Public College vs. Private College

[linnylu]

I have heard numerous times from people to apply to the private colleges because they often have better endowments and are able to give out more money. DS applied to 4 private and 3 public schools last year. The privates did offer quite a bit in scholarship/merit money and 3 of the 4 brought the price down to what our instate public universities charge- around $22,000 (tuition, room, board, fees). However, the instate public universities also offered DS merit money of anywhere to $6500 to $10,000 a year. It definitely would have been less expensive for him to go the public university route. He did choose a private university with a total price tag of $48,500 a year but his $26,000 Presidential Scholarship helped lower that price.

All the schools offered him scholarship/merit money based on his GPA, but I'd say mainly his ACT score. This was really the key to money that he won't have to pay back. We are hoping that DS won't have to take out any loans for his 1st four years of college. He is in a 6 year pharm D program, so he will have to take out some loans for his 5th and 6 years when our other children are in college.

 

[NCRedding]

This question always brings on strong debate.

Let me present my bias straight out: I prefer private schools. DH and I both attended private colleges in NC, as well as the crown jewel of the UNC system. DH also attended another well respected state school. Hands down the education we received at the private schools was better, for us. It was what we wanted for our daughter, so we set aside money for her to attend a private college, where she is now a sophomore.

We received financial aid letters from 4 private colleges for DD. They were all very specific in what merit aid and scholarships DD would receive, indicating how much each award was, whether renewable or not, and upon what terms and conditions. The school she choose is about $4000 more per year than what we would have had to pay had she attended UNC. That difference is worth it to us.

I can't imagine any college would not be clear about the awards they were given. One of the statistics that private colleges take pride in is the percentage of retention of students. No school would want to lure students to the school only to pull the financial rug out from under the student. It hurts the college as much as the student to do this.

Mrs. Pete and I have disagreed often on this topic, particularly when she indicates that my college is one of the "many mediocre private colleges in the state of NC." I know many people who do not agree with her assessment that most of our private colleges in NC are weaker than most of the public universities. These are not people who only attended private colleges.

Both private and public schools have strengths and weaknesses.

 

[CaFeeney]

I think that if your daughter is looking to become a teacher then the public college system in Massachusetts can offer strong programs at the most affordable cost.

I have all three of my degrees in Education (BA, M Ed. and CAGS) from public colleges here in Mass (Worcester and Fitchburg State) and I have been very fortunate to have a wonderful administrative position that pays well and I love.

In Massachusetts a masters degree will be required for your daughter and must be completed within 5 years of her entering teaching. The good news is that if she gets a job most districts offer some financial reimbursement (not a lot in my city) that might help a bit.

Lesley and Wheelock are exceptional colleges but don't feel as if you are "settling" if you choose to go to a public university - I found the curriculum strong and the opportunities for future employment are excellent.

Some of the above posters gave very good advice about finding the student teaching opportunities in the districts you want to work in - in almost every case I have seen (been in the profession over 20 years now) the person that gets the job either student taught or subbed within the district. The only exception is for those hard to fill positions such as SPED.

One area that districts are always looking for is speech and language pathologists. Those lucky people are always in demand and have their pick of jobs in this area- If I was starting over that might be the direction I would have picked.

Best of luck, I would be so proud if my daughter decided to become a teacher!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

Our daughter graduated in 2010 from a state school and has a great job which her college helped her find. She lived at home and after scholarships for her ACT scores and keeping a good gpa we paid less than $1000 a semester, so she and we are debt free.
She has a good friend who went to a private school and has about $100,000 in debt, and is a nanny.

I think if you know your major you can find a public university that will have a strong department in that area and receive a great education inexpensively.

 

[StephMK]

One area that districts are always looking for is speech and language pathologists. Those lucky people are always in demand and have their pick of jobs in this area- If I was starting over that might be the direction I would have picked.

Best of luck, I would be so proud if my daughter decided to become a teacher!

ITA!! SLPs are in high demand here. The SLP student teacher I knew last semester had 2 interviews immediately and was offered both jobs a day later. She picked the district that will pay for her to get her dr. Good deal & seems like a really interesting field. I wish I'd researched different jobs more back when I was in school the first time.

DD17 is visiting her top choice private college this weekend. She loves it & was very impressed w/the bldgs & size of the dorm rooms. It will be interesting to see if she ends up there or at the nearby state school and how financial aid works out - only way she can go to the pricey private.

 

[rantnnravin]

i went to a private school and i spent $100,000 on my educartion (which i paid for myself). If i could go back in time i would go to a community college or a state school for 2 years and then transfer to a private school. Its the only regret i have in life

exactly this!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

What about ULowell? That is where my mom got her teaching degree and she has always raved about that program. She said that she got a way better education there than she got at the private college that she attended!

 

[leebee]

DD is at UMaine, living on campus, even though we live in the same town; I was both a commuter and a resident, so living in the dorm is part my definition of the college experience. DH and I have a combined income of $68K (PhD for him, master's for me and I am grossly underemployed as my professional job became unfunded...grr...), DD was #5 in her class of 100, trains for dance 20 hours a week (give or take), did some school related extra-curriculars, etc. She should have had a merit scholarship to UM, had her app in on time, recommendations were in, but her guidance counselor overlooked sending in her transcript on time... and that was that. No merit scholarship for DD, limited grant money ($200), etc. She had several one-year scholarships, some savings, we had some savings. She and we will borrow about $5000 a year, combined, for her to go to UMaine. We are optimistic that our financial aid status might change as her acceptance/aid app were very late due to no transcript therefore no acceptance, the minor money we'd saved for college is spent, etc.

She also applied and was accepted to Hofstra with a generous aid package... $32K per year in grant and scholarship money, all 4-year renewable. Unfortunately, Hofstra is about $50K per year (once we figured in two or three round-trip travel costs per year in addition to room, board, books, etc.). As she said, why would she/we borrow $80K for a degree in dance with minor in english ed? She is at UMaine majoring in ENglish with an education minor, trying to make a dance program for herself (no dance major/minor at UMaine, thanks to budget cuts). She is incredibly sad that, after 12 years of preparing for a dance career it looks like she might never have the chance, so we are preparing for her to try transferring. Dance isn't the most practical major, but sometimes that's irrelevant (who thought advanced degrees in chemistry would lead to a $12K job?). College is truly a dilemma if the kids don't know what they are interested in, or if their true love lies in something that requires a "big name" program. We shall see... but she is going to stick it out here for at least this year, and maybe do college program at Disney while trying to figure it all out. Maybe Hofstra would have been the best decision, given the location, decent dance program, etc... but to be $80K in debt for dance? 2% of hopeful college grads w/a dance major actually get a job in dance, which pays $16K... in Manhattan. (No wonder so many wonderful dancers move to Europe!)

To answer the original question, compare aid packages and then look at overall costs for 4 years. THEN figure out potential earnings and look at the hiring rate. Living in debt is a nightmare... trust me, it's awful at 55 (and that's mostly just the mortgage and USED minivan loan), much worse at 22!

 

[englishteacha]

I went to the "best" public liberal arts college for teaching, University of Maine at Farmington. It's a great school. I looked at other schools but my grants and scholarships covered tuition and room and board at UMF, so it made sense financially, and educationally, to go there. I just completed my MS Ed. at St. Joseph's College of Maine, a small private college. I chose St. Joe's because they had a hybrid progam of online and on-campus courses. The cost was the same as going to a state school.

I will add, look at the big picture. I have friends who are recent college grads from both public and private colleges who can't find jobs due to the economy. One has over $100k in debt, and can't find a job in her field, and is panicking because deferment of loans is almost up. Another graduated from a public college and has no debt, so while she's disappointed she hasn't found her dream job, she is getting by OK, working retail while she applies for jobs she really wants.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Cataloging this thread in reference to dorm living as a minimum requirement for the college experience.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2824980&referrerid=70088