<p>I’d just like other opinions of NC State University and University of Wisconsin Madison. Both colleges I think have the courses I want, so it’s mainly just the city life. What is good/bad about Raleigh [cary,chapel hill, durham] and Madison? What do you think of the students, dining, people in the city, Student organisations etc.</p>
<p>Is Raleigh and the surrounding cities a fun place to spend your time? What about Madison’s city life. And the campuses, are they nice looking?</p>
<p>UW is more well-known and prestigious. Raleigh is a cool city, but I’ve never been to Madison so I don’t know how it stacks up. Most of the students at State are very friendly, but there are a lot who have an unnatural obsession with UNC; just try to stay away from those people. The Raleigh area is booming right now though, so job/internship prospects are probably pretty easy to find if you are at State.</p>
<p>Have you visited either school? If not, can you? </p>
<p>What is your likely major?</p>
<p>Are you instate for either school? If not, will your parents pay the out of state costs to go to either school?</p>
<p>Obviously, the weather at UW-M is going to be more extreme. Are you used to very cold weather? Would it bother you after a bit?</p>
<p>Madison is one of the all time great college towns. Wisky is a cut above NC State academically too.</p>
<p>The UW campus is much more scenic with miles of lakefront, parks and hills. NC State is a bit factory-like with no outstanding features. NC weather is better in the winter for sure. But UW people seem to make the best of winter with skiing, ice-skating and big-time ice hockey games.</p>
<p>NC State’s campus is pretty spread across the city. The main campus is nice and the Hillsborough st area is pretty cool but it can’t hold a candle to State st in Madison. State st is a mile long pedestrian mall connecting Library Square and the Capitol along the center of the Isthmus. Raleigh is a real city whereas Madison, though a state capitol, is essentially an overgrown college town. There are something like 200,000 residents in Madison of which 50,000 or so are students or affiliated with the university. UW is a world class university in addition to being a state school, whereas NC State is a solid state school. I would think that the choice is obvious but I would encourage you to investigate the two schools thoroughly and arrive at your own conclusions.</p>
<p>Just curious belevitt, would you say Raliegh and Durham are similar?</p>
<p>I have been to both and NO. My book would be Chapel Hill>Raleigh>>Durham.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids : I’m from the Northeast so either way my parents are paying out of state tuition. Since I’m from the Northeast I’m used to cold weather and I like the cold a lot. I’m going into animal science/ zoology and this year I am visiting both campuses.</p>
<p>Does UWM have any good off campus university units? I’ve been looking on the dorm websites and they don’t allow cats. :</p>
<p>NC State is significantly less respected academically.</p>
<p>Most students live off campus after first year. There also are private dorms but not sure if they allow pets. Many apts near campus and at least some allow cats.</p>
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<p>Hit the nail on the head. Raleigh is much more visually appealing, safe and fun than Durham.</p>
<p>UW-Madison is a big party school. Very vibrant on football Saturdays. If that appeals to you, then the decision should be easy</p>
<p>It seems like Wisconsin has better academics, but NC State and UW Madison both seem to have great animal science/ zoology programs. Any opinions on the cities of Raleigh and Madison though?</p>
<p>Downtown Madison near campus is a 24/7 college town. UW’s Zoology program is generally one of the top 3 in the US. I think NC State tends to blend more into the city and lacks the college town feel of lots of students out and about Friday and Sat nights.</p>
<p>Raleigh is a FANTASTIC place to spend your young adult years with the tremendous job growth over the past decade and the modest cost of living.</p>
<p>[Austin</a> Washington Raleigh And Boston Top 2010 Rank Of Best Cities For Young Americans - Business News - Portfolio.com](<a href=“http://www.portfolio.com/business-news/us-uncovered/2010/03/15/austin-washington-raleigh-and-boston-top-2010-rank-of-best-cities-for-young-americans/]Austin”>http://www.portfolio.com/business-news/us-uncovered/2010/03/15/austin-washington-raleigh-and-boston-top-2010-rank-of-best-cities-for-young-americans/)</p>
<p>[Triangle</a> municipalities among fastest-growing in U.S. :: WRAL.com](<a href=“Triangle municipalities among fastest-growing in U.S.”>Triangle municipalities among fastest-growing in U.S.)</p>
<p>[Ten</a> Cities Where Americans Are Relocating - Forbes.com](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/americans-moving-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-relocating.html]Ten”>Ten Cities Where Americans Are Relocating)</p>
<p>However, Madison is one of the top 5 best college towns IMHO so this one’s up for debate for sure.</p>
<p>Having driven through the Raleigh/Duram/Chapel Hill area, it is awesome. Personally I liked the parts of the NC State campus that I saw. I haven’t seen UW/Madison but I have heard it is really nice.</p>
<p><strong>IMPORTANT</strong> Do anything you can to visit these two schools and the surrounding area. The most important part of choosing a school should be how you feel at the campus and it’s surroundings area. School A may have a better program than school B but if you feel more comfortable/like the area at school B then you probably will love your college career more than if you went to school A. If I based my college decision based on prestige and rankings over how I felt on campus, I would not be going to the same school. </p>
<p>Just take my word with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Still surprised at this. OP, why are you considering NC State if you got into Madison? That implies that your stats are likely good enough to get you into a number of schools that are significantly better than NC State and in better locations. Is there a reason you are choosing btwn these two?</p>
<p>
Finances:
NC State: $23,290 (tuition/fees + housing)
Wisconsin: $29,009 (tuition/fees + housing)</p>
<p>Not a big difference in finances. It depends on how generous they would be with financial aid, if any is given to OOS students.</p>
<p>Zoology: Shouldn’t be a factor; zoology is strong at both. Along with Michigan State, Cornell, and Oklahoma, I’d put them both in the top 5 for zoology. </p>
<p>Other academic offerings: Wisconsin has stronger offerings outside zoology. It has excellent programs in history, languages, chemistry, econ, etc. </p>
<p>NC chose to split its programs between two universities. Most of the liberal arts disciplines (humanities, social sciences, sciences) are concentrated at UNC Chapel Hill, whereas NC State is fairly weak in those areas. Most of the pre-professional programs (engineering, textiles, wildlife management, architecture, agriculture, etc.) are at NC State, whereas UNC Chapel Hill lacks them almost entirely. Many states instead choose to funnel all of these programs into a single flagship public (Wisconsin, Florida, UIUC, etc.). </p>
<p>Advice: I read in your past posts than you plan to attend vet school. Either school would prepare you perfectly well for that, so I suggest picking the one you like better. Wisconsin seems the more obvious pick, given your preference for cold weather, but I agree with NateP10 – visits are in order, so it’s good you’ll be seeing both campuses. I suspect you will like one much better than the other. In any case, why decide now? Apply to both and decide if (or hopefully when) you have the luxury of choosing between them.</p>