FAMILIES AND PARENTS

UW–Madison’s application review process is holistic. Students who have continually challenged themselves in the curriculum available in their schools would be considered competitive applicants and may be a good fit for the university. That could include: taking honors, advanced placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes (especially in core areas of math, English, science, social studies, and world language), when available, and receiving A/B grades in those classes; and sustaining commitments outside the classroom (extracurricular activities, work, family responsibilities, leadership).

For Prospective First-Year Students:

• Applications for the fall semester are due November 1 for Early Action and January 15 for Regular Decision.
• Applications for the spring semester are due October 1.

For Prospective Transfer Students:

• Applications for the fall semester are due February 1 for Priority Decision and March 1 for Regular Decision.
• Applications for spring semester are due October 1.

As a public, state flagship institution, we have a Board of Regents responsibility to in-state students that compels us to make 3,600 of our incoming student population Wisconsin state residents. The remaining seats in our incoming freshman class are made up of students from across the country and around the world.

“First-generation” is defined by the University of Wisconsin System as neither parent having graduated with a bachelor’s degree (i.e., four-year undergraduate degree from a higher education institution).

Students are not required to live on campus at UW–Madison but over 90 percent of our freshmen do. There are over 20 residence halls on campus and a variety of off-campus housing options throughout the area.

We offer over 1,000 student organizations along with Big 10 Badger sports, intramurals and sport clubs, arts and cultural opportunities (like concerts, comedians, and movie nights), and tons of other opportunities to meet new people and try new things!

The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is available each year on October 1 for the following academic year (e.g., apply October 1, 2022, for the 2023–2024 school year). Students may apply online at fafsa.gov before or after they submit an application for admission. Note that the family income information (i.e., federal income tax) is used from the prior tax year.

Students should explore scholarship opportunities through the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH) to find all scholarships that applicants may be eligible for. Students do not need to be accepted to apply for scholarships. The deadline for most scholarships is February 1.

Students who are undocumented or international cannot submit a FAFSA but may be eligible for partial tuition scholarships. For questions or more information, contact 608-262-3060 or email finaid@finaid.wisc.edu.

Yes, and so are we. The Office of Student Financial Aid is open for financial aid questions, even for students who do not necessarily plan to attend UW–Madison. Students and families may follow them on Twitter at @UWMad_FinAid or visit their website at financialaid.wisc.edu to learn about events and drop-in hours and locations for students and families seeking additional information.

Bucky’s Tuition Promise guarantees scholarships and grants to pay for tuition and segregated fees for Wisconsin state resident students whose household adjusted gross income (AGI) is $60,000 or less. First-year students may receive this financial support for eight consecutive semesters while transfer students may receive the support for four consecutive semesters.

Badger Promise guarantees a period of free tuition and segregated fees to Wisconsin resident, first-generation students who have successfully transferred from any of the two-year UW Colleges or from liberal arts associate degree programs at Madison College (Madison Area Technical College), Milwaukee Area Technical College, and other UW–Madison partner institutions.

The FASTrack program is designed for first-year incoming Wisconsin state residents. The program meets the student’s full need (i.e., need as determined by the results of the FAFSA) using scholarships, grant, and work-study. All incoming students who submit a FAFSA are automatically reviewed and there is no separate application for consideration. Students who are awarded the Federal Pell Grant and have ACT scores greater than 30, who are awarded the Federal Pell Grant, and are first-generation students, and/or whose household receives public assistance (e.g., SNAP, free/reduced lunch) are automatically selected.

No. Each of these opportunities requires Wisconsin residency, determined by state statute, which is typically not provided to DACA or undocumented students. Each also requires a FAFSA, which cannot be completed by a DACA or undocumented student. However, there are a number of smaller scholarships available for which students may apply that do not require FAFSA eligibility.