Curious to hear the experiences of others studying psych at these 2 unis- D24 is pursuing psych for her UG. D22 is at wisco for psych/neuro.
D24’s top choices all revolve around some top psych programs (Michigan - deferred, UCLA/Cal - TBD) UIUC…i was surprised to discover you have to get admitted by major at UIUC and the program options and opportunities seem more robust
Wisco is a cuter place/town - no doubt!
Are you a resident from either state?
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I was a Journalism major at UW, but I took two Psych courses – “Intro to…” and “Abnormal Psychology”. Both were excellent. Having taken Abnormal Psych, I still have fun low-key diagnosing others. hehe
UW and UIUC are peers overall. To make a broad comparison which would likely attract arguments among experts in some fields, I would say that UIUC is a hair stronger in Engineering and CS, while UW is a hair stronger in most everything else.
In Psychology, they are very close – peers.
This is a “fit” decision: assuming both are affordable, choose the school that offers the best mix of academic, environmental/geographical, and cultural fit.
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Psychology - what is the end goal?
Check the diversity of curriculum - but for most, where you go won’t matter - even outside these two schools.
It’s just the reality…grad school or maybe a lower paying position.
So if you like Wisconsin better, then that’s where you should go.
No - not a resident of any of the state schools being applied to!
Costs and instate v. Oos could have been a criterion 
Are both equally affordable?
Would it be to become a school counselor? A therapist? Premed?
Look at the curriculum: can you focus on some aspect of interest? How easy is it to add a minor (if school counselor: educational studies; if premed: neuroscience, chemistry, biostatistics; if a therapist, look into grad school requirements).
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In addition to the good info so far, I would have your D look at the profs who teach undergrad classes and see what type of research they are doing…that might help her decide.
Also have her pay attention to how often classes are offered, and if she can figure out how many of the ug classes have TAs teaching the class.
Lastly, per college navigator, there were 519 UIUC psych grads in the class with most recent data and 365 at UWisc.
Two good choices. Good luck!
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interesting - the Wisco classes have lectures taught by professors and discussion groups led by TAs for every class (psych, chem, bio etc)…i will add UIUC seems to have a lot more class offering so maybe thats why the numbers are higher
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I have an amazing friend who’s a new prof in the UIUC psych dept so that’s my vote 
. But in all seriousness, both places are great so I don’t think she can go wrong.
I would disagree somewhat - I would say that UIUC has an edge on psychology, as well as in neuroscience.
That being said, they are both considered at the top of the field.
@nat1969 I think that you nailed it in that at UIUC the program is a bit better, while at Wisconsin, life would be better in many ways.
Bottom line is what would each cost and which does your D24 prefer. No bad choice among the two, though.
There is no bad choice here. What is the career goal?
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