<p>I'm having trouble choosing between Cooper Union and U Mich... I got accepted to both as a chemical engineering major, and U Mich gave me a lot of financial aid so the tuition isn't a problem. </p>
<p>What would you say are the pros and cons of both undergraduate schools? And which would you ultimately choose? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks! =)</p>
<p>Much of this varies per person, but I would prefer Michigan if finances weren’t an issue. </p>
<p>Diversity, athletics, a real campus (with all that entails–i.e. parties, night-life, etc.) outweigh NYC. Granted, I’m from NYC so it doesn’t have much appeal to me in terms of something new. The biggest turnoff (and the reason I didn’t apply) for Cooper Union is that it seems like nothing more than a school–it may provide a very good education for free, but there’s nothing else doing. I wouldn’t want to limit myself for the next four years. The two are comparable at the very least in terms of education, so all things considered I would choose Michigan.</p>
<p>Also–visit both! They’re extremely different.</p>
<p>UMich has a top 10 engineering school and you have some good aid lined up, but I hear Cooper Union is pretty decent too.</p>
<p>CU sounds like it would have more of an eclectic vibe than a big state U. So I guess it would depend on the person. I’m not in love with U Mich like others on CC so I would choose CU although NYC might not be the greatest place to live.</p>
<p>Could any of you go more in detail about specifically the education of both schools? I visited both schools and I noticed that both have rather different approaches, but would any of you say that one is particularly better than the other? If so, then how so?</p>
<p>By the way, thanks for your responses so far! Also, I neglected to mention that I live in NYC so if I go to Cooper, I’ll probably stay at home. Those dorms are expensive!</p>
<p>CC member ken285 actually went to Cooper Union. Search his posts … on several of them he mentioned his view of the school.</p>
<p>Michigan>Cooper Union. It’s academically superior, more prestigious, and just plain more fun. Also, if you decide engineering is not for you, Michigan offers a plethora of top notch programs throughout it’s campus. If costs are pretty close, this is really a no brainer.</p>
<p>“CU sounds like it would have more of an eclectic vibe than a big state U. So I guess it would depend on the person. I’m not in love with U Mich like others on CC so I would choose CU although NYC might not be the greatest place to live.”</p>
<p>…and you base your opinions on what factors? You obviously know very little about The University of Michigan or even NYC for that matter…</p>
<p>rokens, can you describe the characteristics of your ideal school? When you were looking for schools to apply to, what were your criteria?</p>
<p>The Cooper Union is a great school, and was absolutely the best choice for me, though I’m sure it’s not for everybody. I’m reluctant to make an absolute statement that for everybody, one school is better than another.</p>
<p>Well, I like the fact that Cooper Union is a small school. I can get the individual attention from professors in a small school, which is probably more difficult in a big school like UMich. However, I also want the experience of living in a college town like Ann Arbor, and that is something that Cooper Union lacks, being just a few buildings in the middle of a big city.</p>
<p>I think both of these are equally important concerns for me. I guess it’s difficult to satisfy both, given my options, which is why I’m so indecisive of where I want to go. I thought about it a lot, and I’m satisfied with the educations at either school as far as engineering is concerned. rjkofnovi does bring up a good point though. If I realize engineering isn’t for me, I would probably have to transfer out of Cooper Union. But… let’s assume for now that that won’t happen.</p>
<p>NY isnt for everyone, especially people out of high school.</p>
<p>I would choose Cooper Union if I was sure about engineering but Michigan is a fantastic school as well. If you’re unsure about engineering, then I would go to Michigan so you have to decide for yourself how techy you are.</p>
<p>rokens, it sounds like you already have the information you need, but you just need to figure out what factors are more important to you. I’m not sure anybody else can help you with that decision.</p>
<p>ken285, you said that Cooper Union was absolutely the best choice for you. Would you mind telling me more about that? What made it the best choice for you specifically?</p>
<p>I made that statement to contrast with rjkofnovi’s. The reasons I prefer the Cooper Union may in fact be the exact reasons you don’t like it, so I do stress that it’s specific to myself.</p>
<p>I do prefer urban environments and never really did have a strong desire to live in a college town. My future plans were to stay in the NYC area and work in the construction field in some capacity, so going to school in NYC provided me with the connections I needed to get internships and jobs here. </p>
<p>As you noted, the school is small (there were 18 people in my major in my year). It really is a pretty tight-knit community. While there are no dorms for everyone after freshman year, many people do get apartments in the area and do have parties. I was sure of what I wanted to do for a career, so it was nice to go to school with like-minded enthusiastic individuals who supported each other through the years.</p>
<p>Oh and of course everyone gets a full-tuition scholarship. Rent is expensive, but being in a large city, I was able to get an internship working a couple of hours a week during the school year and it helped pay some of my bills. </p>
<p>For yourself, money is not an issue and you prefer a college town. It seems the only thing holding you back is the size of UMich. What you should look into is if it actually feels that big. Are the class sizes big as well? What’s the professors’ priorities? Is it research or the students? I don’t have the answer to those questions, but perhaps someone from UMich does.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, everyone, especially ken285! Despite not being a college town, I think Cooper Union is overall a better choice for me. Gonna mail out my deposit tomorrow morning! =)</p>
<p>Are you Kidding me?
Cooper Union is one ofthe most prestigious colleges out there.</p>