uwm, uwmadison, or matc

[badgerbabe287]

Is anyone a student at uw, uwm, or matc? I am currently a prenursing student at uwmadison. I do not feel my gpa is high enough only 3.3 to make it into the program here at uw. I am thinking about matc milwaukee bc the waitlist is only 6months now. or possibly uwm but they have more prereqs that i would need to take. Please let me know if you have any info. Thanks. :)

[JennyDo]

I am currently a senior at UW- Milwaukee (graduating in 41 days :yeah:Yipee!) The program is pretty difficult to get accepted in, but if you do a good job on the essay portion of the application anything can happen. Personally, I think the program is in a state of constant change. (You will be making it better for the next class just like we did.)

Overall the program is good, parking is ok...especially if you take the shuttle onto the campus. Most of the professors are great, a few are not. I think that's the same anywhere you go. The big emphasis at UWM is community nursing, so if that is not a field you are interested in, some of the classes and projects may seem a bit boring.

The city of Milwaukee is a little rough, there are quite a few robberies around campus, and it really isn't a good idea to go out after dark (I wouldn't take night classes there...) The campus police sends email notices to the students if anything happens and that's the only reason I know about them. I commute and haven't had any issues with theft at all.

Good luck with whatever path you choose...

[Farmer Jane]

I'm an RN finishing up my BSN at UW-Milwaukee. I also was an undergrad at UW-Milwaukee, was accepting to the nursing program, did one semester of clinicals then moved and transferred to a tech school in northern WI.

When I was studying to become a nurse I spend a lot of time obsessing about which was best. Now that I've been a nurse for five years I say go to the program that you can afford and finish. Preferably get your BSN because the RN to BSN program is a pain and in the end you'll end up spending less time in school if you just do the BSN program to begin with. UW-Madison is excellent, so definitely go there if you are accepted. Honestly, I'm not all that impressed with UW-Milwaukee. I go there because I can afford it, it's in my neighborhood, and I already had a ton of credits there. They are ridiculously disorganized and the emphasis on community health is so strong that acute care is missed to an extent. Community health is an excellent career but reality is you need a foundation in acute care to even have a clue about community health. Ultimately though, while I think a UWM grad will start a bit behind the blocks compared to a MATC grad, after six months they'll both be up to speed. There's a huge learning curve your first year of working as a nurse no matter where you go. So go where you can and focus on the long-term: your career.

[kiwilime81]

I am glad to hear that I am not the only person who had difficulties with MATC-Madison. I do feel that they turn out good nurses as others have said, but trying to get through the program was awful. I just did my prereq's there and transferred to Moraine Park Tech College out of Beaver Dam and I am pretty happy with the program so far. Good luck with your decision!

[Sashakins]

I graduate from Madison Area Technical College in 2 weeks. The program has a long wait list, but the instructors are great. The administrators of MATC are not RN program friendly. MATC has increased the grade standards to pass the RN program only.

No matter what your decision, you need to live, breathe, and sleep RN school. Study, study, and study. Warn family and friends that you have a primary goal to become an RN and ask them to give you support by not bothering too much with everyday stuff.

To learn more clinical and "on the floor" skills; hands down MATC. The UW doesn't start clinical until their 2nd year, I think.