Message from Chancellor John D. Wiley
The University of Wisconsin-Madison always has — and always will — put Wisconsin students first in its freshman admissions process. Students admitted to UW-Madison represent cities, towns and villages from every corner of the state.
Three of every four UW-Madison undergraduates are resident or resident-equivalent students, under reciprocity agreements our state has with Minnesota.
Unfortunately, misperceptions are being fostered that suggest nonresident students are taking spaces and resources that should be directed to Wisconsin taxpayers. That has never been the case. In fact, the opposite is true.
Nonresident students provide important educational and economic benefits to the state, and UW-Madison would not be the world-class institution it is without them. No state flagship institution enrolls only students from within its own state borders, and UW-Madison is no different.
Recent figures show the percentage of nonresident undergraduates enrolled at Big Ten universities ranged from 10 percent at Michigan State University to 41 percent at Indiana University. At UW-Madison, nonresidents make up 22 percent of our undergraduate population.
From a financial perspective, significantly higher out-of-state tuition rates mean that nonresident students actually ease the cost of delivering education for Wisconsin students.
At $20,000 per year, nonresident students pay more than three times what Wisconsin resident students pay. Because of the higher tuition, nonresident students make up about 50 percent of our tuition revenue, providing the equivalent of a $3,000 subsidy to each Wisconsin student’s family. Without nonresident students, our educational quality would suffer and fewer Wisconsinites would be able to afford a UW-Madison experience.
Yes, admission to UW-Madison is competitive. We receive and evaluate more than 23,000 freshman applications — admitting 13,000 — each year for about 5,600 freshman spots. In an ideal world, we would be able to admit all talented and capable Wisconsin students who apply to UW-Madison. But we must always find a balance between enrollment and resources. We are committed to providing our students with an environment of academic excellence, and we simply cannot enroll more students than our faculty and staff — or our facilities — can support.
We’ve taken concrete steps to provide new ways that students can attain a UW-Madison degree. Our Connections Program guarantees access to UW-Madison via Wisconsin’s strong two-year college system; and just this year, we launched guaranteed-transfer partnerships with technical colleges in Milwaukee, Madison and Rhinelander.
I encourage you to apply to UW-Madison, but to also consider the full range of UW System campuses and transfer options. Wisconsin has 26 four-year and two-year public institutions that are the envy of the nation. The doors to higher education are wide open.
Sincerely,
John D. Wiley, Chancellor
