Right now, prospective Badgers around the country are taking last-minute tours, reading up on different majors and trying to decide whether they can really see themselves walking up Bascom Hill for the next four years. Some students were eager to matriculate as soon as they got their acceptance email. Others are reluctant even now.
This article is for the “reluctant” Badger.
The student who grew up dreaming of hallowed halls and vine-draped walls. The student who watched Rory Gilmore, Elle Woods and just about every Disney Channel character get into the Ivy League institution of their choosing. The student who spent years getting straight As, driving to debate tournaments on the weekends and lugging around a cello at school. The student who, for one reason or another, was hoping for options other than the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Trust me. In four years, you will be glad you picked here.
As someone who attended a high school that prides itself on its college placements, I have the unintended benefit of knowing students at several top universities. I hear a lot of horror stories. Registering for a competitive class or getting face time with a professor will inevitably pit you against a swarm of other highly-competitive students, all vying for those same limited opportunities.
Extracurriculars are no less cutthroat. Ivy League students lament month-long audition processes, comprehensive applications and even tests in order to be placed into a club. Even then, there’s no guarantee. An investment club at Yale turned away 236 applicants in 2022. I personally know of multiple students who have been cut from college debate clubs halfway through the semester.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with a competitive culture; UW-Madison certainly has one. But learning to be a competitor is just one aspect of a well-rounded college experience. Students also need to be able to explore new interests that they didn’t, or couldn’t, access in high school. The Ivy League’s ruthless academic and extracurricular culture disincentivizes this sort of experimentation, accepting students only with relevant experiences coming in.
Enter UW-Madison. Putting aside game days, Jump Around, ice cream on the terrace, four years in one of the nation’s best college towns and all of the other reasons your parents will give to make you excited about UW-Madison, our “new Ivy” status really does ring true. The faculty on campus is unwaveringly exceptional. There are boundless extracurriculars to explore. But you won’t have to fight for time with professors and you won’t have to spend your fall getting college application PTSD just to join a cappella.
You’ll also avoid the Ivy League political spotlight. After endless plagiarism, protest and free speech issues at Harvard and other Ivy Plus schools, students report journalists harassing them on the quad, relatives pestering them at home and classes interrupted by noisemakers and megaphones. Incoming college freshmen are not blind to this political climate, and have begun to opt instead for less competitive institutions that will offer a greater sense of community.
If you’re still feeling remiss watching your friend at Princeton post photos of her eating club, remember: it isn’t just on the university to craft an intellectually fulfilling college experience. It’s on you to go to the speakers that they host, do your research before you choose your classes and keep trying new things until you find your community. Innumerable options are available to UW-Madison students, but you’ll be in a select group of students who participate, and you’ll be noticed for it. I’d call that the best of both worlds.
From here, you can still get into your dream graduate school. You can still go to a “T14” or work at a “Big 5.” When you do, you’ll have a network that other applicants don’t have, an alumni community that you’re proud to be a part of and a union terrace that you’ll miss sitting at every day. Take it from someone who only has two more weeks to sit there.
Lauren Stoneman is a senior studying political science, history and philosophy. Do you agree UW-Madison offers students an education on par with Ivy League institutions? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
Lauren Stoneman is an opinions editor for The Daily Cardinal.
