University of Wisconsin Madison 2014

[Daisyoops]

Greetings to all new grads of UW-madison!

 

Just made up my mind to accept the admission to PhD of chemical engineering in UW-Madison. before applying to PhD study I have been working in the UK for 2 years.

 

Thought it would be great for those who also want to go to UW-madison and feel like meeting more new friends! Many people may be like me, a little worried about finding accomodations etc. If any of you has lived in madison or studied in UW, please give some tips for the new life in madison. If you are new as me, let's team up and find out new facts and friends in Madison!! 

 

 

[teerav42]

Congrats! I'm also a prospective ChemE PhD student. I haven't decided where to go yet, but I'll be visiting Madison next weekend.

[pulpandink]

I'm leaning towards getting my MFA in Printmaking at UW-Madison-- excited to visit in two weeks.

[Leuco]

I just accepted an offer with the Microbiology PhD program!

Hello all!  I am from Indiana, but the first time I visited Wisconsin was the interview, haha.

 

 

I am pretty darn excited about the hockey and the cheese!

[justinmcummings]

Hey all,

 

I was accepted to the PhD Electrical Engineering program back in January. I am still considering this school as I wait to hear back from other schools. I have yet to hear back on any funding from the department. When I emailed they were nice enough not to get my hopes up by saying that only about 10% of incoming PhD students get funded in my program...still hopeful though. They said I would know sometime between mid march and early April if I get offered funding.

[eliotstanton]

Hi everyone,

I am a current grad student at UW-Madison, transitioning from finishing a MS degree to starting a PhD in the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program this autumn. Please feel more than free to shoot me any questions you have about the city of Madison or UW. I will do my best to try and answer any and all of your questions.

[pearcema]

Hi everyone! I'm an incoming PhD student in computer science. I'm from Michigan and plan on moving in August.

eliotstanton: thanks for offering to answer questions, that's very nice of you! Any apartment complex recommendations? Most places I'm considering are near the South transfer point. I'm bringing my cat and dog with me and I'm having trouble finding affordable housing options without a long bus ride. I am bringing my car but I know parking on campus is not really possible.

[eliotstanton]

Pearcema, welcome to UW-Madison!
It can be tough to find something reasonably close to campus and reasonably inexpensive, particularly if you have a cat, a dog and a car. I live on the east side of town (isthmus) and it's about a 20 minute commute by bus for me everyday to my building on campus. I don't mind the commute much because I live right on the bus lines, which makes getting downtown fairly easy, I would recommend trying to find something close to the bus line since walking 10-15 minutes to the bus stop only to wait 10 more minutes because the bus is late when it's 5F outside would, in my opinion, be unpleasant. I'm personally a big fan of the east side and would suggest taking a look over there (on the isthmus) as well as the south side.

As far as specific apartment buildings I'm afraid I can't offer up much advice, I've lived in part of a house since I moved here and liked it since it means fewer neighbours, more of a community feel etc.

Let me know if you have any more questions. 

[teerav42]

I just decided today, I'm coming to Madison this fall as well. Extremely excited!

[pearcema]

Pearcema, welcome to UW-Madison!

It can be tough to find something reasonably close to campus and reasonably inexpensive, particularly if you have a cat, a dog and a car. I live on the east side of town (isthmus) and it's about a 20 minute commute by bus for me everyday to my building on campus. I don't mind the commute much because I live right on the bus lines, which makes getting downtown fairly easy, I would recommend trying to find something close to the bus line since walking 10-15 minutes to the bus stop only to wait 10 more minutes because the bus is late when it's 5F outside would, in my opinion, be unpleasant. I'm personally a big fan of the east side and would suggest taking a look over there (on the isthmus) as well as the south side.

As far as specific apartment buildings I'm afraid I can't offer up much advice, I've lived in part of a house since I moved here and liked it since it means fewer neighbours, more of a community feel etc.

Let me know if you have any more questions. 

 

Thanks so much for your help, eliotstanton!  That was really helpful  I will definitely look around on the east side and south side.  I've been looking up the bus route via google maps for each potential place to make sure my commute would be reasonable, but you make a good point about being on a bus route.  This winter has been just miserable! 

 

I've noticed that most ads on craigslist are for summer sublets.  Is it past the season for Fall 2014 rentals, or should I expect to see more this summer?  I would feel more comfortable securing something sooner rather than later, but can't help wonder if I would have a better chance at living in part of a house if I waited a little longer.

 

 

I just decided today, I'm coming to Madison this fall as well. Extremely excited!

 

Congrats!!

[eliotstanton]

Thanks so much for your help, eliotstanton!  That was really helpful  I will definitely look around on the east side and south side.  I've been looking up the bus route via google maps for each potential place to make sure my commute would be reasonable, but you make a good point about being on a bus route.  This winter has been just miserable! 

 

I've noticed that most ads on craigslist are for summer sublets.  Is it past the season for Fall 2014 rentals, or should I expect to see more this summer?  I would feel more comfortable securing something sooner rather than later, but can't help wonder if I would have a better chance at living in part of a house if I waited a little longer.

 

 

 

Congrats!!

 

They have a thing here where all the undergrads madly scurry to sign leases early in the academic year. Also, traditionally leases by campus all run from the middle of August instead of the first of the month. Most of this only applies for housing that's dominated by students so there (hopefully) shouldn't be issues with finding somewhere to live if you're not aiming to live next door to campus. If all else fails, I suppose a less than ideal option to consider would be renting somewhere away from a bus line and just driving your car to the bus and busing in. We used to have a postdoc in our lab who did this everyday.

[badger2014]

Decided to become a Badger. MS CS professional track.

[Leuco]

Hello eliotstanton!

I'm joining the same program you are, I think!  

I am having troubles looking for a place, it seems a very frustrating experience.  Are there any places you would suggest NOT living (too undergrad-y, a bit shady?)

[eliotstanton]

Welcome to MDTP Leuco!

I agree that looking for a place in Madison can be a difficult one especially when you don't have the luxury of easily looking at the apartments first. Have you looked at applying for University housing? Eagle Heights doesn't seem that fancy, but it is (very) quiet and the rents are reasonable by Madison standards, however they have a no cats and dogs policy which is unfortunate. Alternatively, a lot of grad students seem to end up living by the Capitol, where parking is difficult (i.e. you're going to be paying monthly for a spot) but life if otherwise pretty good and you're centrally located to most things. I just checked Craigslist and I see a couple of flats in that area around $700/month.

 

There are a large number of apartment buildings currently being built right next to campus which I suspect are very, very undergrad-y, and also very expensive. The flipside is that other areas just a mile or two from campus seem to be increasingly depleted of students. A lot of people are very negative about the area around Allied Drive on the south side of the city as this is a socioeconomically challenged area. However, these things are relative and depending on where you are coming from the "bad area" of Madison isn't really that bad. Likewise, there's a sketchy area on the east side by Rt 30 and East Washington (Worthington Park) that I wouldn't recommend. Also, it seems like everyone hates the apartment management companies and Madison Property Management in particular for screwing people out of their security deposits.

[justinmcummings]

Hey all,

 

Decided I am coming to Madison for my PhD in Electrical Engineering! I have started to look for housing has anyone heard good or bad things about the hilldale area, specifically the complexes off of sheboygan by the target?

[IncretinEffect33]

Hey all,

 

Decided I am coming to Madison for my PhD in Electrical Engineering! I have started to look for housing has anyone heard good or bad things about the hilldale area, specifically the complexes off of sheboygan by the target?

 

I actually live around here currently, and am very happy with it. Extremely walkable (Metcalfe's, Copps, Whole Foods [all great grocery stores], Target, Macy's, movie theater, restaurants, etc.) but also a quiet area. There are weekend farmer's markets at the DMV and Hilldale mall, which is nice, and there are buses that run down Sheboygan about every 5-10 minutes during the day that go straight down University Avenue past the hospital to campus. Also, unlike apartments closer to campus, the Sheboygan apartment complexes don't adhere to the August 15th move-in date, so it is easier to get a place at a more flexible time. One thing I like about the area is that there is plenty of parking (included in my current apartment), which is the complete opposite of campus apartments, where you have to pay an inordinate monthly amount to find a place to park your car (which I would recommend having in Madison). The place I live in right now has heat, water, cable TV, and internet all included, and I pay only $502.50/month... needless to say I'll be a bit bummed when I move out this summer. I'd definitely recommend checking out the area!

Edited April 15, 2014 by IncretinEffect33

[justinmcummings]

Awesome! Thanks for the response, it confirms what I had been reading online. Looks like the right area for me :-)

[Guest]

Just accepted an offer for PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics at UW for the fall. Really excited!! Any of you know how people generally go about finding roommates? 

[justinmcummings]

Congratz winitheju! I can't wait to move . I  can't help you out about roommates, but if you find an apartment complex you like you can ask them if they match roommates. I saw a couple of the smaller apartments near downtown have 3 bedroom shared each roommate with a separate lease. There is always craigslist, but that seems a little sketch for me. If I find anything I will post it here.