Categories: Local

College Review: Cooper Union in New York City

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a New York City School that is ready to educate those who are ready to commit. Limited in its offerings Cooper Union is a highly professional educational venue that produces highly successful people. You won’t find a lot of the traditional college happenings at Cooper Union. But if you are a mature student with definite career plans and a willingness to work hard, you may find that Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a match for you.

Limited Curriculum . You really shouldn’t attempt to apply and you really won’t be admitted at Cooper Union if you have not already done some very serious soul searching about what you want out of college and what course material suits your needs. Cooper Union limits its fields of instruction to just three. There are no frills here, no gut courses to skim through. Think about Cooper Union only if your interest is in Engineering, Art or Architecture .

Cooper Union offers a specialized school in each of these areas in which you blend learning and hands on projects. Typically the classes are small. You will not find any four hundred member lecture classes taught by grad students at Cooper Union. Students are attending here to get a quality education in a restricted area and that’s precisely what is offered.

Cooper Union is not a school to choose if you want to dabble in the liberal arts or check out new career ideas in the school catalog while you are attending. But for mature students with clear cut ambitions who have already narrowed their career aspirations, Cooper Union allows for an almost immediate immersion into precisely the courses you want.

A Unique Admission process. Every college has its own idea about how to select incoming students. Most follow the traditional general application form, maybe an essay or two, college board scores and a recommendation. But getting a chance to go to Cooper Union and enjoy its targeted curriculum is a bit more demanding.

The total enrollment is under 1000 students, which means each incoming class is only comprised of about 250 students. Winnowing out those who are really committed to a professional level program from those who are just somewhat interested is an important part of making Cooper Union the school it is. So for those who wish to apply in Art or Architecture there is a “home test” to complete within a month and return for evaluation. The tests are specified projects for students to consider and then complete to the best of their ability. The Cooper Union admissions office is a serious place. But once you get admitted you will find lots of time and excellent staff to work with for the pursuit of your chosen field.

Limited Activities . Cooper Union really doesn’t exist to provide a framework for football games, fraternities or raucous weekend parties. It is for all practical purposes a collection of three highly professional undergraduate colleges. Students here have neither the time nor seldom the inclination to pursue lots of extra curricular activities. Nor does Cooper Union have the centralized campus that most colleges offer where extra socializing tends to flourish.

Instead Cooper Union has an agreement with NYU whereby its students can participate in NYU’s extra curricular activities, should they wish to. For the most part however Cooper Union students tend to organize themselves socially around their school efforts, with emphasis on professional clubs according to school. All Cooper Union students do benefit from the excellent location of Cooper Union in the Village section of New York where there is plenty of entertainment and opportunities for socialization when studies permit. By no stretch of the imagination is Cooper Union a party school !

An Amazing Twist. While some might find this description of Cooper Union very dour and almost Puritan in its framework, with all work and no play, there is an important twist to the Cooper Union story. The most stunning, nearly unfathomable element about Cooper Union is that those who choose Cooper Union and are accepted will discover that tuition is totally free. That’s right those admitted pay their room and board expenses but no tuition is assessed..

This is a tremendous, no almost unbelievable, deal . Besides removing the current need to pay tuition, for students this also means that when they leave Cooper Union they are not carrying with them a suitcase full of student loans to be payed over a term of forever. Students leave Cooper Union ready to begin their professional life free and clear.

Almost as significant as the financial freedom Cooper Union offers, there is also the matter of student self esteem which it addresses. To be judged to be worthy of a tuition free education because of your abilities gives an amazing lift to all entering students. They find that they have already taken a huge step down the road to professional recognition and success. Being able to claim a Cooper Union degree in the future will give students a very large foot in the door in many employment situations.

Not everyone is ready, right out of high school to commit to the mature training programs available at Cooper union. Nor can everyone measure up to the abilities demand by Cooper Union. But for those who can, Cooper Union offers free tuition in exchange for thorough commitment. Maybe those football games aren’t so important after all.