So I’ve narrowed down my schools to these schools, but I can’t decide where to go and I would appreciate any feedback or advice. I have listed some of my thoughts about each school below, so feel free to correct me or add anything. I would enjoy receiving feedback on all aspects of the schools (Campus life, dorms, classes, internship, etc). I would also like to mention that I want to pursue a career in the automotive industry. Sorry if wrote a lot, I have been having trouble deciding.
LEHIGH
POSITIVES
I have heard about it’s excellent career center that helps many students find internships and jobs
Pretty campus
Known for engineering
Heard from my high school teacher who went here that dining hall food is really good
Engineering school is very flexible (can switch majors within engineering very easily)
Good connections throughout the U.S.
Very good job placement according to Lehigh’s website (96% of students are either employed or attend grad school after graduation)
Perfect amount of students for me (not too big, not too small)
Small class sizes
Professors care about students
-Easy to do research with professor?? (However, someone at Lehigh told me most students don’t do research because they are not able to find a match with a professor with what they want to do)
Got a lot of financial aid (have to pay in total approximately $16K a year)
NEGATIVES:
Dorms were okay in my opinion
Campus is basically on a mountain (can also be positive cause it makes walking to class a workout)
As an Asian, I would prefer more diversity since Lehigh is prominently white, BUT I heard the school is accepting of Asian students
I do not like large presence of Greek life, but I heard it is starting to die out in recent years
Location: I heard Bethlehem is a ghost town, but I haven’t really looked around much outside of the campus when I visited. Could also be good thing because I am used to living in suburbs?
COOPER UNION
POSITIVES:
Small class sizes
Professors get to know students very well
Located in NYC; can find many internships/jobs in the city
Very well respected school in Tri-State area (NYC, NJ)
Professors willing to help students
Good connections
Students are able to do research easily with professors
Half-tuition scholarship (I don’t know how much I actually have to pay because I haven’t received my financial aid package yet due to Cooper not having my SSN on file)
NEGATIVES:
Student body is very small
First-year housing is nice
Finding a place to stay after first year
No “campus life” (Students actively try to create a campus life by creating more clubs)
From what I’ve heard, the program is considerably more difficult than other engineering programs
In the city; Lived in suburbs most of my life, so I do not really like the city too much
DREXEL
POSITIVES:
Excellent Co-op program
in Philadelphia (good for co-op and job placement)
Dorms were nice (has A/C)
Honors Program benefits (Housing, able to choose classes before everyone else)
Admitted to STAR Research program (Allows freshman to stay during the summer to conduct research with a professor)
Diverse student body
NEGATIVES
In the city
Large amount of students
Bit too expensive for me (Have to pay in total approximately $27K/year; I don’t know if co-op program, Honors program, and STAR research makes it worth it)
Not sure if the Lee Iococca (?) impact is still felt at Lehigh, but his legacy at Chrysler was legendary. Don’t know if that translates into hiring opportunities or not. I can’t talk to current campus life, but it was very accepting of Asian students back in my day (a few decades ago…)Best of luck. You have some great choices.
Lehigh traditionally had the automotive industry connections. Look up James Packard, Lee Iacocca, and Roger Penske (if you don’t already recognize those names).
Lehigh would typically be regarded as a more selective, more prestigious, and better-known institution than Drexel – and it would cost less for you. Most people would probably find Lehigh to be an easy pick in this situation.
It’s harder to evaluate Lehigh vs. Cooper Union, since you don’t know the cost for the latter. If costs were equivalent, then most people would probably pick Lehigh, because it offers a traditional residential college experience with a lively social scene. I’m sure the academics at Cooper Union are great, but (as you know) it’s an urban “commuter school” that is not known for campus life.
For some people, this would be no problem, because they dream of living in NYC and doing exciting urban things off-campus. However, you don’t sound like that kind of person. If the on-campus environment is dead, and the off-campus NYC environment doesn’t appeal to you, then you could be in for a long four years.
Based on everything you said, the best academic fit, best dentour specific career preparation, and best value is Lehigh. Socially Drexel may be a bit better but not having as many Greeks around isn’t worth the mark up - ask for substance free housing at Lehigh and your problem is solved. Note that Lehigh has a powerful alumni network so if you get involved with the career center fall freshman year you’ll have something in the summer. (At first, unglamorous z but then it picks up quickly.)
Quite surprised that you have received more money from Lehigh than Drexel. Lehigh is the easy winner here. I lived in the Lehigh Valley area for over 22 years before moving to NYC. Lehigh has good name recognition in the North East and smart kids from my Ds’ high school attended, though D2 chose to go elsewhere for her Eng degree.
Corbett How good is Lehigh for graduate school placement? I’ve heard Cooper graduates go to very good grad schools. I’ve also heard Cooper has good connections with Ford, GM, Tesla, Space X. I’m not very sure if Lehigh also has connections with these kinds of companies.
I don’t know of any data set that would allow comparison of grad school placement rates between schools. Even if there was, it wouldn’t really matter, because grad school placement is about individual applicants, not schools.
For example, you have been accepted into some very good undergraduate programs. This is because you had strong grades, high SAT or ACT scores, and active interests outside the classroom, right? It wasn’t because of the name of your high school.
In the same way, grad schools are looking for strong college grades, high GRE scores, and active interests outside the classroom (especially research). As long as you have those achievements, they won’t care whether the name on your bachelor’s degree is Lehigh or CU or Drexel.
I have no inside info about Lehigh’s corporate job placement beyond the short list of largest employers that they post on their website. This includes some aerospace firms (GE, Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney) but not the companies you mention. If you want more info about possible recruiting by those specific companies, I would ask Lehigh Career Services or the Lehigh ME dept. directly. https://www1.lehigh.edu/admissions/undergrad/success
The available info suggests that Lehigh puts an unusually high number of engineering graduates into the financial sector. Lehigh is strong for business as well as engineering, and they are noted for their interdisciplinary engineering/business and computer science/business programs, as well as a business minor that is offered to engineering students. The option to mix engineering and business would be different from CU, which does not offer business at all.
Another difference to keep in mind is housing costs. CU has housing for freshmen, and Lehigh for freshmen and sophomores. After that, you will probably have to find your own housing off-campus.
At Lehigh, this is no big deal, because the campus is adjacent to blocks and blocks of old row houses (originally housing for steel mill workers) with inexpensive rents. Lehigh students commonly get together with some friends and rent a row house within walking distance of school. Your share of the rent + utilities might come to around $500-600 per month.
Cooper Union is located in the East Village Neighborhood of Manhattan. This is an area where monthly rents would be measured in the thousands of dollars, not hundreds. Of course, you could find lower rent someplace farther from campus, like maybe Queens or NJ, but then you would have to spend a lot of time and money commuting, and you would lose any sense of college community. It would not be the college experience that most people are looking for.
Corbett If Cooper Union was cheaper (I believe I only have to pay around $7K; I just received my financial aid letter) than Lehigh, how would I tackle a decision? I’m not sure if I should choose based on where I would feel the most comfortable in terms of campus, student life, or the amount I have to pay
It depends on your family’s financial situation. The best source of info here would be your family, not strangers on the Internet.
If you like School A, but School B costs less, then the question is whether School A is still affordable for your family. If they can afford the higher cost of School A, then go there. If they need the lowest-cost option, then go to School B.
With Cooper Union, keep in mind that the offer you get may be just for the first year. The first year probably includes (relatively) low-cost university housing. But you probably won’t get that deal for the other 3 years.
^ that’s the big issue: Cooper will cost $15,000 extra each year after the first and no financial aid will cover the difference.
(To most students it won’t matter since they’ll commute from home but it’ll make a big difference for you’re).
MYOS1634 Is that true? I thought that the aid I received would cover a portion of my rent for wherever I stay after the first year. On my financial award letter I received “Tuition Assistance” and “Financial Grant”. Would I lose a portion of my aid?
Email Cooper but typically your housing isn’t taken into account at NYC levels (their FA is not going to cover whatever private rental you find) so your costs would increase greatly.
It probably does. But note that CU likely charges subsidized, below-market rates for their freshman housing. After that, you will probably have to pay market rates off-campus, which will likely be higher.
So the same “Financial Grant” could potentially cover a relatively large portion of your rent as a freshman, but only a relatively small portion of your rent after that. You aren’t “losing a portion of your aid” in this situation, because the grant itself isn’t changing. The potential problem here is that the rent could change, and in that case the same grant might not go as far. You’ll have to do some homework to see if this is the case.
You might, for example, be able to find keep your housing costs from rising after freshman year if you moved a long way from campus, maybe to an outer borough or New Jersey or something. But in that case there will still be additional costs, in terms of monthly metro passes and commuting time, that you didn’t have as a freshman.
@myos1634 Cooper does give financial aid for off-campus housing (private rental apartment). Also, most students don’t commute from home, even if they live in the other 4 boroughs. They may commute from an apartment in Brooklyn but after living in the dorm freshman year they do not move back home.
@Corbett Cooper Union charges $12,638 for a double in the dorm this year. That’s just a room, no meal plan since there is no cafeteria. So I would’t consider that below market rate, it works out to about $1,400.00/month for the 9 month school year. Double and triple apartments can be had for that or maybe even less per month depending on the area. Yes I know it will be a 12-month lease but they can work in NYC over the summer as most Cooper upperclasspeople do (gender neutral just like their bathrooms)
