<p>Taking everything into consideration, CU in New York City costs 30-35K a year depending on how frugal I can get, and UTD costs less than 10K.
I'm considering electrical engineering with a focus on computer engineering, and I've heard good things about both schools engineering-wise. I don't think I'll go right into grad school after 4 years' undergrad (cuz it's engineering I guess), but for further career development, probably one day I'd go back to get a MS/MBA or even PhD especially if I can get my employer to pay for that.
Here's a little bit of analysis I did:
Cooper Union:
Pros:
1.NYC! best city in the world, internship shouldn't be hard to find. Plus I have relatives there and in NJ as well.
2.very reputable engineering school well known at least in New York area or even in the North (ranked No.1 US News Regional School in the North);
3.student to faculty ratio=8.5-1, no TAs whatsoever; incredibly dedicated professors as I often hear from current CUers;
4.almost 100% job placement according to various sources;
5.very very challenging curriculum thus "nothing can be harder after CU", which teaches you time management, efficient methods of studying, and skills like that;
6.one of my dream schools, with about 10% acceptance rate, so I can rub shoulders with the brightest/smartest (maybe also nerdiest) and most-hardworking people
Cons:
1.NYC crazy expensive;
2.not much research opportunity provided by the school itself;
3.pretty bad grade deflation and tough workload that can become hard to manage (but I study insanely hard so that shouldn't be a problem);
4.like many elite STEM schools, CU doesn't really take any AP/CLEP scores, or even my credits from a community college</p>
<p>UTD:
Pros:
1.Way cheaper!
2.DFW is a pretty cool place too with a thriving economy and various industries, and UTD is just a 20 min drive from my house;
3.it seems to have good engineering programs according to various websites; not sure if the quality of education is comparable to Cooper Union;
4.maybe a "big-fish-in-a-small-pond" pond effect, since you've got a smaller percent of extremely driven/smart people with below-2000 SATs (less cut-throat competition, more research/intern opportunities)
5.accepts all my AP/CLEP/dual credits and saves me some time/money
Cons:
1.very young and not really well known; often eclipsed by bigger names like UT Austin or A&M
2.average student-to-faculty ratio=21:1 (I don't know if these figures carry that much weight), even though it's a relatively small public school. as i said, I'm not sure about the quality of academics at UTD.
3.not sure if the career prospect around DFW is better than in NY. DFW may not give me the kind of opportunity and potential career growth as NYC. </p>
<p>I know the majority of people would probably advise me to go where the money is, but I often tend to think of education as an investment and my life an entrepreneurship, so I just can't help to find ways to deviate from the majority's opinions and come up with ways to justify the cost of Cooper Union which may bring me a bigger return.
My parents are willing to pay 20K a year for my education, and they are pretty supportive with whatever decisions I make, so I really need y'all to chime in and help me decide!!!</p>