<p>But not all public universities are perceived as highly ranked as some private universities. It’s my belief that most private universities, generally, are ranked higher than public ones. If you want to go to a top school, you are going to have to pay top dollar. And if money were not an option, I doubt many people would prefer to go to a public school over a Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, or NYU. Since money is usually a concern though, how is it fair that only the wealthy can afford some of these schools? Even middle class families will have a very hard time paying for a 50k+ a year school because of how little amount of financial aid they will receive compared to a low class family. Some students are then forced, for financial reasons, to go to a much lower ranked school, which will probably effect the quality of the job they obtain out of college or the type of graduate school they get into.</p>