Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art vs The Pennsylvania State University (PSU)

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and The Pennsylvania State University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Cooper Union, a private research university in New York City, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 10%, while Penn State, a public research university with multiple campuses across Pennsylvania, has a more accessible acceptance rate of 54%. Cooper Union's student body is relatively small, with an undergraduate population of around 1,000 students, while Penn State's student body is significantly larger, with over 46,000 undergraduate students. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with Cooper Union specializing in art, architecture, and engineering, and Penn State offering a diverse selection of majors across various disciplines. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into the key differences between these two exceptional universities.

	Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art	The Pennsylvania State University
Overview
Location	New York, New York	University Park, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	91.0%	87.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	14.7%	92.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $75	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	N/A	1140 - 1360
ACT range	N/A	25 - 31
Students submitting SAT score		32.0%
Students submitting ACT score		6.0%
Total number of applicants	2,678	96,686
Total number of admissions given out	393	89,207
Admitted students who chose to enroll	210	16,049
Yield rate	53.4%	18.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$67,146	In state: $38,270 Out of state: $55,848
Average net price	$20,757	$24,012
Tuition	$44,550	In state: $18,368 Out of state: $35,946
Room & board		Room/dormitory: $7,360 Meal plan: $5,618
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $38,212	51.0% Average amount $9,884
Students receiving federal student loan	20.0% Average amount $4,814	49.0% Average amount $5,305
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $24,000	13.0% Average amount $19,837

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	876 Men 53.2% Women 46.8%	73,476 Men 53.7% Women 46.3%
Graduate students	60 Men 80.0% Women 20.0%	15,438 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	36.5%	34.1%
International students	14.6%	10.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	170	20,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York New Jersey California Florida Texas	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Maryland Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Visual & Performing Arts Architecture	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	83.4%	72.3%
Dropout rate	11.8%	25.7%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,818 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $19,405 Astronomy and Astrophysics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,379 Year 2: $43,798 Year 3: N/A	Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $109,295 Year 2: $120,549 Year 3: $125,527 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,798 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $120,289 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,190 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $113,544 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $98,403 Year 3: $108,754 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,372 Year 2: $100,455 Year 3: $107,874 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,574 Year 2: $99,291 Year 3: $104,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,304 Year 2: $97,855 Year 3: $104,056 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,512 Year 2: $94,864 Year 3: $103,461 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $98,201 Nuclear Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $89,155 Year 3: $94,780

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Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

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