i’m currently trying to decide between which program to attend in the fall, and would like to hear some thoughts on the pros and cons of each school. I’ve heard that the schools are quite different, but the curriculum and reputations are still a bit of a mystery to me.
(If any alumni or current students of either of these schools would be willing to share their experiences, it would be especially appreciated)
Thanks 
Two excellent choices, but the experiences would be very different. Though each school has its own environment and personality, the curriculum required by National Architecture Accrediting Board would be the much the same. You would get a wonderful education with a high level of design focus at either one.
My son got an MArch from Cornell, and though the graduate program is of course different from the undergraduate, there’s a lot of synergy. Cornell’s School of Architecture is a big, powerful department in a big, powerful university. It has strong name recognition across the country and internationally. The BArch program has been rated #1 by Design Intelligence for years and recently the MArch program climbed to #2 or 3. The faculty, facilities and intellectual and creative calibre of the students are all top notch.
Cornell students can spend a semester at their campus in Rome or in New York City. I’m sure Cooper offers off-campus opportunities too, but I’m not familiar with the specifics. Both schools have a fifth year thesis requirement.
Cornell’s rural location in upstate New York makes the campus somewhat insular, though Ithaca is a lively college town. For my son, who likes outdoorsy activities, the rural location was a plus, but even he had to admit that winters were long and dismal. Cornell’s location also makes it more difficult to recruit practicing architects as visiting instructors or critics, though Cornell does have deep connections to New York firms. My son secured summer internships through visiting architectures and Cornell alums.
Aside from location, I think the major point of differentiation between Cornell and Cooper is that Cornell is a large, research university with 22,000 students, studying everything under the sun, collegiate sports and a Greek social system. Cooper is considerably smaller, more intimate, with a limited range of majors, about half engineering, half art and architecture. Cooper’s BArch is consistently rated among the top 15 programs and is VERY well known to New York firms.