<p>UW parent here – the graduation rate at UW should not be a consideration in terms of your own experience. That rate includes students who transfer back to other campuses etc. My son, at UW, has met 1st generation college kids as well as kids who have literally never left their small Wisconsin town until they came to Madison. Some of them decide to leave and finish elsewhere (or not finish at all). The peer group at UW is diverse – it is a big party school for sure, with great school spirit. You can see on youtube the spontaneous celebration on State St when the Badgers bball team made it to the final four. Some kids will party too hard and get 2.5s and worse. But there are many smart, focused, hard working kids taking advantage of the incredible opportunities. </p>
<p>Did you apply for Honors program at UW? There are undergrad research fellowships for honors students. Another way to get plugged into research right away is through the undergrad research program – you apply separately to it, and are matched up with professors and gets you in the lab etc right away. Take a look on the website for more info. </p>
<p>Another option is the FIG – first year interest group at UW. A cluster of thematically linked courses that 20 students take together. One is a seminar, and the others are typical intro lecture courses with small discussion sections led by graduate student. However, the discussion section is made up of only your fellow fig students, so you have 2-3 classes with the same group of kids. My son did a FIG fall of freshman year and loved it, as a way to meet kids who share your academic interests and as a way to shrink the first year experience. </p>
<p>As someone from the east coast, now living in the midwest, I would personally say UW has a better national reputation as an academic institution than William & Mary. W&M is known as a public liberal arts college which is difficult to get into as an out of state student. Cheaper for out of state students than your typical private, but significantly more expensive than UW for out of state students. Wonderful academics at W&M, and certainly much better weather than UW. </p>
<p>The fact that you are getting lots of advice supporting each option suggests that they are both great alternatives and you really cannot go wrong with either. Comes down to different kind of environment and setting. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision, and congrats. </p>