euphonious

I just wanted to pop in on this conversation. I live in Madison, Wisconsin. I just visited the Triangle area to look at Duke. Madison is an awesome city, and honestly although the winters are chilly, there's tons to do. The undergrads do a lot of drinking, but the city has more people than just those 40,000 kids. The Union Terrace in the summer is the hangout for the whole city, we all hang out there, drink some beer, watch the sunset over the lake and listen to great free music. The restaurant selection is wonderful. I didn't visit Chapel Hill, but I did visit Durham. And 9th street has nothing on State Street. And it's Madison is just bigger. Madison is very friendly, environmentally conscious and ridiculously liberal. There are ample outdoor opportunities in the city (3 lakes!) and just outside. I chose UChicago over Duke, and if I was choosing between UW Madison and Chapel Hill and the weather wasn't a factor, I'd choose UW. Good luck!