Rice vs. Cooper Union

<p>Hey, everyone. I've been accepted into Rice, Cooper, and Texas A&M. I've pretty much eliminated A&M, so it's between Cooper Union and Rice. Rice was and still is my first choice, but I never thought I'd get into Cooper. Does anyone have any suggestions/opinions?</p>

<p>first of all, congratulations on getting into these two great schools.</p>

<p>here are my thoughts-</p>

<p>1) the design methodologies of these two schools are very different. Both produce very talented graduates but which direction are you more interested in? I personally am a fan of work coming out of cooper but that is up for you to decide.</p>

<p>2) Rice is going to be more expensive but you will probably be treated better because you are paying tuition. Cooper gives you a great education but since they don’t have a lot of money, there are fewer resources. </p>

<p>3) NYC vs Houston. NYC is a great place for making contacts and connections, and also learning about architecture, but living in the city will be expensive. But since you will not be paying tuition at Cooper, the rent in NYC might be OK.</p>

<p>congrats again!</p>

<p>I visited Cooper Union while I was in NY and it’s A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! A student of architecture there that academically it’s like “drinking water from a high-pressure water hose”. So, Cooper Union will drain your brain out!</p>

<p>personally (considering im on the cooper wl and it’s my only hope) i suggest you not to go to cooper but rice, esp if you are not destined to architecture. and you can have more choices outside architecture major.</p>

<p>but honestly, i think cooper is a better choice for architecture. and i love nyc!!</p>

<p>I agree that the design work that comes out of Cooper Union is much more intriguing. Rice student work tends to have a particular “look” to it, and I personally don’t like it. On the other hand, the Rice program seems like it pushes a lot for “save-the-world,” solution-based architecture, which is always very exciting.</p>

<p>Choose your program based on what sort of architect you want to be I guess. I would choose Rice because it seems to be much more interested in turning you into someone who can bring real change in society and becoming a catalyst, rather than just another self-righteous, pompous architect who believes in his own aesthetics over application and social responsibility.</p>

<p>I think it is an overgeneralization to say that Rice student work has a particular “look” to it. Rice has an extraordinary program, and Rice does do everything it can to instill social responsibility in all of its students. I totally agree with that statement!</p>

<p>@proudowl: Yeah I take that statement back. however, I do still feel that most of cooper union’s student work is more aesthetically pleasing.</p>

<p>The more I think about it though, the more I wish I applied to Rice. The work is truly the architecture of tomorrow. Very exciting stuff.</p>