Educate me about Public vs Private Schools....

[Taylors6]

I was reading the posts about student loan debt and I saw a couple things that I tried to google some info on and just came up empty- so I am coming back to ask!!

Public vs Private- I have never understood how Private school stay around- in our area it may be $12000 a year at a Public vs $27000 a year at a small private school! But I noticed someone said that private school have more scholarship options....

Really? I am asking because we have a 3.74 (on 4 scale) student- who did an acceptable job on first round ACT's and is a student athlete. She will end up going to the school who offers her major and wants her to play ball for them! She plays competitive travel league so we have known this for awhile and we hope she will see athletic scholarship but told her to focus on the academics too because there is money to be found there! She has been contacted by a few private school- and we always blow them off- because being D3 they can not offer athletic scholarship and they are twice as much as a public university- so we thought they would still end up being more than her just paying the whole thing at a public school (like if she would walk on..). Now I am thinking we may be stupid to be blowing off these private schools!

Also- and I am sure this is a dumb, dumb question- but everything I read talks about limits to the amount of student loan you can take per year. And its low- like $5000 or $7000- so how the heck do people end up getting enough loans to pay for everything? I can't figure it out....how can people end up like $50,000 in debt on student loans?

Our plan is unconventional- I am currently not working and in school myself (JTP) and will be done and able to go back to work just in time for DD to head off to college. So the idea is that my income I earn can help her with her college expenses. We expect that she may come up short and need to finance some on loans and we hope its not much- but I am trying to figure all of this out!

 

[alymae1010]

I graduated from a private university in 2002, and they offered me $6500 a year in scholarships, while a public school offered me $1000 a year. This was for academics only, but I knew a lot of athletes who received more than I did because the school was trying to build up their athletic programs (full rides depending on the sport). You just never know, so I wouldn't be too quick to blow them off. You probably think my scholarship figure seems low compared to the yearly amounts you stated, but I was able to graduate with no debt with minimal yearly contributions by my parent's and I.

 

[kymmyk13]

I graduated from a private school 11 years ago. THera re alot of schoalrships and if they want her for sports they will find a scholarship for her like leadership or something like that. Also at my college they offer alumni schoalrships and all an alumni has to do is fill out a form and the person get the scholarship and it is $10,000.00. So don't just dismiss those college they may end up being cheaper than the public ones.

 

[tar heel]

Something else to consider is whether the private schools making those offers are as good as the top state schools. In our case, they were not. If my son had gotten those kind of offers from Duke or Davidson, they would have been considered. As it was, the schools willing to pay him to go were not UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State level.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Private schools stay around due to endowments.

Many have special scholarships for locals. As far as quality, you have to look at that across the board. A school may only be really good in one area. Ask around.

 

[Sadie22]

Eldest was offered less at large state university, free ride at smaller state university and almost free ride at small private college. The small private college looked expensive but there was money available for scholarships.

We visited all. It came down to the smaller state university and small private college because we had more than one child to consider. The department head for DS's major at the small state school could not communicate well and the left-handed desks DS saw were broken. DS didn't think he would like it there.

Right off the bat at the private school we met the department heads for two related departments both of whom encouraged DS to double major. He did and that turned into research projects throughout college, summer jobs, grad school paid for, and priceless contacts. The school is in the book "Colleges that Change Lives."

We did not think we could afford a private school, but that was the best choice. They may have private endowments and donations from alumni. This school has been around a long, long time with many satisfied graduates.

It is possible to rack up a lot of student loans if an expensive school is chosen and no financial aid money, either based on financial need or academics, is available. There are many ways to save on education, such as attending community college for a couple of years and then transferring.

 

[Arkansan]

Also, private colleges can better respond if your situation changes mid-year. Case in point: my DH college roommates's father lost his job in the middle of his sophmore year. Previously, he did not qualify for financial aid, but with the loss of his father's job he needed it. A state school will look at the financial aid forms you filled out with the previous year's income and say, "sorry, come back next year with your new tax documents. Maybe we can help then." A private school will do what they can mid-year even so your child won't have to drop out. DH's roommate got scholarships and a work-study job (and likely loans, but I'm not sure) so he stayed in school and graduated on time. When his dad got a new job later and their situation changed again, he stopped getting aid and his parents just paid for school.

I graduated from a private liberal arts (VERY good school) college in the early 1990s, but I know the above to be true even today.

Private schools also have privately provided scholarships. I received one and each year, in order to keep it, I needed to send a thank-you note to the provider of the scholarship (or the estate) and send a copy to the financial aid office for my file. My roommate also had to do this. Once a year, our school would have a commerative day for scholarship recipients and the providers to thank them. Those that endowed a scholarship were invited to campus for a special chapel service (it was a religious college) and lunch. My provider never could make it for the events (too old, too busy, too far away, passed away, whatever...) but my roommate's did and she was able to meet her and they had lunch together. She really liked putting a name with a face and being able to thank her benefactor in person. This personal touch is why many people choose to remember their alma mater in their estate planning--even if their estate won't get a building or hospital named after them. You can endow a scholarship without having a TON of money (though, obviously, you still need some) and you make a HUGE difference in the lives of other people!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[MrsPete]

I graduated from a private school 11 years ago. THera re alot of schoalrships and if they want her for sports they will find a scholarship for her like leadership or something like that. Also at my college they offer alumni schoalrships and all an alumni has to do is fill out a form and the person get the scholarship and it is $10,000.00. So don't just dismiss those college they may end up being cheaper than the public ones.

I agree that you should investigate ALL your college options, but the "private school is cheaper" thing is true just often enough to keep people talking about it. As a general rule of thumb, the school with the bigger pricetag is going to end up costing more.

Something else to consider is whether the private schools making those offers are as good as the top state schools. In our case, they were not. If my son had gotten those kind of offers from Duke or Davidson, they would have been considered. As it was, the schools willing to pay him to go were not UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State level.

Yes, in NC the AVERAGE private school doesn't compare academically with the AVERAGE public school. Speaking very broadly, I'd rather my girls go to a public school. Also, you should consider what the child plans to study. For example, my oldest plans to major in nursing. It doesn't matter so much WHERE she gets her degree -- it matters that she earns a degree and can pass the state tests to qualify her to be an RN.

Also, private colleges can better respond if your situation changes mid-year. Case in point: my DH college roommates's father lost his job in the middle of his sophmore year. Previously, he did not qualify for financial aid, but with the loss of his father's job he needed it. A state school will look at the financial aid forms you filled out with the previous year's income and say, "sorry, come back next year with your new tax documents. Maybe we can help then."

There's a federal financial aid form that ANY STUDENT can fill out mid-year if his or her circumstances change. A friend of mine (not a college student, but a middle-aged adult with college son) did this last year when her husband lost his job. Because her husband was given a rather generous severence package and was actually still receiving salary from his former employer, her son didn't get any additional financial aid for the spring semester, but his large state school did investigate his situation and did consider it.

 

[deerhart]

The private university I attended has one of the largest endowments in the country and is very highly ranked. They paid through financial aid my entire tuition, minus the $5,000 scholarship I got each year through my dad's company.

So the 22-25k tuition (as it went up each year) was totally paid for. I only had to take out loans to pay for room and board (or living expenses off campus). I also worked at least 15 hours a week, full time usually during the summer (2 part time jobs on campus when I stayed all year).

Many schools will allow you to do a monthly payment plan instead of a loan or will do a private loan with you (my husband had one with our school for about 5k at 4% interest). Also, there are private lenders that loan non-federally backed loans if you qualify. I have one of those for law school (for living expenses, left over tuition, books, etc)

For me, the private school I chose resulted in about 12k in college loans. If I had stayed in state, lived at home, and gone to my state university, I would have had to come up with over 20k to pay for it as my private scholarship would have been less (the amount was based on the cost of the school up to 5k total) and they were not offering up much in financial aid but loans.

Also, the larger the school the more a dime a dozen you become, versus a smaller school which will generally be more competitive to bring in people they have admitted for their student body.

 

[lastminutemom]

I really recommend college confidential. Make sure you explore the discussion board, especially athletic recruiting.

The Ivies and some other tippy top schools don't give merit money (or very much of it), though they are extremely generous with need based aid.

Many smaller privates will give money to students who are above their average students credentials. So, if you are trying to leverage money, it is a good idea to have her apply to some schools that have average GPAs and standardized test scores below hers.

 

[crisi]

Private schools stay around due to endowments.

Many have special scholarships for locals. As far as quality, you have to look at that across the board. A school may only be really good in one area. Ask around.

And because a lot of people have a lot of money.

The private school my husband went to had about 25% international students - whose father's were the head of small South American countries or Saudi princes. There were kids there whose great grandfather's had founded Burlington Northern Railroad, Cargill and 3M. The guy whose dad had held the patent on something like bar coding.

He went on an endowment for locals.

 

[taitai]

A lot of the Ivies offer an absolutely free ride for those who are accepted and have family income below a certain level...$60K? Of course, they only accept about 6 or 7% of applicants, but still....

I would not dismiss any option. Explore everything and then decide based on where your daughter is accepted.

 

[magik]

I went to a small private college while my siblings went to big state universities. Despite the fact that on paper, my tuition was far more than theirs, my school offered large academic scholarships that I qualified for, good work study, and my last two years I ended up getting a couple thousand in alumni grants. In terms of out-of-pocket expenses for my parents, it ended up being roughly the same for my private school and my siblings' state schools.

Private vs. public wasn't a factor in my decision at all; what was important to me was whether or not I would be happy at the school. My siblings preferred the large class size and anonymity that went along with it at a state school; I would have hated that and was thrilled to have class sizes of *at most* 30 students...most of my classes had between 12-15, and some even less.

 

[Julia M]

One other thing to consider is how long will you be in school? In CA, it's getting harder and harder to graduate in 4 years. If expenses are a little more at a private school, it may work out cheaper in the end if you finish in 4.

Just something to consider

Julia

 

[ajh88]

I can't really help you compare public vs. private without knowing which schools are involved. I went to a state university for my undergrad degree and am now at a private university for pharmacy school.

I received a full scholarship to the state university, which is why I ultimately went there for undergrad. I'm so lucky not to have any debt from that time because when I decided to go BACK to school 10 years later, I didn't have any of that debt. Just something to consider...

The private school I am at has a lot of endowments and specific scholarships, but obviously not every student gets one of those.

When thinking about loan limits and the specifics of college loans in general, go to :

https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action

You should be able to find a lot of information there. Keep in mind there are aggregate loan limits as well, so if grad school could possibly be in the future, be sure to consider that.

Best of luck - I know that I have been happy with my public school undergrad education, but I'm just as thrilled with the environment and education quality at my "private" school.

 

[MSSANDRA]

There is so much to consider. We did our first state school open house for Ds today. The tuition at this large state school is 4,000. The very small college he is also looking at 24,000.. The state school has a program he loves but he would be much happier at the smaller school. There is a ton of money given out at the small school and much less at the large state school. Admissions are getting harder to, so consider more than one school!!!

 

[princessmom29]

I graduated in 2000, and went to a state school on a full ride for academics. I was offered 3 full rides from 3 different state schools, both in my home state and out of state. These were the only state schools I applied to because they were the only strong programs in my major within driving distance of home. The best I got from any private college was half tuiton which would have left me with an average yearly bill of $20,000 at the 3 private schools I considered. I went with the sate school, and the only loans I took out were to fund a summer semester abroad.

 

[KY*Figment]

Dave Ramsey said it the student is going for something making good money you can consider private but for something like social work (me) then go public. I know more social workers that went private but they graduated w/ more loans than I do. We make the same money so who was wiser? My cousin is a dentist and she went to public, another dentist we know went public, but another dentist I know went private. In fact most dentist and doctors I know went public. As for the attorneys I know they to went public. I live in a town w/ only a sattelite campus for one publice, a public community college, a public vocational school, and two private universities. I have cousin that is over the financial aid for one of the private universities and even when you average in the typical scholarship and grants you still owe more than public. She would scream if she knew I was writing this.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Please get yourself over to the forums at College Confidential http://talk.collegeconfidential.com , especially the Parents' Forum, the financial aid forum and, for those of you with athletes, the forum for recruited athletes. Read the stickies!

College admissions, pricing and funding has changed dramatically even during the past five years, not to mention 10 or 25!

 

[Anne34]

There is so much to consider. We did our first state school open house for Ds today. The tuition at this large state school is 4,000. The very small college he is also looking at 24,000.. The state school has a program he loves but he would be much happier at the smaller school. There is a ton of money given out at the small school and much less at the large state school. Admissions are getting harder to, so consider more than one school!!!

Please share which state school has tuition of only $4000!! U of Illinois is very expensive -- tuition, room & board for instate is $28,000!!! Its crazy.