University of Wisconsin-Madison Top Questions

I wish I had known how helpful AP classes are. They test students out of many entry level courses, and they prepare students for college exams. After my first exam, I learned how thankful I was that I had taken so many AP exams. Also, I wish I had known of the massive amount of freetime and distractions. Because you have so much time to do whatever, it is easy to get carried away on doing fun things instead of studying, and studying is a must at UW-Madison.

I wish I had known how to better distribute my time among my different courses. Being more organized would also allow me to open my eyes to other organizations and clubs that the University has to offer. I want to get the most out of my college experience and I never realized that time and money step up so much in importance in my list of priorities.

I wish I had been more knowledgeable about the importance of a high school GPA later in my educational career.

How large some of the classes are

Before coming to school I wish I would have known how hard the work load would be. I mean in high school, teachers always remind you that college is going to much hard than high school and it wasn't that I didn't believe them. But I under estimated things because in college, or at least UW, some course are taught in a completely different format. Like math for example. If I would have know workloads were going to be this much, I would have prepared myself more.

I wish I would have known how much living expenses can be. While living in the dorms is convenient, it is also fairly expensive. I met a lot of great friends in my dorm, and I would encourage any prospective student to live in the dorms the first year. When I started looking for a house for my sophomore year, I realized that a decent house near the campus is just as expensive if not more than the dorms and apartments are even pricier. So you should plan on spending a lot on housing, maybe as much as tuition.

The one thing I wish I had known before coming to this school is how much effort it takes in order to achieve the grades you desire. It is no longer high school, where doing your work is good enough for an A. To get an A at the university level, it takes a complete and total comprehension of the material covered. The tests require this comprehension in order to do well on them, because although they are multiple-choice, the questions are designed in such a way that guessing is not possible; you must know what the answers are.

Before coming to UW-Madison, I wish that I would have known how quickly the large campus becomes a small environment. I worried about being lost on the campus, but found that a strong group of friends is easily created.

Before coming to college, I wish I had a better idea of what sort of major I was interested in. In high school, I always enjoyed math and science courses, but when I got to college I didn?t really know what to do with that knowledge.

I wish I knew about the career services for Engineering students right when I came to the school and immediatly enrolled and got my resume up to par. I still have not and I have been at UW Madison for three semesters. These services are going to be critical for me to get a job and to help out with the whole proscess. Knowing what your school offers you is incredibly important and every student should discover what a huge help UW Madison can be for them.

I wish I had known that despite the size of the student body and campus, UW Madison can be as large as you would like for it to be. Also, I would have wanted to know that although it makes things easier to choose a major early in your college career and take classes in that area, it is imporant to also take classes that interest you outside of that major as they have proven to be some of the most influential classes I have taken at UW.

I wish I had recognized the importance of organizational skills! After Welcome Week, with its parties and revelry, it was difficult getting into a routine that would permit me to excel in my studies as well as stay in shape physically and give time to the community, all of which I had done in high school. I also wish I had realized that many students in the dorms would pressure me to spend more time partying than studying, so I could have prepared myself better for those temptations and spent more time at the library with other like-minded students.

never trust the advising. Figure everything out for yourself

How to study better for exams. I also with I had more technological software training in high school.

Living in the dorms isn't required freshman year, but you should definitely do it because otherwise it will be very difficult to make friends.

Live your life to the fullest, don't worry so much about grades. As long as you try your best, you will be fine, but it's important to allow yourself to cut loose and have fun. Don't get totally hung up in the academics. Live a little. These are supposed to be the best years of your life.

I came from a small highschool where everybody knew each other to a huge university where it is easy to get lost and confused. I wish I had been given advice on how to advocate for myself and establish connections with faculty who could help me, because now as I enter my junior year I still don't know where to turn for help regarding my major and my future choices. When attending a university with 30,000+ students its easy to be anonymous; I wish I had put myself out there so that I stood out from the crowd.

I wish I had known the best places to study, the best places to eat, and the best places to get some good alone time.

How expensive housing is.

I wish I had known more about what the work load would be like. You never really find out until you are in the middle of everything. Also I wish I would have joined a few more clubs right off the bat. Extra Curriculars are a great way to have fun and get to know other people.