A discussion recently popped up here at the office about whether private or public colleges were better for people just about to get started on their secondary education. Anecdotes about costs and experiences, alumni supports and degree offerings were thrown around and, because it’s 2016, the debate eventually included a hasty Google search for “private vs public college”. The result of all of this, however, was still just as unclear as it had been in the first place.
Almost all articles and guides on the subject conclude by emphasizing how the value achieved through a college education (at a public school or a private school) ultimately lies with the individual student, their specific field of study, and their own level of commitment; a fact which is equal parts undeniable true and unreasonably frustrating for anyone searching for a definitive answer. That’s why we did some homework of our own to try and get a better picture of which college is right for you and your kids.
What Are You Looking For?
First thing’s first: to figure out what type of college best suits the student in your life you need to take an honest look at what you’re hoping to find in a school. The obvious answer is that you want to go/send your kid to a college that offers a great education and provides for a great job afterwards but there’s a lot more to that goal than you might initially realize. To consider as many priorities as possible we’ll be comparing public and private college educations on the following different points:
- Tuition Costs
- Scholarships
- Student Debt
- Degree Offerings
- Social Networking
- Job Prospects
By taking an honest look at how these different types of colleges stack up against one another on these points and then comparing these factors to the priorities of the student in your home, we can finally bring this lengthy debate to a close.
Tuition Costs
According to The College Board, in the 2015-2016 school year the average undergraduate student in a four-year program at a public school pay anywhere between $9,410 and $23,893 for tuition and fees along (depending on whether that school is in-state or out-of-state). On the other hand, the same student in the same program at a private school will pay $32,405; that’s $8,512 more than the highest average cost for public colleges.
WINNER: Public
Financial Aid
Perhaps because of the higher tuition costs, private colleges have a reputation for having more financial aid services available to new students. This aid comes in the form of various scholarships, grants, tax deductions, and loans which can originate from the state government, federal government, or the institution itself. To be clear, both public and private colleges have financial aid programs which all applicants can (and should) apply for. However, private institutions historically offer larger amounts of aid and more options to make that aid available.
WINNER: Private
Student Debt
One of the most common forms of financial aid which students are offered is a loan. Broadly speaking there are two kinds: federal loans and private loans. Despite their many confusing differences, both of these loan types need to be paid off eventually. That’s something which has today resulted in a national student loan debt crisis which grows by $2,726.27 every second according to this horrifying debt clock by Market Watch. As you might expect, lower tuition costs lead to smaller loans being taken out which, on average, leads to less student loan debt following graduation from a public college.
WINNER: Public
Degree Offerings
Easily the first point which any student should consider is which schools offer the study they’re interested in studying. Generally speaking you’ll find a wider range of majors at public colleges while you’ll find a more specified set of majors at private schools. This is typically reframed by private schools as providing students with a more dedicated curriculum and more specialized professors while public colleges address their study selections by saying they offer more versatility and accessibility to students. Truly, this point depends on the specific schools in question in conjunction with these other points.
WINNER: Tie
Social Networking
An additional factor tied into the study offerings at each type of school is the amount of people you come in contact with and what field of study those people are in. Public colleges, with larger student bodies and a historically higher level of diversity offer a more varied source for networking. That said, private colleges tend to have much more supportive and engaging alumni networks for their graduates for things like job placement. Put simply, public schools allow for greater networking while in attendance while private schools offer more opportunities for networking and advancement after the fact. As a result, this is also a toss-up.
WINNER: Tie
Job Prospects
Interestingly, while the debate over private and public colleges is highly contentious and highly visible there’s a definite lack of statistical findings in regard to successful, long-term employment from either institution type. While there certainly are plenty of stories about people having trouble finding a job in their field after college and plenty of stories about private school students earning higher wages immediately after graduation, there’s a shockingly small amount of data to support either of these ideas as “true” on a national scale. In fact, the only definitive point which has been made on the matter of job prospects after college is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, saying that people with an undergraduate degree of any kind are about twice as likely to be employed than those with less schooling.
WINNER: Tie?
What Did We Learn?
Aside from frustratingly independent considerations needed for those last few points, there seems to be a strong case for the average student headed towards their undergraduate degree to attend a public college or university. The savings both at initiation and during the loan repayment period simply make it the wiser choice in today’s economy, particularly since some of the other crucial aspects of a college education are virtually identical between public and private institutions.
That said, if your student particularly values the benefits which a private college education were shown to provide then you should absolutely tend your applications in that direction. After all, (no matter how frustrating or unsettled it may be) the right school for the student in your life is ultimately up to them.
