A very unique college dilemma: The Cooper Union vs. Georgia Tech vs. UCLA

College Search & Selection
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Hi CC, I have recently been accepted into all three of the above schools, and I need help deciding between them. I would like to go into a field which involves lots of math modeling and hopefully the application of math to finance and economics. The above schools all allow me to fulfill my goals in different ways.

The Cooper Union:
I have been accepted into the General Engineering program at the Cooper Union. This program should essentially allow me to build a financial engineering degree by combining operations research, financial analysis, economics, math modeling, computer science, and similar courses.

THE PROS:
-Those who have heard of the school regard it more highly than the other two.
-Proximity to Wall St. opens up numerous opportunities.
-Size of the school allows for a much more personalized experience, and makes it easier to stand out. One can be a “big fish in a small pond.”
-New York City
-Fairly close to home in (DC area).
-Education is completely tailored to what I want to study.
-Undergrads get almost all research opportunities.
THE CONS
-Very few people have actually heard of the school, which could hurt job prospects.
-Extremely difficult curriculum, which makes it harder to keep a high GPA. This could hurt job prospects if employers have not heard of the school or don’t know of its rigor.
-The school is not a big name in my intended field.

Georgia Tech:
At Georgia Tech I hope to double major in Industrial Engineering and Economics. Industrial Engineering is a fairly broad Operations Research field, so it should not at all be hard to apply the knowledge to finance (especially with an economics double major).

THE PROS
-The school’s industrial engineering program is very highly regarded (generally ranked #1) so even if I can’t break into financial engineering I should not find it hard to find a job/get into a solid grad program.
-A large enough school to offer numerous experiences/opportunities (internships, extracurriculars, etc.).
-Located pretty much in the center of Atlanta.
-Still relatively close to home.
-Warm weather (I’m Indian and cannot stand the cold).
-Very well-known and highly rated engineering school.
-Relatively minor pro, but a few of my good friends will likely be at GT as well.

THE CONS
-Very intense double major.
-Not at all a big school for finance.
-Large school means larger classes and less-personal experience.
-Famous for a depressing student body.
-Concerns about campus safety.

UCLA:
At UCLA I would study either Mathematics+Economics (one degree) or Financial Actuarial Mathematics.

THE PROS
-Offers the most relevant majors for my goal.
-Relatively well-known for the field.
-Very high-calibre faculty in quantitative finance (i.e. Longstaff and Schwartz).
-Many, many, many opportunities for things like study abroad, internships, and extracurriculars.
-Amazing campus and great student experience.
-Warm weather.
-Very well-known and universally well-regarded school.

THE CONS
-Very far from home.
-HUGE school makes it hard to stand out.
-Always lots of competition for opportunities.
-Hard to get all of the classes you want (from what I’ve heard some will almost always fill up).
-Will be a bit more expensive for me than the other two.

All in all I am currently finding it impossible to decide, so I’d love to hear the opinions of others.

If anyone is wondering why such odd choices for my intended field, it’s because I haven’t gotten in to the more established quant/FE schools (Columbia, Northwestern, Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley). Based off of these results I seriously doubt I will make it in to any of my remaining reaches (Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Cornell), so I figured why not just start deciding now.

TL;DR: Which is the best school for an aspiring quant/financial engineer/operations research analyst who has no other choices: General Engineering at Cooper, Double Major of IE and Econ at GT, or Math+Econ/Financial Actuarial Mathematics at UCLA.

Thank you!

I’ve also posted to reddit. Link is here for anyone in a similar situation: https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/4c7rps/a_very_unique_college_dilemma_the_cooper_union_vs/

2

Bump

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For me it’d be between UCLA and GTech.

4

Any specific reasons?

5

Financial Engineering is a growing field within Industrial Engineering.

One of the 5 ISE concentrations, offered at GT, is Economic & Financial Systems (EFS).

https://www.isye.gatech.edu/academics/bachelors/current-students/curriculum

You do not need to double major in Economics, though you may want to minor in it, business or computer sciences (I would recommend CS).

http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/academics/minors.php

Instead of working on a dual degree, your time would be better spent on internships, clubs, design projects, and having some fun (Atlanta can be a LOT of fun).

Good Luck!

1 Like
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Thank you so much Gator88NE, I was not aware of that. That makes GT a lot more tempting.

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While the Cooper Union is small, it is well regarded in engineering circles and likely to be known by prospective employers in the field. It seems to provide opportunities for good internships as well. I mention this not as an endorsement of the Cooper Union over the other schools, just to add to your feedback.

Any idea of where you’d like to live post-college? That can impact school and internship choices as such connections can generate job offers.

Good luck! You already have some excellent choices.

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“-Very few people have actually heard of the school, which could hurt job prospects.”

Where do you get that kind of nonsense? Everyone who hires engineers knows the Cooper Union.

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No one outside of engineering has heard of Cooper Union.

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^What does that matter? Those hiring in his intended career are not “outside of engineering”.

Cooper Union or GaTech.

11

CU has great finanical aid, as everyone gets at least half tuition. Engineering is their most popular major there, as about half their students do engineering(They only have engineering, visual/performing arts, & architecture)

I’d say GATech. It better for you’re field, isn’t too far from home, in a city you like & is well known, GATech is a tech school, so it’s gonna be more male sided but isn’t bad(65% Male,35% Female)

Do you like medium & large classes?

So to Recap
CU: Value & Small Classes
GT:Best for Major
UCLA: Majors+Network

12

first and foremost, cooper is NOT the cooper of old and continues to change for the worse. Go where you can be the most succesfull as you undoubltely need to go to grad school. So highest gpa will have a major impact as will which grad school you attend. Plus for the money you get better college experience at ucla or gt.

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@stones3 oh? I thought you were a proponent of Cooper?

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not so much any longer. Personal experience changed my opinion. Though I can assure you they are well known in the three disciplines of art, arch, engineering. Though I wouldn’t say top 10 in art or arch

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Every hockey fan knows CU.

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double major in engineering is a very heavy course load. you sure you want to tackle that?
I’d go with Cooper or UCLA. Cooper if you definitely want to stay in NYC after graduation and work in finance there (internship opportunities). UCLA if you want to be West Coast (or not NYC) and/or want to focus more on finance/econ.