Many people just assume that they can’t afford private universities and miss opportunities that were clearly open to them, leaving them with only one or two choices for good schools to attend. This article and many others just propagate the myth that people can’t afford private universities.

1. his college was 100000000X safer than mine. My university had a meaningful crime rate relative to other schools. In fact, as a university town, it was downright scary, at least to me (as a female).

2. today, we only receive invitations from my spouse’s university for functions, camps, organized alumni get togethers, donations and so forth. I get an email once in a while from my alumni organization covering updates on our department.

3. life just sounded more pleasant and “easy” at the private university — kids there are “taken care of” while my public school left me to my own devices. I can’t tell you how amazed I am that I got out of there in one piece!

That said, I am strongly considering (or insisting that) my kids attend private colleges. Call me paranoid, but I’m all for spending money for peace of mind.

The argument is not that the sticker price is less than a public school, but that after financial aid is factored in, one ends up paying less to attend a public school.This is how it worked with me, and why I ended up attending a Seven Sisters school, emerging with less debt than I would have had for a state education ($12K total for four years).

The way it works is this: the amount of financial aid you receive is based on how much you can be expected to contribute. If your family’s income is low, the difference between the expected contribution and the total sticker price is what the college attempts to make up. In the case of a public school, that difference is smaller, so you actually end up receiving less financial aid. Additionally, many private schools have endowments that can offer greater finaid packages than state schools can.

In the end my alma mater, Vassar, and state/federal funding ended up paying for $20K of the $28K my first year tuition cost. Best of all, most of that was grant aid, that I’ll never need to pay back. Some of that was because I stayed in state, and NY offers scholarships to incentivize people to stay in-state – I know my packages at Mt. Holyoke and Smith (both in MA), where I was also accepted, were not half as good. I did not apply to any state schools, but from my peers who did, it appears I would not have been half as well funded.

I can also say that I have taken classes at public schools (I’m now pursuing my MS at a state school in MA) and less highly ranked privates (Brandeis University), and the quality of the education was NOT as good as what I received at Vassar. One of the BIG differences is that at public schools, the likelihood that you’ll be learning from RAs or adjuncts is much higher. I honestly think that’s more important than the class size.

That said, does this matter to getting a job? I don’t think most businesses care where you go to school. I honestly don’t think it’s made a difference in the jobs I’ve acquired.

I also had to nitpick this:
Affirmative action is the champion of low-income students. I have friends who attended ivy league schools for less than any public in-state school was offering.

That’s not affirmative action; that’s a need-blind admissions policy. Affirmative action has nothing to do with income.

My advice to any high school student is to look at schools regardless of sticker price; make your decision once you’ve applied, have been admitted, and know the financial aid package. It’s impossible to know ahead of time how much you’ll end up paying. If a private school education is possible, jump for it. Even if going to Vassar hasn’t helped me get a job, the experience alone is more than worth it.

1. Jim, could you put a red banner that says “Devels Advocate” at the very top so that you will not get replies from people who think you are being literal. Wait a second, you already do…

2. I graduated undergrad from public and received MBA from small private. The education quality was identical to me.

3. As a kid the perception to me was that only the “smartest” kids went to Harvard, Yale etc… Now I know the majority of students there are just average like me. It was a money issue, not IQ issue.

4. Can someone give links to a private school that costs less then a public (both in the same state of course)? I hear this arguement but too lazy to look myself(must be the public education I received).

5. How can parents say they will only “encourage” their kids to go to a specific school when the parents are the ones paying?

6. There is no 6. Made you look.

saladdin

No spell or grammar check used in creating this post. I have noticed in “education” posts some like to use errors to claim “See my public or private education was better because I know the correct way to use the word ‘cat’ in a sentence.”

masters are the new bachelors and bachelors are the new GEDs. the trend of late, you don’t even need college to succeed.

How much is too much depends on the situation. $40k a year for a small unknown private liberal arts school will probably not “pay off” but spending $60k a year to go to Harvard Law may be well worth the cost. I would say honestly that I think in general that you will get more for your money at a public school simply because private schools tend to cost much more. But thats just a generalization. Stanford is going to be a better buy than Underfunded Nowhere State U.

If you’re getting scholarships and/or financial aid then that will change what is the best deal. A full ride at Yale is a better buy than paying full cost at Berkeley. It depends on what aid each student is offered.

Personally I’d apply to the schools that are well regarded in your field. Then make your choice based on where you get in and what the financial aid / cost situation looks like.

I agree with MBHunter. I’m encouraging my kids to take online classes or go to a junior college the first two years and then make a decision.

I have numerous friends that have attended private colleges and public colleges. I can honestly say that there’s no difference in their current job situations.

Better yet, start a business or learn a trade right out of high school. Plumbers make more than I do with a PhD.

Don’t know why this was a DA post.

Wal-Mart should accredit an online university and run 80% of the private schools into the ground — where they belong.

My opinion is that for ~85% of the student population, private school is much better with respect to learning (I cannot judge in regards to future prosperity). For the 15% of the student that is highly motivated AND are unusually intelligent, it doesn’t matter where they go.

Private colleges typically have smaller class sizes, which is in my opinion the single most important factor (actually – the capability of interacting with the prof is the actual factor), attract higher quality profs, and attract profs with better teaching skills (or at the very least, greater interest in teaching). The education is simply better. For example, with a class of 100+ (sometimes as high as 300-400), I simply cannot grade/correct/annotate homework or other work. With 20-30 students I can grade homework and make notes of where errors occurred.

There are some exceptions – certain technical degrees (engineering and computer) would possibly be better at a good public school with the appropriate facilities.

I will send my kid(s) to private school – unless I simply won’t be able to afford it. If money is an issue, I would recommend that people find a smaller public school or, if applicable, an ‘Honors’ program at a larger university.

I also disagree that private schools are better to get into grad school directly out of undergrad. Grad school is largely based on numbers, such as GPA and GRE or GMAT, etc.

There are numerous positives and negatives for public and private schools. It all depends on each individual’s circumstances. If you are looking to save money, just go with the cheapest option. Although a cost benefit analysis will take into consideration more than just upfront costs.

Partially I think this more so depends on what one’s major will be and what their goal is after obtaining their undergrad degree. For example with certain majors, such as Information Systems, Business, Accounting, Comp Sci, etc I think attending a public university is totally fine since one will usually be looking to enter the workforce once they graduate. On the other hand when it comes to one aiming to attend med school or some other significant professional school I think going to a well known private school can have some benefits as well. A school’s name can have an influence since more people are usually familiar with the name and reputation. People seem to think that a private university is always harder or more challenging than a public university, but this is not always true. People determining whether or not to accept you into their program may not know much about the public university you attended, but will more likely know more about the private university that you could have attended. Of course this depends on the private university’s reputation too.

In the end I think one should factor in what their goals may be after completing their under grad education as well as what their budget is. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for public universities, especially if they are ranked well and if in state tuition is considerably cheaper. Plus by just attending a well known private school it does not guarantee anything. You are taking a chance by counting on the school’s rep.