Cold and Unwelcoming
Written: Jun 26 '00 (Updated Aug 08 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: nice city, great reputation, strong faculty in some areas
Cons: cold and unwelcoming, struggle over financial aid
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| lernerj's Full Review: University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Many say that visiting the departments you are considering gives you a feel for whether it's the right place for you--and they are right! When considering departments of sociology for my PhD work, I visited Wisconsin among others. Wisconsin really stood out from the rest as cold and unwelcoming.
(Note: I have been asked by another epinions member to clarify the basis of this information. This epinion is based on my day-long visit to the graduate Sociology program as well as my other research on that program, and compares the program to the graduate program I chose instead. It is not meant to provide an insider's view--quite the opposite. And it is not meant to reflect on any departments at Madison besides graduate Sociology.)
If you're looking into sociology, you know that Wisconsin is generally ranked #1 in the field, and I'm sure that it has excellent resources. Madison also seemed like a great town. And I met some very nice, intelligent professors. But in general, what an unwelcoming place!
From what I could tell, many of the current graduate students did not even seem to know each other. Wisconsin is surely a large program, and not everyone will know each other. But I was in an elevator leaving a reception for visiting sociology students, with about 12 other people, and we all stood there in silence as we rode down the 4 floors.
This is emblemmatic of the way the department was generally. Everyone seemed isolated from each other, going about their own business and that's about it. I should say that I attended some brownbags where students did seem to know each other and were supportive. But faculty-run brownbags surely should not be the basis of student community!
Students not only did not seem personally friendly, but the mechanics of the department militate against it. Students there have to compete regularly for funding, and as such many students, at least the 8 or so on the financial aid panel, had quite strained looks on their faces. Trust me, this is an extra source of stress and competition that you do *not* need in graduate school. If you have offers from schools that guarantee funding, consider that heavily in your decision.
You will not find things like this at every department you visit. The best contrast I know is the the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, another top program and the one I chose. Here there is a vibrant student community, supportive, challenging, and self-governing (to the extent we are allowed!). If you walk into a room of Michigan sociology grads, people will be greeting each other warmly, hugging, and introducing themselves to people they don't yet know. This sort of community makes all the difference in how you experience a department, particularly in terms of the amount of information available to you as you learn to navigate graduate school, the discipline, and your particular department and faculty.
I think this says a lot: I visited first Michigan, then Wisconsin in the same weekend along with 3 other prospective students; all 4 of us had the same response and chose Michigan.
Further, for people considering doing qualitative research at Madison, you should know that there are very few faculty members there doing that sort of work, and while they may each be great, they are also, because of their small numbers, very overworked. I could tell as I talked to them that they were a bit weary, having far too many students who needed their guidance.
Also, please note--the questions below on undergrad courses don't really apply to my knowledge, so I've left them all at the default--don't read anything into it!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
lernerj
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Member: Jennifer
Location: Vienna, VA
Reviews written: 141
Trusted by: 99 members
About Me:
Sociology professor, reality-tv watcher, and kitty lover
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