University of Wisconsin-Madison Top Questions

Before I came to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I wish I would have known how to prepare for exams. As a high school student, one is not expected to study as hard for tests. In high school, I had a perfect GPA and never had to study. In college, I literally had to teach myself how to study and it was something that was new to me and demanded a lot of time and effort if I wanted to achieve good grades.

I wish that I had known that success at this university requires a lot of initiative. This school will give a person everything that they need, it's just a matter of seeking it out. The opportunities at the University of Wisconsin are unlimited, but one has to be very active in working on them.

Before I came to the University of Wisconsin-Madison I wish that I had knew how important and beneficial it would have been to take more AP classes in high school. I received 6 college credits from my two passed AP tests which is equivalent to around half of a semester of credits. Having those free credits saves a ton of money, and also can prepare you a lot more for college level classes. I should've taken more AP classes.

College is a lot harder than high school.

Before attending college I thought I had to know what I wanted to do with my life - I wish I knew that wasn't necessary. After graduating, I still don't know exactly what I want to do. Going into school I wish I had known to look into multiple organizations and a variety of classes to have options and new ideas. I feel as though I limited myself by not being more involved. I wish someone told me to not be lazy and take advantage of all the opportunites available to me.

I wish I had more insight on application procedures and priorities. For many years, I was so cought up in the present, I did not start planning for my future as early as I wanted. There is so much going on, on campus, it is easy to get distracted. I would have really loved for someone to sit me down and explain the process of getting a job in my field, applying for grad school, and getting a loan. The help is out there, but in order to get it, one must know where to look.

I wish I would have known how easy it is to fall into the party scene. Although I recieved good grades and worked hard, I often partied hard on "Thirsty Thursdays" and would fail to go to class the next day.

I wish I knew about the on-campus family housing at Eagle Heights.

Madison gets cold, really cold during the winters, especially since you have to walk around a lot. It is a really good idea to bring a lot of warm clothes. Another thing is that classes do tend to get very big and it is very easy to skip class. Whatever you do don't skip class and try to go to your professor's office hours and try to build a relation ship with them.

I absolutely LOVED attending UW-Madison. Before going to school, I wish I had been advised to spend more time checking which courses would cover which requirements. I studied abroad and took some science classes which transfered as electives, not requirements for my degree. I wish I had been better advised to tell myself to look at the larger picture, then I would not have had to take classes during the summer. Time is money, and I would have liked to save myself some of both, but I wouldn't have traded my UW experience for the world!