Penn State or UW-Madison?

MYOS1634
Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:25:40 +0000

Honors College = more interesting classes (more discussion based), smaller classes of 20-25 (=profs to write detailed recommendations for grad school v. being one among 300 in a lecture hall), learning communities, lots of perks as mentioned by XTreme Power. Important for grad schools and moderately important for employers - but indirectly important to distinguish your CV, since some of the perks are working with professors on research, going to conferences, and having access to a specific network for internships, etc.

Right now, there’s a dearth of STEM graduates in the US (they’d need three times more than universities produce, in part because many American students switch out of STEM during their first year) so odds are not too bad that you could find a job after your OPT, but only if you bring something no one else can. Congress plans on passing a law to rectify the problem with work visas for STEM graduates, high-level (Masters’s and especially PHD) graduates, with some additional spots also for family and lower-skills workers but much, much fewer than for the first two categories.
If you speak several “critical” foreign languages, keep working on them or get them certified in college because that’s also a skill that’s sought out.

Double major = combining two majors. Easy within one college (ie., within Liberal Arts, within Business) but fairly difficult for Engineering.
Anyone can ask to double major.
You can also have one major and one minor in two completely different subjects (biochemistry and French, Management and Art History, exercise science and economics…) or in two related subjects (communication and digital media, biochemistry and neuroscience, economics and finance) or two subjects where one supports the other (Exercise Science and Physical Education, management and international studies, international Business and a foreign language…)
In any case you’ll have 5 classes per semester your first year (10 classes total) and at least half if not 2/3 those will be general education classes.

You can look at the general education classes: which school offers classes you wouldn’t mind taking?
Look at the first-year seminar topics: would you be especially excited by some offered on one campus or are both schools offering topics that look compelling?
Are there learning communities and would you be allowed to join them?

Email the office of admission and ask if you can chat with a current student from your country.
During the chat, make sure to ask:
What do you like best about the school?
What do you like least?
What’s a typical Tuesday like for you ? What’s a typical Saturday like?
Is that typical for many people on campus or not?
Name 3 non-alcohol related activities you can do on weekends.
What’s the food like?
What college choices did you have senior year and would you choose this school again?