Iowa vs. Wisconsin c/o 2019

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hulahoop

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Help! I've gotten off the wait list at Wisconsin and have to accept or reject my spot by tomorrow. I've already accepted a position at Iowa State with hopes that my state will provide funding (that the legislature is debating). If funding doesn't go through I'd be OOS at both schools. Can anyone share some pros and cons for either school?

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I'm not sure if there's any active ISU students on here. I'm actually UNL/ISU student but I'm fairly involved in my class, have spent the summer in Ames, and am officially moving down in two days. Even though the ISU classes are large students are really willing to help each other.Obviously this depends on the people in your class. They also hang out together--intermural sports, trailer park crawls, etc. There's plenty of opportunities to get involved in clubs and get leadership experience. Seriously, I haven't actually been with my entire class but somehow I've been elected to three leadership positions next year. Pretty much anything you're interested in there's a club for. I know that in the next few years they are revamping the junior surgery course (for the better) which I believe will affect your class.

If your state is CT I think they debate about paying for the contract positions every year from what I've heard. Instate tuition at ISU is really nice though.
 
Help! I've gotten off the wait list at Wisconsin and have to accept or reject my spot by tomorrow. I've already accepted a position at Iowa State with hopes that my state will provide funding (that the legislature is debating). If funding doesn't go through I'd be OOS at both schools. Can anyone share some pros and cons for either school?

Iowa OOS tution = ~$189K for 4 years. If you borrow it all and pay it back in 10 years, it will cost you around $254K and your payments will be ~$2100 a month.

Wisconsin OOS tuition = $127K for 4 years. If you borrow it all and pay it back in 10 years, it will cost you ~$166K and your payments will be ~$1400 a month.

I don't know much about the Iowa, or if you're planning on financing your education - but there's a big cost savings in going to Wisconsin.
 
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Wisconsin will still be cheaper than Iowa, but don't they have a pretty significant planned tuition increase yearly for nonresident students? Someone correct me if this is not been put in place, but it appears they have already raised OOS tuition ~5K from the 2014-15 school year to the 2015-16 year.
four years OOS might be quite a bit higher than 127K if this whats going to happen.

http://chancellor.wisc.edu/blog/pro...ut-of-state-and-professional-school-students/
 
There are some concerning things happening in Wisconsin as far as education goes right now. Just be aware of the potential hikes in tuition there. That being said, as of now the pricetag is gorgeous for OOS. Sounds like it will be a roll the dice situation for you. Good luck.
 
Congratulations on your acceptances! The OOS tuition rates for Wisconsin were officially set last month for the next two years - $30,906 and $35,906. The proposal for the following two years is $40,906 and $45,906, which I am told will likely be approved. So four years of OOS tuition starting this fall will cost $153,624.
 
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Congratulations on your acceptances! The OOS tuition rates for Wisconsin were officially set last month for the next two years - $30,906 and $35,906. The proposal for the following two years is $40,906 and $45,906, which I am told will likely be approved. So four years of OOS tuition starting this fall will cost $153,624.

Good info! Sad to see such big increases. OOS is looking worse and worse everywhere it seems.
 
Good info! Sad to see such big increases. OOS is looking worse and worse everywhere it seems.
I know! I was pretty bummed to hear about the increase, but Wisconsin has always been my dream school so it was definitely still worth it to me.
 
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I know! I was pretty bummed to hear about the increase, but Wisconsin has always been my dream school so it was definitely still worth it to me.

I agree! It's a good school and, even with the increases, it's still one of the lowest for OOS tuition.
 
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Sorry for being late to the party and I will probably be of little help (especially if you accepted your spot at Wisconsin), but as a current Iowa State student from CT (who currently receives the annual grant to pay in-state tuition) I may be able to help ease your mind.

I came to Iowa for the in-state tuition, but after living here for two years I definitely do not regret it. I adore my class and we are very supportive and helpful of each other both inside and outside of class. There is plenty of opportunity to do almost anything that interests you here, as long as you pursue it. Our Large and Small Animal Hospitals are brand new and we just opened a clinical skills lab that students essentially have free access to. My roommate is from Wisconsin and lived in Madison for 2 years and she said the cost of living is cheaper here (and WAY cheaper than CT) and I rent a room in her trailer for $400/month (everything included).

Every 2 years CT argues over passing the funding for the contracted seats and when I was accepted 2 years ago, I also received the same concerned "The money may not pass this year blah blah we hate you blah" email, but it almost always passes last minute. If it makes you feel any better, my financial aid award for the upcoming Fall/Spring semester still states that I have the funding (although there is always the fine print that says "subject to change").

Congrats on your acceptances and I am sure you'll do great wherever you decided to attend! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
 
There are some concerning things happening in Wisconsin as far as education goes right now. Just be aware of the potential hikes in tuition there. That being said, as of now the pricetag is gorgeous for OOS. Sounds like it will be a roll the dice situation for you. Good luck.

Sorry, what do you mean by this statement that there are concerning things happening?
 
Sorry, what do you mean by this statement that there are concerning things happening?
Budget cuts and reduced funding for higher education. A lot of uncertainty. My sister was applying for a position at one of the university's and they straight up told her they weren't sure if the position would be funded for more than a year because they weren't sure about monies. That and the proposed tuition hikes already mentioned - yes tuition increases are the rule rather than the exception these days but increases of $5,000 / year are crazy high
 
Thanks for the help everyone (and sorry for the delayed response)! For now I have accepted a seat at Wisconsin as well. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the ISU funding from the State of CT.
 
Congratulations! Hopefully your funding comes through because it's an amazing school and city!
 
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