#Cooper Union vs UIUC

3 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

hasty blaze
#

Schools: Cooper Union, UIUC
Intended major: Chemical Engineering (ChemE + DS at UIUC if i go)
Similarities: i think nothing lol
Costs: UIUC 70k/yr, Cooper Union ~20-30k/yr (i could live at my house and commute)

Cooper Union
Pros:
-Super small, tight community (i already got a personalized email from a prof in chemE/bioengineering who knew specifics abt my interests and offered to set up a zoom to chat)
-in NYC
-is pretty close to home (no need to fly)
-way cheaper
Cons:
-Super small, not sure how strong it is in research (i def wanna do classroom + outside classroom learning in college)
-i've heard mixed things about social life
-only takes credit for calculus based on BC score + placement test score

UIUC
Pros:
-Seems to be strong in research with tons of faculty
-huge school spirit (march madness seems like a lot of fun esp. if school goes far)
-larger school (more student orgs, more peers in general)
-champaign seems like a pretty nice city
Cons:
-waaay more expensive
-potentially less personalized attention from profs
-further from home (need plane)

if anyone reading this is a student in chemE (or engineering in general) at cooper union that i could dm that would be really nice. thank u!

carmine dirge
#

You could ask the professor who reached out to you if they do any research or if they know of any ways students could get involved in chemE research.

And then if there are other universities in the area, it could be possible for you to join or volunteer in a research lab there if you reach out and ask a PI.

I went to Duke and I had a very narrow research focus I wanted to do. I did a course based research class on math anxiety for 2 years. But beyond that, I did my big wet lab research projects during the summer. So you can also apply to do summer research experiences.

rustic oriole
#

hey i also was accepted to cooper union! are you going to the admitted students day?

i think in terms of social life, what i've been predominantly hearing is that it's usually like smaller friend groups. like it isn't necessarily a full school-wide strong culture, and it def doesn't like have the party scene that uiuc has, but i've heard like a lot of it revolves around like spending lots of time with a smaller group of people (going to their apartments or whatevs)