University of Wisconsin-Madison Top Questions

"work hard, party hard" - that's the motto at wisconsin. if you have a small major, you can get some quality time with professors. I'm in the business school though, and that makes it harder. Some of the classes are smaller, but only taught by TAs which sucks because even they don't know what exams will be like. Sometimes it can feel like classes are designed to make you fail.. but there are always resources available if you need extra help. I've never had a TA who I feel would approach me to talk about improving my grades, or attitude, or getting to class on time, or handing on a paper on the due date. If you need persistent nagging or coaching to get things done, Wisconsin is not the place for you.

The classes, especially your first few years, are huge. But most of the professors will get to know you, if you make yourself known. Sit towards the front of classes, respond to their questions, and make use of their office hours. Look, even with grade inflation, most classes are challenging for a reason - they want to separate out the gifted from the slackers. You're paying far too much money to phone it in, so do it right. Most classes you can get away with attending sporadically, so long as you're actually doing the classwork and showing up to discussion section. I don't recommend this approach for anyone who isn't serious about succeeding, but it is possible to cut some of the attendance out of your schedule. Get known in your department especially, because when you get to the upper level classes, it'll be advantageous to know faculty. There are a lot of cool independent study opportunities available to those who are driven.

Big classes, get used to it. But profs willing to help for sure. Get used to working with TAs all the time. They are fine though usually very good. Like a big machine, a system. Not really concerned with the individual, not necessarily a bad thing but you have to take the initiative. UW students are smart, creative, intellectual and down to earth. Tons of academic resources.

i like most of my professors although some ta's are hard to understand

Professors do not know your name unless you go to their office hours and make an effort to get to know them. Students study a lot and there are always political and intellectual conversations outside of class

I loved soc 134, the lecture was large but the discussion was small and we had GREAT conversations, something I miss in my new sociology class. The discussions and relationships with people in the class went past the classroom and to a more personal level. I like that there is a requirement to do courses outside your major. I think it will help people realize what else is out there as well as relate it to their field in unique ways. Also it gives you a chance, and encouragement, to explore.

MAny know my name. Favorite - Chinese, golf, international law, china world politics - Study 3-4 hrs a night - very common - very competitive. Outside of class i do not spend time with profs. Geared to learning

Some of the classes seem really easy...last semester I took Econ 101. Only went to 3 or 4 lectures at the beginning of the year, never did homework or went to discussions and just read through most of the readings the night before exams and still passed with a C. I miss about half of my classes now because I realize I can pass without going easily.

Most professors won't ever know your name. Go to your T.A.'s with questions. Most of the time they are the ones that determine your grades and correct your tests and papers. My favorite class was Educational Psychology and Women's Studies 103. I've heard Human Sexuality is a fun and good class. I hated Geography 120 and I'm not a fan of Anthropology 104. Students study all the time and it's really hard to find a spot in the library. The students are competitive, but also helpful to each other. Don't count on getting out of this school in 4 years. They pretty much make it impossible.

professors are not good. marketing department is great. my microeconomics professor was awful. i loved my macroeconomics class and professor with Steve Rick. students in the business school are pretty competitive. Wisconsin is a lot harder than other schools, and I wish it had a better reputation. Wall St. doesn't look too highly on Wisconsin students. Wish we were looked at like Michigan because are academics are on par if not better.

None of my professors know my name, not a single one. However, I have close relationships with every single one of my T/As, who run the discussion sections we have complementing our lectures. Freshman year is mostly a year of large, basic intro courses, so while I do have some friends that go out of their way to introduce themselves to each professor, I don’t really see the point. If there is a particular class that you have a passion in, I would say make sure to speak to your professor about it, but other that you making an effort there is little interaction between students and professors. Study habits of students vary a lot. Some people easily spent their nights at the library, still feeling as if they have not put enough time in to their academics that day. Others will never open a book until the night before an exam. It really is what works for the individual. I will say that a lot of students skip lectures. I personally find that simply sitting in lectures reduces your workload and increases your understanding of the subject greatly, but everyone has their own style. I have not really taken any odd classes yet, but I have heard of a lot of crazy classes in the foreign language department – which is one of the best in the country. From the basics of French and Spanish, to Swahili and the Star Trek language of Klingon, you can literally take any language you can think of. I am not actually a Journalism major yet. You apply into the competitive journalism school once you have taken 40 credits at the university, which tends to be around the end of first semester your sophomore year. It kind of sucks that if I do not get into the school I have to major in something else, but there are various related majors such as communication arts that will work well for me, and applicants understand that the difficult process to enter the school is only to keep to the prestigious name high.

professor know the names of the kids that annoy them, there's always someone

Academics at Wisconsin are definitely what you make them. I go in for lots of help and get to know my professors so I usually get that extra help I need. But it would also be easy in big lectures to have them not know you at all. Classes are what you make of them. I am a senior, and I can name a handful of professors who I have absolutely loved and raved about. My history professors have been the most fun. Women in History was an amazing class with the most fun professor, Professor Roberts. Overall, I would say the professor's here are very good. The academic requirements on the other hand is something Wisconsin could do better. All of the breath requirements you have to take are extreme. It has felt like an upgraded version of high school in that respect because you still have to take a plethora of science and math. College is supposed to expand your mind and focus on things you want to learn about and most of the time here I have found myself taking classes just to get a requirement out of the way.

When you leave UW, you will be graduating with an excellent education. Many classes are extremely big, and there is no way a professor will know your name, unless you make the extra effort. If you sit front row, and go to the office hours, almost every professor is helpful and really happy to do everything in their power to help you. But professors will not be there to constantly remind you to do your homework, or yell at you to go to class. Some classes are really easy- like Intro to Theater and Drama, and some classes are crazy hard like Micro Economics. It is really important to do your research before taking a class. I am a history major, and I wanted to take a business class, but since I was not part of the business school many classes were off limits. Also, I was admitted into a family business class but it would not count towards my 120 degree credits. So, virtually I am taking this class for fun. And its no fun to take a test when it will not help you get your degree. So the cross-college requirements at the university are sometimes ridiculous, and impossible to navigate.

Most of my classes are giant lectures, as are most of the intro classes here, but there are also smaller discussion sections that meet once a week that go along with the huge classes. They are generally taught by a T.A. but you get an extra opportunity to go over any material. Those T.A.s know my name. I love every class I've taken here so far! Students study a lot. It's not unusual to spend 6 or 7 hours a day doing work in the library. "Work hard, party hard." That's our motto. Students are extremely competative. Everyone was in the top of their class in high school so there is bound to be some competition. The core requirements are intense. The work load in the intro classes is extremely heavy because they want to weed out the kids who can't cut it. The University of Wisconsin wants you to leave a well educated person, but not just in your major. I'm learning so much here.

Some yes. I am a finance major but really enjoyed business law. Insurance least favorite. Pretty often-people that go out during the week a lot usually study on weekends or the other way around. I took Interior Design when I studied abroad for a semester to Italy. My major is in the School of Human Ecology which I think is really in need of a few more qualified teachers. No-not outside class. It is geared toward learning and applying the information presented in classrooms to the outside world. But for some classes you've got to do what you've got to do...

1. in smaller classes 2. favorite--Politics of Human Rights (PS 317), least favorite--psychology 3. everyday, not me 4. yes 5. definitely 6. somewhat 7. not sure 8. political science, Jewish Studies 9. no 10. reasonable 11. not sure

They only know my name if I have gone into office hours several times. Students study ALOT. During finals week the library was absolutely packed until crazy hours in the morning. There is no way to succeed at Wisconsin without studying a great amount. It is very competitive and challenging.

Some of my professors do, the ones that I talk to and/or have in classes of under twenty students. My favorite class is Constitutional Law: the professor's amazing, knows the topic inside and out, and gives it his own unique quirks; plus, Con Law's utterly fascinating on its own. Least favorite class is American Racial & Ethnic Minorities: I was really excited when I first saw the syllabus because of the topics listed, but with a professor and TA who have thus far failed to make me think exceedinly well of their intelligence and presentation skills, I am somewhat more than underwhelmed. Class participation is common in small classes (understandably, in classes of 100+, particiaption is much lower - but to be fair, in large lecture classes, the goal of the class is to impart information,and those kinds of classes usually have discussion sections that promote participation there). Intellectual conversation can happen anywhere - some partake in it more than others (more likely to see in students who are/could graduate early. Students are very competitive to get into the (pre-)professional schools, but in the general undergraduate classes, competition is more to the view of competing against yourself than beating your classmates. My most unique class was History of American Political Thought (small seminar of 20-some students): we read up on most of the leading political thinkers from mid-1700s through 1920, discussed the readings in class, and would then periodically have paideia-style discussions where the students would form groups and represent a different thinker in the debates. My major, political science: I've adored every class I've taken in the poli sci department - my professors have all been amazing, and leaders in their fields. I don't spend much time with professors outside of class unless I go to office hours, except for occasionally seeing one professor who is the nominal advisor of the mock trial program on campus. Academic requirements aren't that difficult for me here, but I know that they're rigorious and not a cake walk. My education here I hope will help secure me a career, not just a job (though I do love learning for its own sake).

if you go to office hours professors will remember you. in one of my lectures of 450 people my professor makes it very interactive and before you talk you have to say your name. since the same 20 people usually talk, she knows all their names, plus some others who have only talked once or twice. students study hardcore during the week and party hard on the weekends. but if a big exam is coming up, its not unusual for people to stay in and study.

The school is large, some of the classes are large but you get some attention in discussion sections, which are typically less than 20 students. There is no doubt that this university is tough. One thing to take into account that advising is basically on your own and if you do get advice it is often etiher from a student or skewed to get you to stay in school longer.

As in any large research university, there are those professors who are clearly more invested in their own research and academic pursuits than actually teaching effectively. I found that it was generally better to base class choices off of a professor's reputation rather than the subject of the course. I studied history and sociology and had a much better experience in both of these majors once I was able to take smaller classes and seminars. However, some of my best classes were somewhat large lectures, and again, this was because of stellar professors. Though Wisconsin has the party school rep, you can find students studying at all times of day and night, and some of my best memories are of late nights spent studying (and not studying) with my friends. Three professors I would recommend are Florencia Mallon, Bill Cronon, and Erik Olin Wright.

amazing academics. I am in the business school and it is a top notch program

hate them.

Professors all know my name, faviorete class is intro to Islam, least fav. Econ 101

---until upper level classes you dont really work with professors, just the TA's. ---i though that when i came to college there would be nothing but intelligent conversation...but people talk about meaningless stuff more than politics and world issues. i think it depends on who you hang out with but in general i would say that its not much different than high school. ---class participation is about 50/50 and it depends on the people ---some people study constantly but most people can balance fun, studying and activities

Professors, by no fault of their own, tend not to know they're students' names. This is because of the large size of most of the classes. On the flipside of that, every TA that I have had has gotten to know my name, and a little about me, due to the small size of the discussion sections. Students vary greatly in their studying. Some study a lot and do well, some study a lot and do poorly. Some student little and do well, and yes, some study a little and do very badly! Intellectual conversations don't tend to dominate the outside the classroom talk, and students are not as competitive with each other as say, University of Michigan. I think that the education at Wisconsin is very much skewed towards learning for its own sake, which makes it advisable to join a career oriented club.

If you want professors to know your name they will. Favorite class is Italian. Least was econ 101 and chem 103 because the professors were so bad. Class participation is greater is smaller sized classrooms. In most lectures people are to shy to speak out a lot but in discussions everyone does. We have intellectual conversations outside of class... my friend always relates chem to the real world. Wisconsin's education is geared towards both, getting a job and learning for its own sake.

Of course, not every professor is amazing. They will take the time to know your name, and student/professor relationships can be very close, depending on the class size.

No, the professors don't know my name, but my TA's do. I study during midterm weeks but otherwise school is pretty laid back. It is a great school though.

A few of them do. Favorite class is International Law, I have a great professor. Least favorite is first amendment class, I had a bad teacher. Students study a lot here, Most students are in the library a few times per week. Yes class participation is very common. Yes, since it is such a great school, it is very competitive here. I took a class dealing with Fraternity issues on campus. It was great. I am a political science, history major. I meet with professors during their office hours. The requirements are very fair. Both.

Since UW is such a huge school, it is much harder for professors and students to carry on a close relationship, even in upper level classes. This can be a problem, but it is also fairly easy to go to your professor's office hours if it matters a great deal; otherwise, TAs make the lecture hall experience more personable as well. I feel that students study quite a bit here--- I guess it depends what you're getting into. I am in the honors program so that gives me a bit of a different perspective. Students arguably are more competitive here, but overall I've been very impressed with academic life here. One of my favorite classes was an honors seminar I took my freshman year where we read "Paradise Lost" and "Omeros". The latter became one of my favorite books. I also did an honors project with a professor for a 20th century American history class, which I LOVED because that is my favorite thing to study. It was on the Harlem Renaissance - pretty cool experience.

As a freshman, my classes are large lectures, so my professors typically do not know me personally. If this is important, though, the professors hold office hours so you can go talk to them one-on-one. My classes are demanding, so I study every weeknight, and that is pretty common among other students I know, as well.

Professors here only know your name if you make an effort to participate in class or visit them during their office hours. It is really on the student to get to know the professor. I like to think your experience is what you make of it. The large classes are nice for when you don't have time to read the chapters ahead of time, so you know you will not be singled out to answer a question. I almost feel like I learn more knowing that I only have to worry about paying attention and taking notes instead of also having to try to formulate answers to questions. Students here are very smart and it is great to be able to talk about real topics with other people my age. Students will also take the skills they learn in class and try to apply them in the real world especially in the business school where students will often start their own company with the support of other students and professors. It is just a great environment where we are all constantly learning whether we are in the classroom or just hanging out with friends. As far as getting a job after college, recruitment at Madison is amazing. So many top companies come to Madison to recruit solely Wisconsin students and that is a great feeling to know they just want us. With that though, our professors put a lot of pressure on us to do well and make our classes challenging so we are prepared for these companies and will be successful.