Parents! Private vs. Public Costs?

<p>My college choices are down to two schools: One is a large public university where I would be in their Business Honors Program and have access to a great business school and in-state tuition. My other option is a smaller private university where I would also be in their Business Honors Program and have access to a great business school and a location that is perfect for internships and jobs.</p>

<p>My problem comes down to price and personal preference. I love the private school. The campus is perfect, the location is close to home (big plus for me and my parents), I'm a little undecided whether I fit with the school socially, but I'm sure I'll find people like me, and finally the education itself is fantastic…the only problems is the price. My family and I have done a lot of research and the cost, adjusted for future tuition increases, is a little above 160k for 4 years, 40k/year.</p>

<p>The public school is pretty close to the complete opposite of the private school. I'm not a big fan of the campus, the school population is huge, and the location isn't ideal, but the Business school and the school network is really great, so is the sports, and I really like their business honors program, its more in-depth than the one at the private school. The cost is a benefit because it will be around 105k for 4 years, around 26k/year.</p>

<p>My question comes down to what you think is the better option based on the price. My family and I can afford to pay all 160k with a combination of savings and work at the private school; however, it is more than my parents wanted to spend and I won't be able to do a lot of other things, like study abroad and such. At the public school, my parents and I can pay for it all and they are willing to give me the extra money after I graduate that I would have needed at the private school. So I might have the opportunity to use close to 50k to begin my life.</p>

<p>What do you think?</p>

<p>A couple of things to consider in making your choice:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Have you applied for financial aid at the private school? Sounds like you wouldn’t be eligible for need based aid based on your discussion about your ability to pay. But there could be some merit aid that you could get.</p></li>
<li><p>What is the 4 year graduation rate of each school. From my experience, most private schools have good 4 year grad rates, but in some states (like CA) budget issues have caused the state schools to limit the number of classes resulting in poor 4 year grad rates. If it takes 5 years at state school, the cost difference between there and the private isn’t as much of a factor.</p></li>
<li><p>Having 50K in your pocket to start off your career is a big plus.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>From a business perspective the public school sounds like a much better deal.
Also is likely to have a larger alumni network than the smaller school.</p>

<p>Thanks for your quick responses!</p>

<p>@HPuck35

  1. I did! I received the most scholarship money I could receive without it being a full-ride. I did apply to financial aid and I don’t think I will receive anything, I will do a work study on campus to help pay but other than that, I might look for some private scholarships.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Both schools have 50-60% graduation rates. But, Im coming in with a lot of AP credit and I think the business honors programs help make sure you graduate on time. Another note is that the private school has a 87% job placement rate while the public school has a 100% job placements for its business honors students.</p></li>
<li><p>That extra money can really be a blessing. But the reason why this is not a no brainer is because my parents and I love the private school and being close and in a great location its really hard to pass up.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>@emeralkity4 I agree with you, but the private school has unparalleled connections in its surrounding area and that is where I want to work and live.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>This is probably overstated – the California public schools with low four year graduation rates are often not that selective, meaning that a higher percentage need remedial courses or cannot handle full course loads. Part-time non-traditional students, students taking time off school for co-op jobs, and similar benign situations also worsen four year graduation rates.</p>

<p>But, given the OP’s quoted prices, it would take six years of the $26,000/year public school to approach the cost of four years of the $40,000/year private school, so even if that public school requires one, two, or three extra semesters, there would be a substantial savings there. Also, if the $40,000/year private school is at the very edge of affordability, the OP has no room for error in the possibility of needing an extra semester.</p>

<p>You need to keep in mind that large universities are composed of many academic units and departments. I attended Ohio State as a civil engineering major and the atmosphere in the department was quite intimate. Our CE classes were small, I knew every one of my CE classmates and the CE profs all knew us too. In the winter we had an evening student/faculty b’ball game each Thursday, had a department pre-game tailgate party on the Hitchcock Hall patio before f’ball games, and took fieldtrips as members of our ASCE student chapter. Take a close look at the Business Honors program at the public university to see what the atmosphere will be like. You may be pleasantly surprised like I was.</p>

<p>Read the above post just before deciding to reply- agree with it. Being in the Honors program of a specific school will give you much more small school feel than being undecided in the U’s regular pool of students. Large public schools tend to have plenty of diverse activities. Given what you say about the public school compared to the private one it seems a good idea to go public.</p>

<p>Can you get information from the career centers of each school to find out how their job placement is for business majors? Is there a significant difference in selectivity between the two schools?</p>

<p>Ucbalumnus: The CA state school that I have the most knowledge is CalPolySLO, which is quite a selective school. My son graduated from there a few years back and took 5 years. He had 3 roommates, 2 of which took 5, 1 took 4 and 2/3 years. Each entered with several classes of AP credit. Granted, they were all engineering students so it could be quite different for a business major. My son’s department head quoted a 4 year grad rate for his department of 15%. He went on to say they had a 85% grad rate after 4 2/3 years. This was before the CA budget issues which hasn’t made it better.</p>

<p>I don’t know if the OP was including housing costs or not. 40K a year is a pretty typical private school cost for tuition only. So, can’t make a definitive statement on the real cost difference. Opportunity costs of delaying one’s career by a year also would impact the true cost picture.</p>

<p>OP: It sounds as if you are trying to justify going to the private school. If you are really set on the private school, then go. Wondering (and maybe being depressed about) whether you should have attended the private school while at the public school won’t make for a good college experience.</p>

<p>If you are committed to a business major, it sounds like the public school is a better choice, and not only on price: you prefer their business program, and they apparently have better outcomes.</p>

<p>Beyond that, it will depend on the specific schools you are talking about, and whether your perceptions of them are correct. Would you care to share the names of the schools, now that you have gotten some replies unprejudiced by those identities? :)</p>

<p>My other question is, have you actually been accepted by both of these schools?</p>

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<p>Did your son and roommates take full course loads and follow their majors’ course plans? Also, no quarters off for co-op jobs (which extend calendar time to graduation, but do not result in extra school time)?</p>

<p>Perhaps that is an advantage of CPP over CPSLO: CPP offers a four year graduation pledge program. Of course, students have to take full course loads and follow their majors’ course plans and not need remedial courses; apparently few actually do so, given CPP’s low four year graduation rate.</p>

<p>When I went to college, the four year graduation rate was under 40% (and lower in engineering). But I easily graduated in 8 semesters (taking more than the usual 120 credits there, even though I came in with some AP credit), and could have easily done so in 7 semesters. However, I did know a lot of students voluntarily taking light course loads most semesters; it was not because it was that difficult to get into classes at registration time.</p>

<p>@Consolation the two schools I am deciding between are Southern Methodist University and Texas A&M University and yes I’ve been accepted to both schools and their respective programs.</p>

<p>@HPuck35 it’s more of weighing both sides than trying to justify the private school as the better choice. A lot of the responses are toward the public school and the responses have been very helpful and interesting. I don’t think I will be disappointed about choosing one over the other in the future, I think they both are great choices. And everything is included in these prices, including housing, fees, sport tickets, expenses, dorm furnishings, and future inflation predictions. The reason why the private school is only 40k is because I have scholarships that brings the price considerably down.</p>

<p>@sacchi both business programs are selective, Business honors at A&M has a 100% job placement rate and SMU’s business overall has 87% job rate I believe, their honors program though does not have a statistics specifically for them.</p>

<p>Can your family pay the costs for you to attend the private college for ALL four years? That is an important consideration. If this is unaffordable, than it is unaffordable, and you need to consider less expensive options (and fortunately you have a good one to consider).</p>

<p>If money is not an issue, then discuss this with your parents to be sure…and make your decision.</p>

<p>@thumper1 Yes, we would be able to pay for all four year, but it is more than what we wanted to spend and it is at the very maximum of what we could pay before taking out loans, my parents had bad experiences with loans when they were in college, they had to pay it all themselves, so fortunately I have this opportunity. The question really is based on return on investment and whether the cost outweigh our preference for the private school. Is one school worth around 15k more per year than the other? right now, we don’t know if it is. One poster mentioned about being disappointed in the future about making the wrong decision, ultimately i think that if i choose to attend the public school, it will be a great choice no matter what.</p>

<p>I’d go to TX A&M. </p>

<p>@Consolation Could you elaborate more on your advice? I’d like to know more about what your point of view is</p>

<p>My POV is that there is little or nothing to choose between the two when considering prestige–outside of TX, anyway–and that T A&M may actually have the edge in terms of name recognition. I doubt that academics are significantly different. If attending SMU would stretch your family’s finances, it simply doesn’t seem worth it.</p>

<p>I have a family member by marriage who attended SMU and is very successful, to the tune of $250K+ per year, in his business career. But I strongly doubt that he would have been any less successful with a degree from TX A&M. (It is basically a sales thing.)</p>

<p>Here’s a thought: if you want to stay near home have you considered other state/less expensive schools in the Dallas area, such as UT Dallas? UTD gives great merit scholarships and it’s not too late to apply (not sure what the deadlines are for merit scholarships).</p>

<p>What are the requirements for keeping your scholarship for all four years?</p>

<p>The largest merit you can get short of full ride leaves you $40k a year at the private? Yikes.</p>