UW Madison c/o 2015 Forum

[vaguephoenix]

After the brief hours of anger and frustration cooler heads have prevailed. Ive read Wisconsin is notorious for wait listing students. Does anybody know how rampant it is? Does anybody know why? And finally what are the chances of aid coming off the wait list?

On a relevant note just finished one of my best works. A letter of continued interested that broke it down to them why I want to be there. Good luck to everyone waiting and hopefully there aren't more shockers like today.

I've heard that they waitlist a lot. But, I know a lot of people that get waitlisted and then get in. Good luck! At least you heard something.

[BearsGrl]

After the brief hours of anger and frustration cooler heads have prevailed. Ive read Wisconsin is notorious for wait listing students. Does anybody know how rampant it is? Does anybody know why? And finally what are the chances of aid coming off the wait list?

On a relevant note just finished one of my best works. A letter of continued interested that broke it down to them why I want to be there. Good luck to everyone waiting and hopefully there aren't more shockers like today.

They are notorious for waitlisting applicants. At least from what I've gathered from the past threads. I think they send out a few waves of waitlists, but since they appear to be "more behind" this go around, I don't know if they're taking a different approach. The last couple of cycles, they waitlisted folks over a few days. And then there would be a little wait and then another set of waitlisting.

I think the reasoning is that UW-Madison is one of those schools that a lot of people apply to but are unsure about whether they will attend or not so the ad. committee doesn't want to "waste its time" on candidates that will ultimately turn them down. They really do seem to look at an entire application more so than other schools to get a full flavor of the candidate. A lot of people get waitlisted, but then a significant amount get off the waitlist. If there is a particular reason why you see yourself practicing in WI, I would mention that in the LOCI. That type of stuff.

Also from past cycles, it looks like aid was extremely limited in terms of scholarship offerings. At least, it appeared that less people were given aid. Essentially, since UW-Madison is a flagship school for the state and has a solid reputation in the Midwest, it doesn't necessarily need to offer aid like other schools do. It has enough complementing the experience that people are willing to take on that debt for the overall experience. That would be my general take on it at least. I think some people were given money, but they were those that were accepted initially and had high 160s. I think they also have a few diversity scholarships but I don't know much about those. I would assume little, if any, on the scholarship front because there wasn't much talk of this in past cycle talk.

[BuckinghamB]

Hey guys,
Congrats to all those accepted and good luck to those still waiting! I go to undergrad here and would love to answer any questions you have regarding places to live, night life, restaurants, transportation, etc. Madison is seriously such a great city to live in--there's never a shortage of things to do...I'm kind of sad I'll be leaving, actually. As far as the law school itself is concerned, I don't know much but I can do my best to find out (although I do know they have some pretty great clinics).

[jenkswarrior]

Hey! Didn't check my mail yesterday so I'm coming in on this late, But I was WLd too. Shocker right?
Gotta agree with earlier post though, I was relieved to hear of any kind of movement. Luckily Madison's not my first choice so I'm not ripping my hair out. But good luck everyone! Who's planning on sending LOCIs?

[tooswolle]

Hey! Didn't check my mail yesterday so I'm coming in on this late, But I was WLd too. Shocker right?
Gotta agree with earlier post though, I was relieved to hear of any kind of movement. Luckily Madison's not my first choice so I'm not ripping my hair out. But good luck everyone! Who's planning on sending LOCIs?

Threads been dead since the uncanny wave of wait lists on valentines day (anyone see the irony in that? Lol)

Anyways I sent my LOCI later that day. I emailed admissions they said they expected to pull from the wait list this year but had no set time table for it. I pretty much told them in the end I'd be likely to attend if I heard early enough.....like before the deposit deadlines. Let's see how that works out haha!

[vpintz]

Still nothing...I'm not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign.

[tooswolle]

Still nothing...I'm not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign.

Probably a good sign from what I saw on LSN they are working higher LSATs first and my logical guess would be higher GPA's next which kind of surprised me. Some people with 4-6 pnts higher on the LSAT but lower or equal GPA's were accepted and I was wait listed and I'm also a urm.

[vaguephoenix]

Fast turn around! In via email today.

[vpintz]

Fast turn around! In via email today.

congrats! what are your numbers?

brb crying because it's been almost three months

[vaguephoenix]

Fast turn around! In via email today.

congrats! what are your numbers?

brb crying because it's been almost three months

Sorry lol
I am absolutely dumbfounded that the turn around was that fast.
I'm in state, 164 3.24. I went to undergrad here, and low GPA is super upward trending. (Mostly A's and B's, but a few bad grades first semester). I thought my GPA would kill me.

[ashley12]

Fast turn around! In via email today.

Congrats!! Immense jealousy here!

[vpintz]

Fast turn around! In via email today.

congrats! what are your numbers?

brb crying because it's been almost three months

Sorry lol
I am absolutely dumbfounded that the turn around was that fast.
I'm in state, 164 3.24. I went to undergrad here, and low GPA is super upward trending. (Mostly A's and B's, but a few bad grades first semester). I thought my GPA would kill me.

those are some awesome numbers. congrats! =D

[vaguephoenix]

Thanks! I'm super pumped, and can't wait to stay here for school. I love undergrad here.

[tyro]

Hmm I thought I might get a decision today. I don't mind waiting though. Congrats phoenix.

[buckythebadger]

I noticed 2 people on LSN reported getting scholly info. Anyone on TLS hear anything yet?

[Randomnumbers]

I've been sitting for about 2 months, but even though I have a lowerish GPA it has a really strong upwards grade trend with a great last 2 years, in state, 172+ LSAT - really surprised I haven't had any movement from Wisconsin yet. I've gotten $$ from WUSTL and Minnesota, but it wouldn't take that much money for me to make me take Wisconsin, with how awesome Madison is and the low in state tuition. Pretty frustrating.

[woodscommaL]

Fast turn around! In via email today.

congrats! what are your numbers?

brb crying because it's been almost OVER three months

+1

[buckythebadger]

I've been sitting for about 2 months, but even though I have a lowerish GPA it has a really strong upwards grade trend with a great last 2 years, in state, 172+ LSAT - really surprised I haven't had any movement from Wisconsin yet. I've gotten $$ from WUSTL and Minnesota, but it wouldn't take that much money for me to make me take Wisconsin, with how awesome Madison is and the low in state tuition. Pretty frustrating.

They might be waiting you out to see if you withdraw or if your actually interested. With a 172, they know you will get some better acceptances. I'm sure you'll hear back before seat deposits are due

[vaguephoenix]

I've been sitting for about 2 months, but even though I have a lowerish GPA it has a really strong upwards grade trend with a great last 2 years, in state, 172+ LSAT - really surprised I haven't had any movement from Wisconsin yet. I've gotten $$ from WUSTL and Minnesota, but it wouldn't take that much money for me to make me take Wisconsin, with how awesome Madison is and the low in state tuition. Pretty frustrating.

They might be waiting you out to see if you withdraw or if your actually interested. With a 172, they know you will get some better acceptances. I'm sure you'll hear back before seat deposits are due

True. Maybe send a LOCI even before you hear anything? Let them know this is where you'd like to go. That's what some current law students recommended to me a while ago.

[BearsGrl]

I've been sitting for about 2 months, but even though I have a lowerish GPA it has a really strong upwards grade trend with a great last 2 years, in state, 172+ LSAT - really surprised I haven't had any movement from Wisconsin yet. I've gotten $$ from WUSTL and Minnesota, but it wouldn't take that much money for me to make me take Wisconsin, with how awesome Madison is and the low in state tuition. Pretty frustrating.

They might be waiting you out to see if you withdraw or if your actually interested. With a 172, they know you will get some better acceptances. I'm sure you'll hear back before seat deposits are due

Doesn't Madison operate a code of honesty seat deposit where it's $0 down? Have they changed this policy?

[buckythebadger]

I've been sitting for about 2 months, but even though I have a lowerish GPA it has a really strong upwards grade trend with a great last 2 years, in state, 172+ LSAT - really surprised I haven't had any movement from Wisconsin yet. I've gotten $$ from WUSTL and Minnesota, but it wouldn't take that much money for me to make me take Wisconsin, with how awesome Madison is and the low in state tuition. Pretty frustrating.

They might be waiting you out to see if you withdraw or if your actually interested. With a 172, they know you will get some better acceptances. I'm sure you'll hear back before seat deposits are due

Doesn't Madison operate a code of honesty seat deposit where it's $0 down? Have they changed this policy?

I think Madison still does that. I was referring to other schools deposits that he/she will need to choose from

[Dick Dastardly]

Current 1L here.

I realize that y'all are in waiting purgatory at the moment, but as things become more clear (and you will actually get decisions, I promise), I'll help answer any questions you might have.

For some people who asked about financial aid a page or two back: Wisconsin's financial aid offers typically come a little late. If I remember right from last year, there is a small wave of URM-focused fellowships (usually full-ride or half-ride) in late February, and the rest of the financial aid offers come around March.

Good luck!

Thanks for the help. Do you know what kind of numbers the Urms had who got fellowships? My numbers are alright by TLS standards and I applied to UW for a lot of reasons including aid packages. Hence my strong passion to go there.

Two things:

1. I don't know too many numbers, but I know that a few were high GPA/mediocre LSAT (with a few being straight splitters). I know of at least one kid who had a monster LSAT and a bad GPA, and I'm pretty sure he got a full ride, too (although he had solid work experience, and maybe a Masters degree or something).

2. Waitlisters: if you have a serious interest in Wisconsin, write the LOCI. Seriously. Plenty of people in my class were WL'd, wrote an LOCI, and ended up being accepted not too long thereafter. Personally, I think Wisconsin does YP, but not in the same sense that a lot of schools YP -- rather than simply YPing based on numbers, I think they YP based on how much they think you actually want to come to Wisconsin. They'd rather take two kids with X/Y and have them both attend than take seven kids with X+1/Y+1 and have one of them attend. Don't bullshit anyone, but if you seriously want to go to Wisconsin, then you should absolutely tell them that, and tell them why, and tell them soon.

Good luck!

[Dick Dastardly]

Oh, one more thing: other than the URM fellowships (which are really generous, and through a separate endowment), Wisconsin does not have a tremendous amount of financial aid money to throw around. I know of a few people with solid scholarships, so it does happen, but it isn't like Illinois, where they have hundreds of thousands of dollars in a separate fund, solely for the sake of attracting candidates (and/or making candidates up).

Sorry, Illinois people, I couldn't pass up that joke. Nothing personal.

Anyway, if you are URM, you might hit a jackpot here. If you're in-state, good luck finding a better deal (in-state tuition is basically a $75K scholarship at Illinois)...and you still might be one of the lucky ones to get a scholarship on top of it. Minnesotans get the equivalent of a $15K scholarship just because of tuition reciprocity. But if you are out-of-state and your decision is going to be based heavily upon financial aid, then you might have more luck at some of the peerish schools that have bigger scholarship endowments. Just trying to be honest, from what I've seen.

[Dick Dastardly]

I've been sitting for about 2 months, but even though I have a lowerish GPA it has a really strong upwards grade trend with a great last 2 years, in state, 172+ LSAT - really surprised I haven't had any movement from Wisconsin yet. I've gotten $$ from WUSTL and Minnesota, but it wouldn't take that much money for me to make me take Wisconsin, with how awesome Madison is and the low in state tuition. Pretty frustrating.

Have you contacted the school at all? Maybe ask for a tour? If you do, make sure to say hi to Rebecca Scheller in the admissions office, and (if you get a chance) Dean Mike Hall (Dean of Students; former admissions director).

I know that there are at least two 99th percentile LSAT folks in my class, so it isn't straight up YP. I imagine that if they knew you were very seriously interested in Wisconsin, that would probably help color your application during review. And alternately, if you are in Wisconsin but never bothered to stop by, perhaps that might appear disinterested to a degree you'd like to avoid.

[iamsparticus]

Minnesotans get the equivalent of a $15K scholarship just because of tuition reciprocity. .

You've got your numbers a little skewed here...more like $5k break for Minnesotans. Being a MN res hoping to get in to UW I wish you were right.

http://www.law.wisc.edu/prospective/tui ... costs.html

I think this difference in tuition for residents illustrates why UMN is more freehanded with scholarship money than UW. The kids who pay sticker (regardless of residency) pay for those scholarships. UW on the other hand likes to accept a lot of Wisconsinites (past 3 classes matriculated ~60%) so they have a smaller pool of money for merit scholarships.