<p>I attended both schools, but that was for grad school, which is different from an undergraduate experience. I was also in Madison a long time ago, and some things have changed since I left (I still read the alumni magazine). Here’s my two cents for what they’re worth:</p>
<p>Both schools can give you an excellent education, but it’s up to you to go out and get it. You can coast through four years at either place and graduate not knowing any more than you knew when you arrived, or you can get a fantastic education with research experience and graduate fully prepared for whatever it is you want to do next. That part is completely up to you. In terms of the quality of education, the rankings tend to favor UT, but honestly I’d say it’s a toss-up. UT has recently built or remodeled a number of student facilities, and wins the recreation battle handily.</p>
<p>UT wins on school spirit. Burnt orange goes with everything. UW seems to have more school spirit now than it was when I was there. (“What do you get when you cross a badger with a groundhog?” “Six more weeks of lousy football.”)</p>
<p>Both cities are state capitals and university cities, and overwhelmingly politically liberal, but Austin is by far the larger of the two. To me, Madison seemed to think it was some kind of major cosmopolitan center, which for Wisconsin maybe it is, but I came from Chicago and Madison felt like a small town pretending to be something it wasn’t. Austin is surrounded on three sides by Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio (each larger and with their own distinct personalities), and has a better sense of what it is and what it is not.</p>
<p>Both cities and both schools lean pretty far to the left even on the liberal scale, but I’ve found conservatives to have a little more standing in Austin than in Madison.</p>
<p>Austin is more laid back in general. The music, film, and creative writing cultures are vibrant. The unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird.”</p>
<p>I went to each school planning to get a degree and move back to Chicago. After three years in Madison I moved to Austin. After three years in Austin I bought a house.</p>