Want to be a Badger? It’s getting harder to gain admission to UW
- UW-Madison data show the admission rate reached a record low in 2025. Just 41% of applicants were accepted.
- Complicating the admissions landscape is a new law guaranteeing Wisconsin students in the top 5% of their class receive automatic admission to UW-Madison.
- UW-Madison has published data showing which Wisconsin counties and public schools had the highest success rate at getting into the state flagship.
Homestead High School in Mequon hosts a college admissions presentation every year, offering families general advice about the application process.
This year’s presentation, however, was much more specific: How to get into the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“The perception is it feels more competitive,” said Melissa Bleidorn, mother of a Homestead junior and co-president of the school’s parent-teacher-student organization, which requested the presentation on behalf of concerned parents. “It’s harder to get in. You hear stories of kids who would have gotten in 10 years ago.”
It’s not just parents’ perceptions. UW-Madison data show the admission rate reached a record low in 2025. Just 41% of applicants were accepted, down from 57% in 2009.
