Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Electrical Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
I consider the following three points to be pretty much indisputable:

At Cooper, you will be surrounded by many extremely bright and talented people.

The workload is fairly tough by anybody's standards.

The small size of the undergraduate student body, and the fact that most people are working hard, results in a distinctly different social atmosphere than is found at most larger universities.

The ways in which these circumstances impact the life of a Cooper student tends to vary. Personally, I entered college with a high opinion of myself, yet somewhat shy and socially awkward. I learned that I wasn't quite the academic superstar I always thought I was, but I learned how to learn (whereas previously, I thought that I was somehow born knowing everything in the universe). At the same time I also came to the realization that it is important to go out and make friends, to talk to strangers, to make social contacts and business contacts. I learned for the first time that these are part of the key to getting what you want out of life. My experiences at Cooper taught me how to do these things, partly because of its setting in New York City where opportunities abound, and partly—perhaps paradoxically—because the limited social time and small number of undergraduate students made me realize that social interaction is something worth working for.

My story is not unique. Other Cooper grads have had similar experiences, and I wouldn't trade my Cooper Union education for anything.

I see people graduating from Cooper Union being better prepared for life after college than those coming from almost any other university.

Oh yeah, and it's free.