University of Minnesota vs. University of Wisconsin–Madison

Wisconsin-Madison sets the higher bar. It admits about 45.2% of applicants while Minnesota admits roughly 78.9%, so a far larger slice of Minnesota's pool gets in. Wisconsin's enrolled first-years also clear a higher academic line, posting a middle-50% SAT of 1370–1490 and ACT of 29–33 against Minnesota's 1310–1460 and 26–32. Out-of-state applicants face no residency squeeze at Wisconsin, where about 51% of undergraduates already come from out of state versus 29% at Minnesota.

Minnesota carries the lower out-of-state sticker, about $41,368 in tuition and fees against $44,191 at Wisconsin-Madison, but Wisconsin meets far more demonstrated need. UW-Madison covers about 89% of need on average with a package near $31,125, while Minnesota covers about 69% with an average package near $19,475. Wisconsin reaches a smaller share of first-years on need-based aid, about 29% versus 44% at Minnesota. A high-need out-of-state applicant can see Wisconsin's deeper aid drop its net cost below Minnesota's despite the higher sticker, while full-pay families pay less at Minnesota. In-state tuition runs lower at Wisconsin, about $12,166 to Minnesota's $18,482.

On its degree mix, Wisconsin-Madison weights business far more heavily. It confers business as its single largest field at about 18% of bachelor's degrees, the front door to the campus. Minnesota grants business in about 11% of degrees, trailing the liberal arts, the social sciences, and the health and life sciences across a broader spread. A business-concentrated class finds the heavier program at Wisconsin, where Minnesota folds business into a flagship that other fields lead.

The two peak in different places. Minnesota leads with the liberal arts and humanities (about 22% of degrees), the social sciences and psychology (18%), and the biological and health sciences (17%), with engineering, business, and computing each near 11%. Wisconsin-Madison leads with business (about 18%), the social sciences (16%), and the biological and life sciences (11%), trailed by engineering and computing. Minnesota's mix tilts toward the liberal arts and health sciences while Wisconsin's leans into business and the social sciences.

For a hard benchmark, Wisconsin-Madison gives you a concrete number: it publishes an average enrolled GPA of about 3.90, and more than half of its ranked first-years finished in the top tenth of their high school class. Minnesota dropped the average GPA and reports class rank instead, where about 71% of ranked first-years sat in the top quarter and 97% in the top half. Both schools rate course rigor a very important factor, so a strong, challenging transcript carries the most weight either way.

Minnesota edges it for size, enrolling about 42,565 undergraduates to Wisconsin-Madison's 39,083. Their teaching scale runs close, a 17:1 student-faculty ratio at Minnesota and 18:1 at Wisconsin. On retention and completion Wisconsin pulls ahead, posting a 96% first-year retention rate and a 90% six-year graduation rate against Minnesota's 91% and 85%.