Michigan vs Wisconsin (waitlist pull)

[Lisagk]

Hi! So I never thought I'd be in this position of having acceptances from multiple great schools at once and I am TORN.

I already committed to Michigan, signed a lease, getting to know my classmates, and preparing to move there next month. However, I just received the email today from Wisconsin that I've been accepted to their class. For a lot of reasons, I want to stay at Michigan State, but I just want to make sure I am making an informed decision. Based on what I read up on Wisconsin, they also have such a wonderful (maybe slightly differently formatted) program and on face value, I would be happy to attend either schools. However, I feel like I don't know much about Wisconsin outside of what is on their website and would love some insider's opinions and information on the school and program.

So far here are my thoughts.
Reasons I'm excited about Michigan:
1) I have a support group in Ann Arbor so it'd be fun to be close by
2) I applied for in-state tuition because I've been working in Michigan for the past couple of years and if that gets approved, tuition will be significantly cheaper for me. Even if I do not get in-state tuition, with the tuition reduction Michigan recently announced, it would still be cheaper to be an OOS student at Michigan than an OOS student at Wisconsin by ~$2000. (BIG plus)
3) I'm really like the new curriculum format and how supportive the administration is in general in helping their students receive the resources and help they need.
4) Cost of living in E. Lansing is a lot cheaper than in Madison.

Some questions I have about Wisconsin:
1) Were you happy/satisfied with the Wisconsin's response/handling of COVID? Why or why not?
2) How will the pandemic affect the upcoming year? Any plan of action? For example, Michigan is offering a hybrid curriculum of distance classrooms and in person labs in small groups and PPE.
3) Seems like Wisconsin has more of a traditional lecture based curriculum. Do you like it? Do you like your professors?
4) What resources are there for students? I know about the school therapist. Any other perks?
5) Do you feel well supported by the program and administration?
6) Do you enjoy living in Madison?
7) I feel like in the past two months I've been hearing a lot of scandals from UW in general in regards to sexual harassment or racism, which makes me nervous as a non-white woman. Do you feel as if the university appropriately handled these incidences and supported the victims of abuse?

Thanks for the help and the read

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[Georgethecat]

Congrats on the WL acceptance! Don't have any personal knowledge for either school.... so this is just an opinion (which we all know what that amounts to), but I'd stick with Michigan State for all of the reasons you've stated above. Especially if there is a good chance you'll be offered IS tuition. Not that it's any of my business, but why weren't you classified as IS from the get go since you've been working there?

Best of luck with your decision!

 

[Lisagk]

Congrats on the WL acceptance! Don't have any personal knowledge for either school.... so this is just an opinion (which we all know what that amounts to), but I'd stick with Michigan State for all of the reasons you've stated above. Especially if there is a good chance you'll be offered IS tuition. Not that it's any of my business, but why weren't you classified as IS from the get go since you've been working there?

Best of luck with your decision!

Thanks! So I'm originally a New Yorker so I thought I'd be classified as out of state. I stayed in Michigan after my undergrad to work and live and wasn't sure if I'd be considered a true Michigander.

 

[Georgethecat]

Hopefully they will approve IS for you! Did you change your driver's license, car registration etc? Maybe showing a Michigan state tax return as a full year resident for the past couple of years would be helpful.

 

[Lisagk]

Hopefully they will approve IS for you! Did you change your driver's license, car registration etc? Maybe showing a Michigan state tax return as a full year resident for the past couple of years would be helpful.

I did! Hopefully it will go through because it'll make this decision a lot easier lol

 

[sheltermed]

for what it's worth, it's not likely they will make a decision before school starts. I've been working with msu registrar for 8 months now on my residency application. you have the right to appeal a negative decision in writing, and if they deny your appeal you have the right to be seen in front of the committee. so it can get really dragged out. I wouldn't just take no for an answer though, definitely appeal if it comes down to it.

you can get a tuition refund for the difference between IS and OOS in previous semesters if they end up making the final decision after school starts.

 

[Lisagk]

for what it's worth, it's not likely they will make a decision before school starts. I've been working with msu registrar for 8 months now on my residency application. you have the right to appeal a negative decision in writing, and if they deny your appeal you have the right to be seen in front of the committee. so it can get really dragged out. I wouldn't just take no for an answer though, definitely appeal if it comes down to it.

you can get a tuition refund for the difference between IS and OOS in previous semesters if they end up making the final decision after school starts.

Thanks for the info! And ugh I'm sorry your appeal is being dragged out for so long, that's immensely frustrating
I'm guessing their 2-4 week decision time was a very generous estimate because I was hoping to be able to find out soon if I am granted IS tuition or not :\ though it's helpful to know they will refund tuition differences in previous semesters if they grant it later.

 

[sheltermed]

Thanks for the info! And ugh I'm sorry your appeal is being dragged out for so long, that's immensely frustrating
I'm guessing their 2-4 week decision time was a very generous estimate because I was hoping to be able to find out soon if I am granted IS tuition or not :\ though it's helpful to know they will refund tuition differences in previous semesters if they grant it later.

Especially with the pandemic, their turnaround times are especially slow right now. you'll hear back, just be extremely patient!

 

[Lisagk]

:cry:

 

[WateryTart]

1) Were you happy/satisfied with the Wisconsin's response/handling of COVID? Why or why not?
yes, I thought they handled it well.
2) How will the pandemic affect the upcoming year? Any plan of action? For example, Michigan is offering a hybrid curriculum of distance classrooms and in person labs in small groups and PPE.
we're doing lectures online, mixture of synchronous and asynchronous, and laboratories in-person or in small groups
3) Seems like Wisconsin has more of a traditional lecture based curriculum. Do you like it? Do you like your professors?
The professors are all lovely and wonderful people whom I (and my classmates) admire! They're brilliant and (usually) easy to learn from. The curriculum actually does a great job getting students hands-on experiences from day 1. We have clinical skills labs starting in 1st semester, and many many opportunities to get your hands on any animal (equine, food animal, small animal) as well as open availability for shadowing and assisting in the clinics from day 1. I'm not sure why WI always gets labeled as "traditional". Yes, we have lectures every day. No, you don't have to do ONLY lectures every day.
4) What resources are there for students? I know about the school therapist. Any other perks?
Multiple therapists, not just one. Not sure what other perks you're asking about?
5) Do you feel well supported by the program and administration?
Yes and no.
6) Do you enjoy living in Madison?
I live outside Madison but WISH I lived in the city. It's really lovely. I also LOVE my small town but Madison is truly vibrant.
7) I feel like in the past two months I've been hearing a lot of scandals from UW in general in regards to sexual harassment or racism, which makes me nervous as a non-white woman. Do you feel as if the university appropriately handled these incidences and supported the victims of abuse?
Please reach out to the Wisconsin chapter of VOICE asap and get involved. You will find your people (meaning people who are diverse/support diversity/want to make improvements at the school). VOICE has so many lovely people involved.