<p>My son is heavily leaning toward Cooper Union for mechanical engineering. But he also was accepted at Carnegie Mellon. Any words of advice? We know that Cooper is small, of course, but with a good reputation. What I’m trying to get at is whether Cooper is on a bit of a downslide…just a feeling I got while visiting campus. Thanks!</p>
<p>My H is a Director of Engineering/Product Development & hires CooperUnion kids. I know CU is also one of the colleges with which his firm has developed co-op relationships.</p>
<p>Does son have a scholarship to Carnegie Mellon? That could be a big deciding factor. I know that when most people around here hear a kid attends CoopperUnion, they automatically think “genius,” as it’s a free ride that is sought by many.</p>
<p>I doubt that Cooper Union is on a downslide. I think the campus is just up to New York standards.</p>
<p>Cooper is a great school with a solid ME program. CMU has great rep for CS, not so sure about ME though. I know many of my Brooklyn tech friends chose Cooper over schools such as Caltech, MIT. I concur on the “genius” perception.</p>
<p>That said, if you are expecting a large, self contained, ivy covered Federalist style buildings then you will be disappointed. The CU campus area is not really anything to write home about. FWIW, NYU is only a few blocks away.</p>
<p>I lived two blocks from CU when I was a young student and I never had so much fun in my life. The Ivy covered buildings can’t compare to the unbelieveable humanity, creativity and ambition on display in Manhattan.</p>
<p>CU is hardly on the decline. In fact they are in the middle of a building campaign. <a href=“http://www.cooper.edu/cubuilds/index.html[/url]”>http://www.cooper.edu/cubuilds/index.html</a></p>
<p>my D was in this same quandary (plus two other colleges) a few years back. Our tour guide at Cooper was a very enthusiastic junior in ME who was thrilled with what he had learned there. He showed us the independent robotics project he was working on, and then showed us everybody else’s projects as well. He did say, however, that he had some problems with administrative things, like making sure his transcripts got sent on time for internships, and that his grades were posted correctly, and that his bill payments were credited correctly. But that was his only complaint, and he really liked being in New York</p>
<p>Thanks…where did your daughter end up, and how did she feel about her decision?</p>
<p>She actually ended up neither place. She decided she wanted more of a “college-y” experience, so she chose a university with a good engineering program but also lots of opportunity for a broad range of non-science courses. (She always planned to go to grad school anyway.) She still has second thoughts about whether she made the right decision or not.</p>