<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I'll be transferring from a community college to one of these schools in the Fall. Only question is which one. </p>
<p>I'm having a surprisingly tough time. CU is the cheapest option, though they're no longer free. I'm concerned that they aren't well known enough, or that they might be slipping since they pulled their full scholarships.</p>
<p>UIUC is closer to my friends and family. UMich seems to be better known when I talk with people about it.</p>
<p>Austin is a cool city, but when I visited the campus a few years back, I really didn't dig the vibe. Maybe it'd be different now.</p>
<p>Any thoughts on college experience at these schools? Or perhaps on name recognition when applying for jobs or grad school? I assume CU has fewer businesses recruiting on campus, and fewer "perks" like study abroad. Obviously everyone recognizes state schools, but maybe something smaller and more exclusive would open up its own unique opportunities.</p>
<p>Any thoughts you have would be most welcome!</p>
<p>It’s very hard for an OOS student to be accepted to UT-Austin in engineering, so it’s probably better to cross it off your list if you didn’t like the vibe.</p>
<p>Have you visited any of them? Are you in-state to any?</p>
<p>Also, who are these people who know of UMich better than UIUC? I’m going to venture a guess that they’re not the types of folks who actually hire engineers. Pretty much any employer hiring engineers (and all grad schools) would hold all these schools in high regard.</p>
<p>BTW, they’re all top engineering schools, so you can’t go wrong. If the money is the same, I would probably go by fit and geography (where I want to be; if I want to be in TX post-grad, UT-Austin is the obvious choice; if I want to be in NYC post-grad, CU makes sense). What engineering major?</p>
<p>I’m accepted to transfer to any of these, so that isn’t an issue.</p>
<p>I saw CU when I was in NYC, but it was a Sunday so I didn’t get a chance to meet anyone or check out the facilities. I’m in Oklahoma, so no in-state tuition. Ann Arbor is probably the coolest college town on the planet. I’ll visit UIUC in the next couple of weeks. </p>
<p>Correct, they’re fellow students and family who know UMich better. I actually see the name UIUC more because of their research.</p>
<p>Mechanical engineering is the major, probably focused on robotics.</p>
<p>CU will be the cheapest because I don’t get in state tuition. Like I said, I’m just concerned that employers won’t know CU unless they’re in NYC. Professors and students and my community college have never heard of it.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be too worried about people with an actual engineering background not knowing about the Cooper Union (and the people making hiring decions in robotics aren’t going to be comp lit majors). Also, I’d expect their alumni base to be helpful when it comes to job-searching. However, living in NYC is expensive, so factor that in as well. If you really want to get the lowdown, contact CU and ask if they could get you in touch with an alum located in OK to get his take on his time there first. </p>
<p>BTW, outside engineering, UMich does have the strongest brand name of the 4, then UT-Austin. Within engineering, they’re all top-notch.</p>
<p>No preference on where you want to be geographically after graduation?</p>
<p>You are fortunate to have great choices. Cooper Union is a brutal and extremely focused school, but very rewarding and their graduates do extremely well. UIUC and Michigan are more traditional and near the top in most disciplines. </p>
<p>You have a great choice to make. I run a research group in EE in Boston and these are three of my favorite schools to recruit from, the others being MIT and Cornell. </p>
<p>There is no classification for non-resident or resident tuition at Cooper Union because the school is a private institution, not a public university.</p>
<p>Thank you for the comments. I feel better about Cooper, and I’ll definitely try to get in touch with alums in the area.</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>They do work you very hard at the Cooper Union. Keep that in mind.</p>