Cornell over Cooper Union?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>I was just accepted Cornell ED Engineering, but don't understand why so many people apply to schools like Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, MIT for engineering/applied science when Cooper Union is as highly ranked and tuition free.
Cooper Union has about 13% acceptance rate, similar to many top engineering schools.
Is there a difference because the first four are National Universities on USNWR while Cooper Union is not?</p>

<p>Or is it because Cooper Union does not offer Master/PhD, whereas the others do?
I'm confused why so few people apply, because unless you want to go to the same university for undergrad and grad school, why does it matter if your school has Master or PhD degrees offered?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help! Congratulations to all Cornell 2013 acceptees!</p>

2

<p>I cannot speak for everyone, but I looked at both school and chose cornell because hell will freeze over before you find me spending 4 years in NYC</p>

3

<p>There's more to college than just academics. You can get college experiences at Cornell or Stanford that you can't get at Cooper Union.</p>

4

<p>I've heard cooper union is quite a unique experience. You should consider what you want out of college. Cooper Union is very small and does not provide traditional housing and student activities. There are many things to consider outside of academics.</p>

5

<p>1) Go to the Registrar's list of courses being given in the current semester, compare breadth & depth of engineering course offerings. Note I believe at Cornell qualified upperclassmen can take some graduate courses.</p>

<p>2) Look at the curricula, compare the # free electives outside of engineering each college requires of its students</p>

<p>3) Look at Cornell's list of course offerings across the university, all 7 undergraduate colleges, to see what your options are for filling these free electives. Compare this to your options at Cooper Union.</p>

<p>4) Cornell, as whole and in the dorms, is fully co-ed, 50-50 M-F ratio, with students populating 7 undergraduate colleges, spanning a widely diverse array of studies. I don't think Cooper Union even has dorms, does it? Cooper Uniion has engineers, and then it has art students, and I don't think they even talk to, or like each other.</p>

<p>5) Research & compare the "campus" (or, in one case I should say "the building") life/ activities at the two schools.</p>

<p>Cooper Union has much lower cost for many people,and it is in NYC. These two factors are highly attractive to many people, resulting (taken together with its small size) in its low acceptance rates. Take these two factors away, and just focus on the school's actual resources and what it provides, and frankly I doubt it would look highly competitive to a lot of places. </p>

<p>But these two factors are in fact important, and as a result the school attracts great students, and its graduates are highly respected.</p>

<p>That school is extremely tough, BTW.</p>

6

<p>I believe many people select schools like Carnegie Mellon and Cornell because Cooper Union might seem too small. Cooper Union has a top rated program, but I'm not sure that it offers the research opportunities and the breadth of courses that larger schools can afford. I also suspect that a lot of students may be turned off simply by the size of the student body. A few of my friends, for example, turned down small schools like Caltech and LACs, simply because they eventually decided they wanted a larger campus and student body. </p>

<p>Also, Cooper Union's free tuition doesn't necessarily mean that it will cost less than, say, Cornell. One of my siblings was accepted there a few years ago, but they still expected us to pay for room and board. Other schools ended up being much cheaper after some generous financial aid. </p>

<p>But for the city person who seeks individual attention from professors and a small school with a unique atmosphere, Cooper Union definitely would be a great choice.</p>

7

<p>Yes, to reiterate Tchaikovsky, Cooper Union is not really free, since you have to pay room and board, which is astronomical in NYC.</p>

8

<p>Cooper Union:
$19,000 for room/board/fees/meal plan
Smaller, small classes, more individual attention
NYC - center of civilization
Ranked higher for engineering I think?</p>

<p>Cornell:
$52,000 for everything - even if you get FA, Cooper could save you a LOT of money
Bigger, more research opportunities
Ithaca - outskirts of civilization</p>

<p>If money is an issue and you prefer the city, I'd go with Cooper...but I go to NYU which is right by Cooper and I personally want to get out of NYC and go to nice, middle o' nowhere Ithaca</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
$52,000 for everything - even if you get FA, Cooper could save you a LOT of money

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Cooper definitely will not save you money unless you're financially well off enough that you don't get significant aid. My parental contribution here is like a few hundred dollars, and after the new financial aid initiative, will be zero. Cooper Union, even after their financial aid, would've cost nearly $10,000 per year. This, unfortunately, was one of the reasons my parents couldn't send their young artist to Cooper Union.</p>

10

<p>In light of the above comment I do think it is important that you see what Cornell's aid package will be as compared to Cooper Union. Cornell is often extremely generous with aid, although if you are considered "wealthy enough" by Cornell it's a whole different ballgame. Cornell is definitely cheaper than almost any other University I got accepted to due to it's aid.</p>

11

<p>Thanks, I understand what you guys are saying,
anyone receive their financial aid package yet?</p>

<p>When is it supposed to come out? Mid December?</p>