Getting into.. Cooper Union - School of Architecture

College Majors Architecture Major
1

<p>Hi, I'm currently a sophomore in high school,
hoping to go to Cooper for Architecture (2014).</p>

<p>I have a GPA of 3.72 as of last semester, probably going to end this semester with all A's,
hoping to end my high school career with over 3.9.
I got like 3 B's all together, but they were all high B's (93% average)
I'm taking all gifted(honors) classes, and
I ranked 37 out of like 600 kids in my grade up to last semester (cumulative ranking)
Scored 5 in AP Human Geography exam (although its completely useless)</p>

<p>I barely have any ECs: BETA club this year, along with TSA(technology student association).
I did get an honorable mention in regional science fair this year,
I volunteered @ a Korean school as an assistant teacher for a year,
went to several mission trips(Haiti)/summer volunteering opportunities.
Hoping to be in NHS next year, maybe joining the soccer team.</p>

<p>I'm taking Architecture I in high school but the class is completely useless to be honest.
I'm planning to move to a better school, and my school is getting rid of architecture next year.
Also planning to be more involved in extracurricular activities,
hoping for a dual enrollment program (part-time college) and internship.
Taking AP Physics B, maybe even C and AP Calc AB, with bunch of other AP classes.</p>

<p>So the question is,</p>

<p>What would I have to do to shape myself up for Cooper Architecture?</p>

<p>and how much Architecture/Art skills do I have to have?</p>

<pre><code>I've worked with Autodesk Revit/Inventor, but not much of AutoCAD.
I'm not really good at freehand drawing and sketching,
but I do have great thoughts and ideas on the design side, not to be cocky.
</code></pre>

<p>I would really appreciate it if you guys give me some advice :)</p>

2

<p>You need to be artistically inclined. In applying to architecture at CU, they mail you a hometest in which you have to take. That’s the bulk of the application and the admissions. This guy uploaded pictures from his and he was accepted:</p>

<p>[Cooper</a> Union Home Test - Samuel Choi](<a href=“http://samuelchoi.■■■■■■■■■■/cooper-union-home-test.html]Cooper”>Cooper Union Home Test - sam choi)</p>

3

<p>Hey! I’m also a sophomore in high school, planning to go to Cooper for architecture. Cooper does look for people who have creative thinking skills,check out their home test. I’ve ready that they don’t place too much importance on the SATs, people get around 2000 and still get accepted. However, I’m also wondering how much importance Cooper pplaces on extracurriculaR activities, as I don’t have many!</p>

4

<p>Hi, not sure if this is the place to post this but Cooper is definitely a unique school and I have a question. </p>

<p>I know it was founded as a tuition free school but given the lack of residence halls is this still an option for really low income kids? The low acceptance rate doesn’t intimidate me nearly as much as the thought of our son looking for housing in Manhattan. I mean, after first year everyone seems to live off campus. This said, how could room and board get counted into estimates for financial aid? Or do students just realize what a great deal they are getting with nearly-free tuition, and plan automatically on paying for housing and meals? Could student loans even cover this, since it is not paid directly to the college?</p>

<p>Thanks – it makes the difference between thinking S can consider this school…or not.</p>

5

<p>Hey everybody! I was accepted this year to attend The Cooper Union for arch. This year, they accepted only 23 students (18 first year, 5 transfer) out of a pool of about 600-700 applicants. So yes, it is highly selective. You seem to be very focused on your grades, but I don’t think you should be. Cooper claims that the average grades of first year arch students is somewhere from a B to a B+. I had about a 3.4 and a 2180 on the SAT. But what they really want to see is how you think in response to the hometest. They want creative, clever solutions which reflect that you will succeed as an arch student. </p>

<p>If you have specific questions about the hometest, feel free to ask me. I’ll post mine here, and if you’d like I can post some more that I’ve found online from other admitted students.
[WM</a> _ Cooper Union Architecture Hometest 2012 - a set on Flickr](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/75484502@N02/sets/72157629456340927/]WM”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/75484502@N02/sets/72157629456340927/)</p>

6

<p>That’s really unique! My favorite was the eclipse; wha was the idea behind it?</p>

7

<p>Thank you! My original idea was to put my hand under a developing light so it would capture it on photo paper. However, this was the last one I did and was running out of time so I took a piece of sponge paper and sprayed it with my hand on top. It shows the result of an eclipse and a variance in texture with went well with a lot of the other pieces in my hometest.</p>

8

<p>Oh and in terms of extracurriculars, I don’t think they really place much emphasis on it. They have a small place at the very end of the hometest to list awards/extracurriculars.</p>

9

<p>I was also one of the accepted students this year! This might give you more of an idea on how Cooper weighs certain elements in their applications; I had a 3.2 GPA (unweighted) and a 1700 SAT. Based on pure numbers there was no way i could have gotten into Cooper as all my stats are bellow the average of the accepted students each year. That being said, i strongly suggest you keep you grades going, but you NEED to focus on hand drawing and art (in any form e.g. writing, film, painting). </p>

<p>Cooper is not interested in your ability to create architecture (as a high-school student with little to no real background in architecture) or your ability to use programs (that i myself have never used), but your ability to create something creative that is unique and moving. This skill is shown through your hometest. Even though each question can be answered very architecturally most people that get into Cooper have more of an artistic approach towards the hometest questions but distantly relates back to the architectural aspect of it. If you are not very good at art i strongly suggest going to a pre-college program at an art school (like RISD) because it will help you build a portfolio (which most prestigious colleges require, for architecture). Simply having the ideas isnt good enough, you must be able to make them reality. </p>

<p>That being said, i would also assume extracurriculars that are clearly related to architecture/art/engineering will help you get an acceptance at cooper. To give you an idea of what i did, I went to RISD Pre-college junior summer (which helped me alot with my artistic skills because, like you, i had none prior to that), I had two internships; one with an architect and one with a cinematographer, I also played lacrosse, had many galleries for my photography and won some awards for it aswell. </p>

<p>All in all, if you are interested in architecture i suggest you research more about what aspect of architecture you like, and based upon that you should pick a school, dont just pick it because it is ‘good’. For example, RISD is very design based while Cooper shows more emphasis on sustainability while showing extremely value on design. Not that one emphasis is better than the other… Sure you can look at rankings, but in the end college is what you make of it, and if you dont fit well in the environment that each college tailors for its students then you wont get anything out of it. Choose wisely!</p>

10

<p>Try to do a summer architecture program. I think both Cornell and Columbia have programs for those who have graduated the 11th grade.</p>

<p>Also, perhaps you could volunteer part time or over the summer to work for a local architectural firm, even if for free, to get some experience.</p>

<p>I think that a demonstration of actual architectural “talent” is important for Cooper Union.</p>

<p>Not just good grades.</p>

11

<p>I’ve been taking art lessons for eight years, and I create some artworks in my spare time. I’m definitely trying to prepare myself!
As for internships, I live in NYC, and I’ve sent out about 13 emails to different architecture firms inquiring about internships, but no one ever pays attention to me , because I’m a sophomore in high school, who hasn’t got the ability to do anything. </p>

<p>I was thinking that maybe a summer internship with an undergraduate from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts would be a good opportunity, since I’d like to do some curitorial work/ art history research.
Thanks for all the suggestions!</p>

12

<p>Internships are hard to find these days, but whatever free time you have should be spent on your portfolio for the top arch schools like cornell. you can look into ACE mentor program as well.</p>

13

<p>The hometest is pretty much all of your admissions application, grades and ECs will hardly matter and they won’t save you if your hometest is bad. It got sent out today, good luck everyone!</p>