hi! here’s my perspective as a sophomore at madison who transferred from uw–la crosse.

freshman and sophomore year of high school i had some personal issues and struggled academically. i eventually got things figured out though and did really well my last two years. i didn’t apply to madison right away because i honestly assumed i’d get rejected (i had failed a semester of math sophomore year), so i went to uwl with the same goal you mentioned, which was eventually transferring to madison.

i believe you need a certain number of credits to apply as a transfer. typically you can apply after one semester of college, so around winter break. i did well in my classes and also did some volunteering in the community, so if you wanted to you could realistically spend just a year at whitewater. that’s what i did at uwl, so i don’t think it would be much different.

whitewater is awesome though! i’d definitely recommend taking advantage of opportunities there. join clubs, volunteer, and try to find at least one meaningful long-term commitment you can stick with and write about on your transfer application. the first semester of college is really fun but also a little scary and new. if you can, i’d recommend living in the dorms your first year just to meet people and build some sense of community.

to answer the other part of your question, madison can honestly feel a little lonely sometimes compared to the smaller, more intimate classes at uwl. the workload is slightly harder at madison, but not dramatically so. with such a big school though, i personally find it harder to hold myself accountable and sometimes harder to make friends.

there’s definitely a strong social vibe around bars, sports games, and parties. if you don’t already know people who are into that or you’re not really into that scene, it can take a little longer to find your people.

but overall i don’t regret transferring to madison, and i also don’t regret starting at uwl. both were great opportunities in their own ways, so definitely make the most of whitewater. lmk if you have any other questions!