Bill is heading to Gov. Tony Evers to be signed or vetoed.
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For someone in the top 5%, can they major in whatever they want?
I donāt know the details of the bill. I suspect it hasnāt been made public yet. The only number I have seen is if passed, it will begin in Fall 2025. It is of interest to see if UWāMadison chooses to adopt UTāAustinās model where admission to school is guaranteed, but admission to certain majors is not such as to engineering, CS, and business. Lots of unknowns at this point it seems.
You are right about there being lots of unknowns. The devil is always in the details, isnāt it? 
There are many high schools in our area of Wisconsin that do not do class rank and also do not weight GPAs. How schools determine the top 5% will be interesting to watch.
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My read of the bill:
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The bill expects Wisconsin high schools to come up with ways to rank students.
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The bill expects the ranking to be determined by a combination of GPA, ACT, coursework, and other measures of academic achievement or scholastic merit. This is different from how the state of Texas does it, which is based entirely on weighted GPA. How Wisconsin high schools weigh the various factors will be interesting to see. Can students go test optional and, if so, how to fairly compare them with those who have test scores?
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Admission is guaranteed only to the institution and not to any specific program. This is similar to UTāAustin, where competitive majors like CS and business can still be elusive.
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No explicit mention of SAT throughout the bill, although I suspect it falls under āother measures of academic achievement or scholastic merit.ā
Iām not sure about your point 1, it seems the way to rank students is up to the high schools, not the system schools.
The analysis states: āThe bill requires school boards, charter school operators, and governing bodies of private schools and tribal schools that operate high schools to 1) establish a method
for ranking pupils on the basis of academic achievement, which may take into
account the pupilās grade point average, ACT examination score, course work, and
other measures of academic achievement or scholastic merit; and 2) using this
ranking method, annually prepare a class ranking of pupils at the end of 11th grade
and 12th grade. The class ranking must identify pupils who rank in the top 5 percent
of their high school class and may include the class ranking of other pupils as well.
The school board, charter school operator, or governing body must provide notice of
ranking to each pupil ranked in the top 5 percent of the pupilās high school class. If
a high schoolās class enrollment is less than 20 pupils, the highest ranked pupil in
the class is considered to be in the top 5 percent.ā
In the Bill: ā118.58 Class rankings. (1) If a school board, operator of a charter school
15under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or governing body of a private school or tribal school
16operates a high school that includes grades 11 and 12, the school board, charter
17school operator, or governing body shall do all of the following:
18(a) Establish a method for ranking pupils on the basis of academic
19achievement. This ranking method may take into account the pupilās grade point
20average, the pupilās score on the ACT examination or similar examinations, the
21degree of academic rigor of the pupilās course work, and any other measure of
22academic achievement or scholastic merit, but may not consider factors that are not
23academic or scholastic in nature.
24(b) Using the ranking method established under par. (a), for each high school
25that includes grades 11 and 12, prepare a class ranking of pupils enrolled in the high
1school as of the classās completion of grade 11 and as of the classās completion of grade
212. The school board, charter school operator, or governing body may also prepare
3a grade 12 mid-year class ranking.
4(2) (a) Subject to par. (b), each class ranking under sub. (1) (b) shall identify
5those pupils who rank in the top 5 percent of their high school class. The class
6ranking may also identify the class rank of pupils who do not rank in the top 5 percent
7of their high school class.ā
It has the makings of a tremendous mustard truck.
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You are correct! I confused the two very different entities 
. Thanks for pointing out. Iāll fix it.
And yup, no matter how each high school does the ranking, there will be unhappy parents and students.
I can see some very unanticipated reactions. Kids near some āless competitiveā schools can switch enrollment and be instant Top 5%. Happened in Texas
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Hi. Child was deferred but we are cautiously optimistic about RD. Can anyone tell me when Admitted Students Day is?
Your UW Day, which I think is the admitted students day, as of now is only open on March 22
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Ah okay, thank you. I was hoping for one in April if admitted.
Assuming theyāll open up more when Deferred/Regular Decisions are releasedā¦
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FAFSA keeps doing us dirtyā¦From an email just in:
āThe University of WisconsināMadison continues to closely monitor the impacts of the national FAFSAĀ® data delay for students and their families.
We remain committed to ensuring that you receive the information you need as quickly as possible, once we receive your FAFSAĀ®.
We understand that you may need additional time to receive, understand, and consider your financial aid offer before making a final decision to attend UWāMadison.
As a result, we will be extending our deadline to May 15, 2024, to accept your offer of admission and to submit your on-campus housing contractā¦ā
This is on the heels of admissions telling me that with the FAFSA problems itās OK to have FAFSA completed by the end of June. I assume this means they do not expect FAFSA data in their office anytime soon.
Weāre in-state and the FAFSA impact means little to us, but these delays are going to have a debilitating effect on many familiesā ability to make decisions until then.
I also feel for the admissions office and the burden this SNAFU has placed on them.
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I heard that FAFSA sent sample ISIRs to universities to test the new file format/submission process. Apparently it didnāt go well.
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Does anyone know when RD decisions come out?
Based solely on previous years, March 22nd looks likely for the release of RD.
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I got deferred from UW Mad cs and I missed the deadline to submit my mid year grades (Feb 15th). Do you think I will still be able to submit my grades? I emailed them but no response yet.
Probably best to contact their admissions office. Maybe you can still submit your grades through the Common App.