Is Private College Worth the Cost?

I know in our situation, we found many of the private colleges did not end up being much more expensive than popular state schools due to the difference in scholarship money.

As to the benefits, I think it really depends on what your child wants to achieve and gain from a college experience.

Many that want to specialize in a particular study or trade, will definitely benefit from a smaller private school that has a similar emphasis, however if your child is wanting a degree in something more general I feel the state schools provide just as much or more.

My child had a specific list of wants and we had a budget and she found the school that she felt matched both.

She was pleased and we were pleased.

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.

Hi SoWallers and Wise Advisors,

A couple of us on this board (I'm sure more than a couple) are getting ready to send teens off to college. Do you think private college is worth the cost and why or why not. What should we be thinking about? My teens are interested in out-of-state mostly small private colleges. I'm certainly willing to support their interest in a private college, especially if it's going to pay off in their lives in terms of quality of education, quality of life for 4 years, helping them grow up to be wiser/happy adults who are loyal to their college as alums, etc. But it's good to get ideas (especially from those of you who already put teens through college or who recently graduated from college). Thanks.

What field of study are they interested in? What are the present/future job prospects for that field?

Hey Paula, you have one of the best universities in the country, and one of the more expensive ones, I might add.

Daughter has been on both sides of the fence of private versus public. She got accepted at her dream schools MIT and Yale and got full rides at her backup schools, Tulane and Georgia Tech. She went to MIT because it is arguably the best university in the world. But it was a total cultural mismatch, and she was not happy there, even though she had good grades. She wanted to get back to The South. Hubby had heart surgery, so she decided to transfer to Georgia Tech instead of Tulane to be closer to home. However, she was not happy at a big public school and being treated like a number and ignored by her professors. Some kids can deal with that, but she has so much personality that she needs to be treated like an individual. She transferred to a small private school and is the happiest she's been since she became a teenager. Some kids just need the TLC of a private school. It's worth the money to make them happy.

It really just depends on the kid's personality. It's not a matter of brains because if that were the case, she would have stayed at MIT.

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.

Hey Paula, you have one of the best universities in the country, and one of the more expensive ones, I might add.

Thanks everyone for the advice so far - keep it coming please! I'd love to hear from some students or recent grads as well to hear what they think.

Yup, I live down the street from the university and teach there. I love living in a university town. Neither of my kids want to go there, though, and I'm fine with that. They get no special deal because I teach there (no tuition benefits for faculty or employees) and the kids want to go out of state to try living on their own. 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. She's also looked at a few bigger colleges, but not huge universities. She's looking mostly within a 4-6 hour drive from home, but would consider going to the west coast because there are a few schools there she's interested in. She found several colleges that seem to be good fits in a book called "Colleges that Change Lives" - I never heard of many of the colleges, but some of them sound fantastic.

As for what jobs are available after college, I'm seeing undergrad as a time to explore different options, grow up, have a wonderful experience, open up her mind, and live away from home. Of course, I'd love her (and expect her) to get a job right after college, but I think it's probably to early for her to really know what she wants to do. She'll get a better idea of potential jobs once she's in college.

I agree that the type of degree (and name of college/university) opens doors but after that people have to prove themselves to keep their jobs and move up.

It's pretty exciting (and stressful) to watch her go through this process. It's a LOT of work for her.

It sounds overwhelming! Mr. TFT and I have talked about this process and of course we have our preconceived ideas, but we are 8 years away and I'm sure they will be shot to heck.

We aim to provide our kids with a lot of choices and we are already thinking and planning hard for them. However I had little to no "choice" and I don't feel slighted at all. My parents were divorcing and lost their house to foreclosure when I was about 16, and by the time I was a high school senior the only thing I had was the state-provided scholarship that I used at UF. I paid my own way through school with scholarships and jobs and the only thing I regretted was that my parents couldn't get their acts together to help me out a little because they were busy beating each other up. Not my problem though! It was a good fit for my personality and that is all that matters.

I believe and always have that college is what you make of it. I don't want to say that I am in favor of limiting choices, but if someone had told me when I was 17 that I could go anywhere I would have been overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong -- I believe now that a top Ivy League ed does get you into an exclusive club, but beyond that, it's entirely what suits you and what you make of it. Just my thoughts from what was a very defining time in my life. I will never regret my 'choice,' I met Mr. TFT! And he passed up an appointment to the Naval Academy to stay in Florida. So it all worked out.

We have three kids and we are constantly trying to "read" the older two to see what schools they might best fit in. I promise to report back in a decade or two to see if we were right. :roll:

Here's another resource for prospective college shopping:

Top Party Schools - PubClub.com!

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

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.

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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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!!

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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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.

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.)

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

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.

My children have all gone to community colleges (first two years) and public colleges. They got in-state scholarships and kept them and really had a ball -- even though they worked part time through school.

No matter where your child goes they have a CHOICE to seek out and cultivate relationships with fellow classmates and teachers and to pursue all that that particular campus has to offer. Every campus has some fabulous teachers, and every campus offers opportunities for education and fun....if students are motivated. A former professor of mine from a local college became a lifelong mentor and friend. Through her, I have had many professional opportunities, and before her death we had many long lunches and dinners where the talk and laughter never stopped. I will always miss her.

My children's degrees have been in liberal arts, -ologies, and art. With that type of degree it doesn't really matter what school they come from because there aren't really jobs in those fields. For a lot of non-technical, non-vocational employers "graduated college" is a block to be checked off. For my children, that has been the case and they are making good money in fields that aren't really related to their degrees of study. Similarly, their friends who went to out-of-state or private schools and got the same type of degree are doing the exact same thing....only they or their families have loans.

Because we didn't put ourselves in hock and they didn't have to take out loans to get through college, we were able to gift them with a substantial monetary gift upon graduation -- for a downpayment on a home, for travel or to attend graduate school. I guess because my husband and I both attended rather humble schools and were still able to throroughly educate ourselves (and continue to do so) and advance professionally, I place a higher value on what happens after college than what happens in college...and I think my children took that to heart as well. They viewed college as a luxurious reprieve from real life -- where they got to dabble in philosophies, explore their interests, debate for the sake of debate and be actually and intellectually YOUNG -- and they understood how lucky they were to have that opportunity.

One upside of the private schools is that they're frequently better at getting students all the classes they need to graduate in four years. The assumption down here at many publics seems to be that it will take five years to get the classes you need for a typical bachelor's degree.

One upside of the private schools is that they're frequently better at getting students all the classes they need to graduate in four years. The assumption down here at many publics seems to be that it will take five years to get the classes you need for a typical bachelor's degree.

Yes, at Univ. of Illinois, it's a 5 year plan for the 4 year degree.

Yes, at Univ. of Illinois, it's a 5 year plan for the 4 year degree.

True at Georgia Tech in engineering. And they say each student is a heck-of-an-engineer.

If you take the M-Train at GT (management/accounting/non-engineering route) it's doable in 4. But most kids I know there take 5 because the profs there love to give D's anf F's. For example. one prof sent daughter's entire class an email one week before finals that said,"None of you will make an A or a B. Only 40% of you will pass." How about that for stressing out freshmen and sophomores? If I sent out an email like that to my students, my contract would not be renewed, even though I have tenure.

One upside of the private schools is that they're frequently better at getting students all the classes they need to graduate in four years. The assumption down here at many publics seems to be that it will take five years to get the classes you need for a typical bachelor's degree.

Yes. I am doing an independent study with a student this spring so that he can graduate in a timely manner. He did last spring in Japan because that is his minor, but it put him behind in his major. But what a great experience for this student! I won't get paid for the indep study, but I don't want his parents to spend $20,000 next fall just for one class. And I enjoy teaching smart kids like him.

It never occurred to me that it could take 5 rather than 4 years to get a regular degree if the students put in the effort. Something to stay on top of. And any professor who is giving D's and F's to the majority of the students should be taken to task for teaching poorly. If a professor is teaching well, speaking clearly, giving good examples, adapting to different learning styles, and not being completely boring, most students can do well in the classroom.