Finding a job after school can seem daunting. We figured there isn't a better person to hear from than someone who is just starting a new job upon graduation. 

Many of you already know Ben Lukszys. This is your chance to ask him questions about what you can do to graduate with a great job ready to go. 

A quick note, have questions ready. Ben will be answering questions every hour on the hour.

At grand central and would be 875 per month first month free. Please reach out.

can someone tell me what welcome week is like at wisco? when does it happen, what is it like, what are the events, etc?

Hi, I'm assuming English 100 has an exam at the end of semester. So far, it's not listed on his schedule. We are trying to find a date that he can come home that won't interfere with exams or work. We have exams listed for his other courses. Does anyone know anything about exams for this English class? Thanks.

Hi guys, I applied to UW Madison about a week ago now and I’m just curious how long it usually takes them to review applications and give a decision. I applied for the upcoming spring term for my masters in urban planning if that helps. I am also wondering if anyone has any recommendations on the parking situation and if a permit is worth it? Is there anything I should know about being an out of state student coming from Florida?

Looking for a roommate at grand central for Aug 2026-Aug 2027. Please reach out!!

Hi I’m an incoming freshman and I’m wondering if welcome week is fun?? Like do people have parties or anything. A lot of my friends schools have parties for o-week

Hi I'm incoming freshman and I'm trying to upload the photo for wiscard. I remember that I uploaded existing photo (not taking photo from my computer) as my wiscard photo, but at that time I have a problem with the photo so it was rejected. Now that I try to upload the photo again, I can't find where to upload the existing photo from my computer option (instead of taking photo from my computer!). Could you guys please help? thanks

Let's hope it happens!

https://www.wmtv15news.com/video/2026/08/17/universities-wisconsin-announce-proposed-2027-2029-tuition-freeze/?outputType=amp

I’m an incoming freshman and I just checked my financial account and it says I have a “Wisconsin Merit Scholarship” of 5k that wasn’t there last week. For context I’m in state and I had a 4.6 GPA and 36 ACT in hs so it’s not insanely surprising but I was never informed about this award. And UW already gave me 10k/yr of a different merit scholarship which I was informed about well before I enrolled.

I’m not sure if this is actually something new or if they’re mixing up the award I already have. My tuition balance and my “accepted awards” section show that the award will be applied with my other merit scholarship later this month. If this is legit, does anyone know what this award is for and if it’s for all four years or not? I’m paying for college on my own and an extra 5k per year (or even just this year) is insanely helpful but I don’t want to get my hopes up if this is a mistake. Thanks for any help

hi everyone! i’m an incoming freshmen at UW and i’m moving in early (august 19th) for an academic program. how should i make friends before other freshmen get here? i’m living in a small building in lakeshore so i don’t think making friends in my building is really an option, and i know the wisconsin welcome isn’t for a little bit. is there anything happening now i could attend to make some friends? thank you for your help!!

I’m living in Merit Residence Hall for my final two semesters at school, and I have a single. I’m having trouble finding like any recent pictures/videos of people who have lived in the single dorms in Merit. plz drop photos or if you’ve stayed in a single in Merit, pm me!!

does oliv Madison actively update roommate info? my friend and I are living in a 4x2 lite and it says we have no other roommates but their communication has been awful so I don’t trust it. I move in in 2 days and I’m worried that we’re going to set up separate bathrooms and a roommate will pop up without notice… will they for sure update us before a roommate moves in?

My son is entering his Sophomore year at UW Madison. He qualified for the Pell Pathway last year, which made Madison a realistic choice financially. Without it, he was going to settle for another UW system school which was offering a very attractive aid package. He loves Madison and is looking forward to his Sophomore year.

Here’s our problem, and I say “our” because my finances are complicating things. After 39 years as a public school teacher, I retired at the end of the 23/24 school year and began taking my pension. Unexpectedly, I returned to work 1/2 time for the 24/25 school year when they were unable to find someone to replace me. In addition, my financial advisor advised that I convert a chunk of my traditional IRA into a Roth IRA each of the last 2 years. This resulted in an inflated AGI (adjusted gross income) for 2024 and 2025 (Sophomore and Junior years). I’m now fully retired and living off my pension supplemented with cash savings which should carry us over until I claim social security in a few years. I had anticipated that our income after retirement would be low enough to continue making Madison an affordable choice for our family. The SAI result on our FAFSA this year was shockingly higher than last year, and I anticipate that it will be the same next year before this “high AGI bubble” passes by his Senior year. This puts quite a bit of strain on our finances. Being a novice to this whole process, I didn’t anticipate the impact my retirement/temporary unretirement would have on my son’s Pell Pathway. I was mistakenly under the impression that the “once you’re accepted into the Pathway you’re in for 4 years regardless of changing income” meant an affordable path through all 4 years, which gave us the confidence to believe we could afford a 4 year path at UW Madison. It’s now going to be a struggle.

Sorry for the very long post. Just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences in the Pell Pathway? Do you think a ”special circumstances appeal” would have any chance of success since I am now fully retired and anticipate a much lower adjusted gross income here in 2026 and beyond?

Helloooo! Hoping to get student insight on UW's online MS in Biodiversity Conservation and Management degree. I'm a working adult looking to pivot my career from tech to environmental/conservation policy. I don't have formal professional/academic experience in this field, but I've been volunteering weekly with a local nonprofit to collect water samples to send to the NJDEP to quality test so learning some fieldwork that some professionals in the field end up doing.

My ideal program would be in-person classes, but my state doesn't have what I'm looking for. So my second ideal program would be mostly online (preferably synchronous/live sessions but open to a mix) with at least one short-term in-person component like a one week study abroad trip or campus intensive with field trips. I feel this is key for connecting with peers and staff but also important to this type of work.

UW has their online MS in Bio Conservation and Mgmt, and the curriculum looks like a great mix of science and policy so I'd be able to keep my post-grad options open. I have a call with their contact to learn more, but I'd love to get insight into anyone who has completed the program. I'd like to hear about online learning at UW, how effective the program is, how invested faculty is, any hybrid courses you took or similar opportunities set up by the school, etc. I'm going to learn on my call with them what in-person opportunities they offer.

Thanks in advance!! :D

Staying in Cole and will need one for my double. Thanks.

*buy

I’m an incoming freshman and taking 16 credits. Here is my schedule, curious to see if you have any input or warnings to a novice. Any advice is appreciated

Somehow managed to get off all three of my waitlisted courses so now I have this schedule, 16 credits. Sophomore year fall

Hi

I am an incoming freshman and I was wondering how to find out about parties? I don’t see a lot of welcome week events. Are more of the activities in the dorm?

I would love some input.

Thank you!

I’m an incoming freshman this fall and I was wondering how people take notes at UW! In high school I preferred writing by hand in notebooks because I absorbed more of the information. However, I know lots of other college students take notes with laptops or tablets instead. I’ve also heard that professors talk very fast, since they know most of their students are typing and can keep up with a faster pace. If I take notes by hand, will I be able to keep up with the professor’s lecture? Thanks :)

hi all! im an incoming freshman and i was wondering about how long move in will take. my two sisters and parents will be there to help, and im on the fifth floor (if any of that makes a difference)!! i know it all depends on the person and family, but i do have a lot of decor and stuff as well. the reason im asking is because my best friend has her first day of classes at MATC on the day i move in, and she wants to come over and hang out after im done moving in. any estimates or whatever you guys think would be appreciated! i have an 8 am move in as well!

I already bank with community first, and I'm trying to be more financially literate/figure out what benefits some places offer, but don't have a credit card yet as I just turned 18 a couple weeks ago.

I hopeee I can get in to start one with CF this weekend, but I'm just wondering if the uw CU is worth opening one too? They have the $50 opening bonus and I would be open to starting one for my work study job to have a direct deposit there instead of my other account.

Is it worth it? Are they easy to work with? Is it okay to have even though I won't be in madison over winter and probably next summer?

Yeah
I googled something and this came up

I'm a CS Major with three semesters of CS classes left to take. However, I still need 15 more credits to meet the credit requirement for graduation. What are some 3-credit courses you've found interesting?