We also have multi-cultural community, LGBTQ community and other minor communities to serve different groups of people. I would say I feel out of place at this school (just kidding). I don't really think of anyone who feel out of place at this school, because this is really a great campus and most people are friendly. (There are jerks everywhere, just ignore them.) And we have various resources on campus to make you feel at home. Most students wear red during game season. If it's a business school student, you may find him wearing business suits and a red cap :P Most of students are from midwest states except those in communication arts and journlaism majors. Many students came from New York and California to learn communication and journalism. For international students, the majority came from China, Korea and India. We have "Occupy Madison," so you can guess how politically active we are (okay, just 20ish people, but we're confident we'll win). Do students talk about how much they'll earn one day? -They don't talk much, but they keep it in mind.

My freshman year of college, I had the opportunity to live in the Chadbourne Residential College, which is one of the learning communities on campus. It also happens to be the dorm with the largest number of international students. I honestly do not think I have ever met so many different kinds of people in my life. In a lot of high schools, you see the same kinds of kids everywhere, with everyone breaking off into groups of people who are "like them." In my experience at UW-Madison, this is not the case at all. I don't feel as though any student would feel out of place on this campus. There are numerous student organizations on this campus that include many different cultural groups, religious groups, LGBT groups, sports clubs, etc. Being a scholarship kid myself, I can attest to the fact that there are people on this campus from all different socio-economic backgrounds and I never feel out of place because of it. Because of location, there is a lot of political activism on campus and most students here seem to lean toward the left. One of my favorite things about being a student at UW-Madison is that we have a laid-back atmosphere but there are still things going on constantly. Jeans and sweatshirts are definitely acceptable class attire. But because we have bitter winters here in the Midwest, you'd better bundle up if you're planning to come visit us!

Students here are the kind of people that you'll want to stay connected to for a lifetime. Because Madison only accepts the best and brightest, you'll be around some of the smartest people you'll ever meet. People are generally friendly, caring, and open, especially freshman year. While the school is largely white, there is still a significant amount of ethnic diversity across campus. Students here are from all kinds of backgrounds- international to Madison natives, low-income to upper-class, politically left-leaning to very conservative. Madison is a notoriously liberal town, and because it is the site of the state capitol political activity is common. That being said, there is definitely a place for conservative ideologies among the student body. Because of the diversity on campus, people have all different types of goals for their future- some are here just to learn, some have a career in mind, and some are very driven to reach a specific career or life goal. Overall, the student body is open to different lifestyles (LGBT, racial diversity, etc) and you would be hard-pressed to not find at least one other student who likes the same things that you do.

I feel UW-Madison has very diverse students. We have a large LGBT community and club. There is a rather large population of Chicago and East coast kids along with Minnesota and Wisconsin kids. Consequently, a majority of the student population is caucasian/ white. I think a majority of the student population are from middle class socio-economic standards. Most kids fall in engineering/biology fields or the humanities.

This campus is so large it has a remarkable mix of people. I have found myself in personal connection with many of the richly diverse groups on campus, loving hip hop and salsa dancing and having been a study abroad student. This campus is so large and racially diverse, and it is enmeshed in a very accepting, liberal community. The LBGTQA community is present and accepted in the greater Madison area as well as the campus here. Also, there is a wide variety of socio-economic groups on campus. All this along with students from all over the nation as well as a large population of international students.

Students are, as a whole, pretty liberal here. It's not very racially diverse - we're in the middle of the Midwest. Farmer country. There's two groups of people: Sconnies (other midwesterners are lumped in this category) and Coasties (that is, people from the East and West coasts). Coasties are generally richer, and get better apartments and clothes and stuff, but that's basically the only difference. Oh, and they can't stand the cold as well. The LGBT community is pretty active here. I know of at least 4 different groups geared towards that community. Anyone who takes strongly against that would probably feel out of place here. The LGBT people are loud and proud. I feel as though all types of students interact. It all depends on who you meet. The science and humanities buildings are in different parts of campus though, so it might be harder for two people from those majors to meet. On the whole, I feel like Madison is a pretty accepting place.