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just wondering

by: ?????

I will be attending UW not because I wanted to, but because my parents are forcing me to go with the cheapest option since I likely will go on to get a profe$$ional degree. I probably will go Greek because my mom was a GPhi (here) and my dad was a Sigma Chi (not here) and it's a great way to make friends. That said, I'm not a boozer and I wonder if there is ANYTHING to do on this campus that doesn't involve alcohol? My other choices were Vanderbilt, George Washington U. and Duke and they all have a big social life that doesn't depend on drinking. I don't mean to put it down, but drinking is just not something that appeals to me. Please tell me I'm not going to be miserable here for four years.

Posted By: ?????
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#1  by: Honestly   
#1    

Not only does greek life largely revolve around drinking activities (its pretty common for actives to go out 3 nights a week), drinking is pretty ingrained in non-greek life as well. Wisconsin is pretty well known for being a big party school.

But thats not the biggest issue, drinking is pretty eminent in the whole "wisconsin culture" as well. Beers brats and brewers type metality is pretty prevalent through the school as a whole.

Im not gonna say you will be miserable while you are here, you are just gonna have to either accept that your friends will go out and drink without you or you will have to go out with them and not drink (which isnt fun). Or you could just drink which would be easier.

On greek life, you probably are not going to enjoy it if you dont like going out. Im just trying to be honest.

By: Honestly
#2  by: .....   
#2    

You sound like an arrogrant priss. I hope your sihtty attitude transpires into an even worse undergraduate experience. Don't rush, you'd be a plague on Langdon- conspiring with the administration to counteract the most prevelant aspects of this state's culture.

By: .....
#3  by: Seriously   
#3    

You need an attitude adjustment. Your undergraduate experience, regardless of where it is, depends on YOU. The same can be said for greek life. Yeah, there are lots of parties that involve alcohol, but there's also a lot of philanthropic opportunities and sisterhood events. I really hope that you can become more open-minded before beginning school here. If you go into it thinking that you'll be miserable, you're going to be miserable. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

By: Seriously
#4  by: PS   
#4    

Vandy has a big drinking culture---especially in greek life.

By: PS
#5  by: So...   
#5    

Pretty much what people are saying is that there is no reason to go to UW unless you wanna be a drunk. Thanks for the heads up. And for confirming what most people already know. And a special note of thanks to the person who said that if you don't drink you would be a plague on Langdon. Nicely put.

By: So...
by: nahJun 11, 2014 2:48:13 PM

I'm not saying the going to UW means that you will be a drunk, I'm just saying the state culture and both greek/independent life focus a lot on drinking. Sure, you could go through school here without drinking, that's totally on you.

But yeah, chances are you are going to hate it, you will feel pretty left out by your social group, if you can even find one. A lot of friendship starts with casual beers together and is reinforced through drunk shenanigans, especially in college

By: nah
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#6  by: A commodore   
#6    

I have friends at Vandy. Plenty of drinking goes on, but there's lots of other stuff to do. Cool city, lots of culture. I go to UW but I love visiting there to remind myself I actually can have fun while sober.

By: A commodore
#7  by: ok   
#7    

Madison has tons to do and there are members of every chapter that are okay and willing to find things to do. Great arts, music scenes. School orgs also provide lots of entertainment.

And what we do on the weekends reflects nothing of our academic culture. Yes we're not exactly Duke or Northwestern or even Michigan but those who truly care for their academics can and will find great success.

By: ok
by: HahaJun 12, 2014 1:33:42 PM

Great arts? I'm LMFAO.

By: Haha
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#8  by: alright   
#8    

There are several girls in my sorority who chose not to drink and may occasionally have one or two if they do drink. You can absolutely have fun in greek life even if you choose not to drink. Please don't shut out the option of going greek because of what these other people are saying.

By: alright
#9  by: sorry   
#9    

Hate to say it, but UW really is not the school for you. Nor is Greek life. There are a lot of smart people who get accepted to this school, but as alcohol pickles their brains they seem to get stupider. And sororities and fraternities don't really attract the cream of the academic crop. Can you bargain with your parents? If they will pay for undergrad you will pay for the rest?

By: sorry
by: chiefJun 12, 2014 11:41:28 PM

Wow there, if you have such negative opinions of both Madison and greek life in general, what are you doing on this website. But regardless, Greek GPA is significantly higher at Madison than geed GPA. UW Male average was a 3.15 and UW Male greek average was 3.32. Saying they don't get the cream of the crop doesn't exactly do us any favors.

UW Madison is proof that a capable student can balance drinking and scholarship

By: chief
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by: AboveJun 13, 2014 6:31:32 AM

THIS^^^^^^^^^

Wisconsin is consistently ranked among the top public schools in regards to both academics and average ACT/SAT scores of incoming freshmen.

Work hard, play hard.

By: Above
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by: yurppJun 13, 2014 1:06:11 PM

Yup, Along with I'd say maybe michigan, Madison constantly ranks as both a top party school and as a top academic institution

By: yurpp
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#10  by: Ashamed   
#10    

Really? You are boasting about the Greek GPA being 3.15? At Georgia it is 3.57. At Michigan it is 3.42. At Minnesota it is 3.34. At Missouri it is 3.50. At U. of Washington it is 3.38. I doubt there are many students at UW who got into this school with a 3.15 in high school. So for the person who said Wisconsin can be a top party school and a top academic institution, nice try. But GPAs seem to drop precipitously once someone goes Greek here. It's fun to be Greek. I know that. But there is no great brain trust behind the ivy walls of sorority and fraternity houses here.

By: Ashamed
by: uhhhJun 13, 2014 6:17:59 PM

Getting the same GPA doesn't require the same amount of work for every school. Do you think it's as easy to get a 3.5 at Michigan as it is Georgia? The answer is no. Wisconsin is known as a very work intensive school as it has to compete up with schools like Michigan, Virginia etc. as a top public school in the nation. Quality of the students isn't as easy as comparing GPAs, use your head...

By: uhhh
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by: FunnyJun 13, 2014 11:05:16 PM

You just keep thinking that. In states like Georgia and Washington, the economy is thriving, building is going on all over campus, budgets and allocations for higher education are growing and some of the best students in the nation are applying. It is more difficult to get into schools like that than Wisconsin, which has lowered its standards for out of state students just to get more money. Wisconsin is an old rust-belt school where students are lucky to get a job offer in most majors. At Georgia, Washington and Minnesota, all extremely well-respected research institutions, job offers abound. You all really need to get out a bit more often to see what it's like at other schools in states with progressive agendas, more tax support and an economy that's growing by leaps and bounds.

By: Funny
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by: yoJun 14, 2014 12:45:26 AM

On top of that, the Minnesota greek gpa won't be released till tomorrow (www.fsl.umn.edu/) so you are clearly pulling numbers out of your ass.

If you think so little of UW and its respective greek life, why are you spending so much time attacking it on an anonymous website? Worry about your own life rather than the lives of strangers

By: yo
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by: lolJun 14, 2014 3:02:25 PM

lol at you comparing GPAs across different schools. Ever heard of grade inflation? Competitive schools like UW take measure to reduce grade inflation, which is why you cant compare a students GPA from UW to one from Minnesota. Big difference. UW is way harder than Minnesota( I transfered from Minnesota to UW) . I know for a fact that my 4.0 at Minnesota did not hold at UW.

By: lol
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