I attended UWM. Here's my thoughts. My experience is as a commuter student which obviously affects my impressions. If you live near or on campus, it may be totally different.
Pro's:
- Second largest school in the respected Wisconsin system. UW Milwaukee plays second-fiddle to most everything compared to Madison, but it's still a good school. It does have a few specialties (Each UW school does) where it is better than Madison.
- It's located in the interesting north-east side of Milwaukee between the river and Lake Michigan. Due east of UWM there are mansions and Lake Michigan parks. Due south, (and for a shorter distance west) its off-campus student rentals, and a mix of middle class yuppie homes which blends into the "Bohemian/Alternative" and bar/music/resturaunt & Brady St. scene before you hit downtown proper. We're not talking San Fran's Haight-Ashbury by a long shot, (It's getting somewhat yuppiefied) but it's the closest to it Milwaukee has. Due north of campus are hoidy-toidy well-to-do neighborhoods such as Shorewood, Whitefish ("Whitepeople") Bay, and Fox Point. Due west? That's in the Con's column.
- UWM, being in on that side of town, does have several close "college hangouts" in the surrounding blocks.
- It's a (relatively speaking) inexpensive school if you're a resident of Wisconsin or Minnesota. (Tuition reciprocity)
- If you don't mind winter, Milwaukee is well above average for a city it's size in terms of events, culture, museums, and sports etc.
Con's:
- Winter. If you're from the south, Pacific northwest coast, or southwestern US you'll be miserable the first year. If you're from the northeast, midwest, or central-nothern west, it's business as usual, perhaps a tad better even, as weather is allways milder, summer or winter, close to Lake Michigan. (with the exception of a rare easterly lake-effect snow dump.)
- Because it's in a medium/large metro area, UWM is a heavy "Commuter School". It has a bit more of a "night school" or "community college" feel to it than a larger university like Madison, or a college or university that's in a smaller "college town" where the campus is a center of activity, like say Purdue.
- On-campus housing is limited to the three Sandburg Residence halls. They are three smallish high-rise towers. There's probably only around 1000-2000 students who live on campus. This also limits the "campus life" feel that some larger, or more isolated schools have.
- UWM, at least to me, seemed more geared twoard post-grad students. Undergrad's seem to be a bit more left to fend for themselves. The class offerings for undergrad are fine, but with the above two points, this adds to the slight "isolation" feeling UWM might give you if you're not careful.
NOTE: However, if you're a "go-getter" and aggressive about finding clubs, groups, or activites, and proactively engaging your advisor, you'll do okay. There's lots of stuff going on. You just have to do the research and go after it. If you're the passive type, and wait for socialization or "college life" to find you, you'll be dissapointed and very lonely there. This is true for any college, you're an "adult" now, and expected to figure this stuff out for yourself, just like another level from grade school to high school. It's just that Milwaukee sucks people/activity away from UWM, where other universities/colleges suck people/activity in a bit more.
- A few blocks further to the west, basicaly the other side of the Milwaukee River, is the inner-city low-income, welfare, crime etc. area of Milwaukee. Despite the occasional national news about some heinous crime, or a mob "beat-down" by minority youth (the last one, it turns out the victim was crusing to buy crack…) It's not nearly as bad compared to other midwest inner-cities like Chicago, Gary, or Detroit. However, it is bad enough, and run-down enough that someone with a rural, or a middle or upper class upbringing would be uncomfortable living, or traveling through that area.
I can't tell you as much about Marquette, but my impressions are these:
- More inclusive campus life than UWM. (no feeling of a night school/community college) Obviously more of a exclusive private/religious campus-life feel than UWM. Nationaly recognized sports teams. (NCAA basketball)
- Above average academic reputation for undergraduates. Higher/tougher than UWM.
- Marquette butts up against the downtown/museum/skyscraper center of Milwaukee to the east.
- The inner city comes closer to campus on the north and the west..
- The south is effectively a barrier of I-94 and then the industrial/blight Menominee valley. (There is a nice new Indian casino there, and other development is starting though...
If I have time, I can make a crude socio-economic map of Milwaukee (colored blobs of what kind of area it is) and where UWM and Marquette are located, and post it for you.
