Is Private College Worth the Cost?

[Rita]

I agree with Minnie's post. I would also add that the primary factor is the program in which the student is considering. After the best program within a college (private or state) that best fits the needs, then think about the $$.

Consider charting out a matrix with all the pros/cons including the tuition.

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This is pretty much how we're approaching it. Except my daughter doesn't know yet what she is most interested in, so she is leaning toward a strong academic school that can offer variety of options - she has gravitated toward the larger universities.

Educationally, I don't think private schools in general are better or worse than public schools. There are obviously exceptions.

I think it is more a matter of what you can afford, what you are really interested in and where you plan to live after you graduate.

I have a friend in Atlanta who's daughter just had to go to Clemson. With the out-of-state fees, its costs were closer to a private school than a public one. (In this case, she is very bright and could have gone to UGA for example on the hope easily.) He is going to spend upwards of $80-$100k for her to go to Clemson to get a business or math degree,

IMHO if she plans to live in SC the rest of her life it may (and I say may) be worth it. OTOH, if she returns to GA or goes somewhere else to me it just says that the money her Dad works so hard for means nothing to her (and he was out of his mind to let her do it.) I had a drafting clerk working for me at Southern Bell in the late 70's who went to Emory and got a history degree. What a waste of his parents money.

In most positions, your college degree helps get that first job out-of-college and is irrelevant after that. Very few corporations base the hiring of a CEO or a VP of sales mainly on where they went to college.

Personally, I think pragmatism should rule in picking a school. Go where A) you can get the degree you want and B) you can unemotionally justify the costs.

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We have found this to be true in our own lives. And with a student who is not yet sure what field they want to go into, we are not encouraging the out of state choice without scholarship/tuition-fee waivers or something to offset the difference.
At this moment in time University of Illinois and University of Texas are at the top of her list.
U of I costs could come close to UTs if she can pull off getting some scholarship $$ to cover the difference. Then finances would not be a factor then.

With scholarships from private schools the cost comes very close to that of public.

Great comments folks!

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[Rudyjohn]

One thing to remember is privates usually have more money to give.

 

[beachmouse]

Personally, I like the idea of a smaller school because at these large universities, undergrads often get taught by grad students or have really large classes.

i think fit will be essential. My daughter has done a lot of thinking about this - she wants a small liberal and liberal arts college that ideally has quite a bit of diversity and critical studies. She wants it to be in or near a big city. She's interested in social justice and sociology, though that could change anytime once she gets exposed to what fields are available.

I'm guessing Oberlin is on the list. Great school and it sounds like it would be a good fit. Even though the surrounding metro area is a bit small, I'd also look at Kalamazoo because they do some cool stuff integrating internships and study abroad programs into the degree. (And if she wants the palm tree experience, New College in Sarasota has some strong programs and isn't too far from Tampa)

Albion grad here, (great school but probably too conservative and too small town for what she's looking for) and I really understand where both of you are coming from in terms of wanting the small school education experience. I know I wouldn't have done as well in a place where you had to work hard to be more than a number, and where you could get involved in all kinds of activities without having to be a superstar in them.

 

[SHELLY]

For most of these kids today, I'd say a few semesters at the "School of Hard Knocks" might better prepare them for life on their own.

<Donning steel undershorts--fire away!>

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[BeachbumAggie]

I graduated from Texas A&M University, a very large state school. I was mostly in very large classes and took a lot of scantron tests. I'm an independent self starter so this worked well for me. I had friends who weren't self starters and needed some hand holding that wasn't provided at A&M.

I had looked at a variety of schools (all in Texas since my mom didn't think going to Tulane or LSU were good choices for my nature-back in the day I did like to party!). I decided on A&M because I wanted to go to a school with the football and sports college experience, I wanted a school where I wouldn't have to go Greek to make friends, I didn't want to go to a school where it snowed, and I had plans to pursue a degree in psychology with eventual intents of a masters and PhD. Last but not least, my momma told me I could continue my standard of living at a state school or be a poor kid at a more expensive private school. Bam, A&M fit my needs!

Long story short, I think it depends on the kid, the kid's plans, the kid's nature, and what the parent can or is willing to spend.

Best wishes in your decision!
KGJ

PS, I got the masters but decided a PhD wasn't for me!!

 

[Rita]

For most of these kids today, I'd say a few semesters at the "School of Hard Knocks" might better prepare them for life on their own.

<Donning steel undershorts--fire away!>

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Good point! I'm hoping we have let our daughter suffer through consequences so that she has some of that out of the way and may be toughened up a bit ( Never enough though).

Paula,

What you mentioned regarding the "excitement & stress" is exactly what our daughter is experiencing. She is handling it very well though and it gives me a wonderful feeling seeing how excited she is about this new chapter in her life.

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[30abob]

I've got one in college in Tallahassee... and three more left at home! Private schools weren't on our list for daughter number one, she didn't (maybe still doesn't) know what she wants to be/do. That's okay she just turned 19 yesterday. For her a big university with lots of options for majors in the last two years made more sense.

I'm an advocate of figuring out who you are (if anyone is really ready to do that at 17-18). Once you know, look for more people like you. Find out what people like you might be passionate about as a career and explore your options. If your choice(s) can be best facilitated by pursuing a degree at a particular institution then make it happen. However, most of us have had the opportunity to live for a while realize that, besides the connections you might make in a particular school, what the student puts into their education is much more important than the institution doling out the information.

 

[Paula]

Wow. Great information.

My daugher is looking at Oberlin in Ohio (it would be a stretch school - very hard to get into), along with several small private schools in the midwest. She also has Occidental and Scripps in LA on her list. The biggest school is Loyola Chicago. So, she's definitely doing her homework.

TFT, we have a wall in our dining room that has a a large matrix on it in which she listed the names of the colleges she's interested in and then all the criteria she's looking at to make the decision. The matrix is 3 flip chart pages wide and 2 flip chart pages long, all held together with scotch tape. And she's using post-it note to summarize where each school stands based on that criteria (where does she get it?). It's a way for her to manage the problem of having so many choices, and it seems to be working for her.

I'm definitely a believer in the school of hard knocks. Having spent plenty of time on that track myself, though (perhaps a little too much time), I'm even more committed to giving the girls more choices and direction (even though in the end it worked out well for me, I think more direction earlier would have been helpful - some of those mistakes were quite costly!). My daughter had her "school of hard knocks" last year and she came out stronger for it and I'm sure she has more coming her way.

Albion is indeed a great college and I think it was just rated somewhere as the #1 up and coming small college. It's in Michigan, though, and my daughter really wants to be in a different state.

Anyway, great conversation. I'll look up the party link and maybe she can put that into her matrix (so far, she's not a big partier unless she's hiding that from me, not that kids hide things from their parents.)

 

[ohmom]

private college was worth for my daughters...here's why

Daughter #1 visited 6 schools; applied and accepted at 3; 1 in large in state u, 1 large out of state state u; 1 private u
The large state u offered her a full ride, tuition, room and board based on her ACT; she turned it down and mom and pop let her. The large out of state state u offered admission with honors (prestigous school in her field); she turned them down. She accepted half tuition scholarship at private u; added several other scholarships; took loans; mom/pop helped for 2 years until she could co-op (chem eng)
The reason she turned down a full ride and/or honors admission at large state schools?officials at those schools were either overtly or covertly demeaning about female students. The dean of freshmen at one actually made fun of the "girls" at a gathering of approx 500 prospective honors admittess.
The department head at the private u met individually with my daughter and me; gave us a tour of the faciities; complimented my child on her academic and extra curricular achievements...plus my daughter preferred the size of 6,000 undergrads, not 16,000 or 35,000
Once at the private u, my daughter added many experiences beyond the classroom...served as an officer in two different professional societies; traveled to the national meeting of the chemical engineering society on the university dime; traveled nationally/internationally on spring break service trips; her last year was a t.a. for one of her profs...and many more opportunites seized...graduated with honors and an award from her college as outstanding grad...had a job by Nov of her senior year...oh and met wonderful man and married him in the chapel at the university
Daughter #2 has different major but similar experiences at same private u
both ended up with loans that equal to the price of a compact car loan which we think well worth the investment for the experiences they had both in and out of the classroom

 

[Paula]

Very useful description of your daughters' experiences, ohmom. I hope I'm able to remember my girls' having such great experiences when they're on the other side of the college experience.