<p>As my college list comes together, I have gradually eliminated all private schools from it.
My biggest criteria is that I want a big school with a great athletic program and a lot of school spirit, and while that's naturally going to include mostly public universities, there are some privates that also fit the bill. But my issue with privates is: I grew up in a very wealthy, preppy town and have now been at boarding school for two years with one year to go. I have been around wealthy kids my entire life, and want to go somewhere for college that is very different. Yes, I am stereotyping - I know there are many wonderful kids who happen to be wealthy - but I just want to get away from the whole money-centric atmosphere. Is it completely crazy of me to not want to apply to private schools? I know that at a school with around 10,000 students, there is plenty of diversity and there will be plenty of people who aren't snobby and don't care about money, but I'm still worried that the atmosphere will be the same.
The privates I have been interested in are BC, Vanderbilt, USC, and UMiami.
And just for reference, my top choices right now are UT-Austin, UVA, Penn State, and UAlabama (yes, I know there's quite a wide range there)</p>
<p>Some of the most selective schools in the country have become very diverse, with more than 50% of students on financial aid. In a few cases the student body is less than 50% Caucasian. In addition, selective private schools are almost always more geographically diverse than state universities. Many selective private schools enroll fewer than 25% of students from in state. Conversely, state universities typically enroll 80% or more from in state.</p>
<p>Nowadays the ultimate in combined geographic, racial and economic diversity probably is the Ivy League and a few super-selective liberal arts colleges. Not that they don’t still have a contingent of wealthy, preppy kids too.</p>
<p>You will find wealthy kids at any private college; someone has to generate their revenue! 
I would agree with tk21769; the Ivies and the top LACs (Amherst comes to mind) probably have the most diversity because of their enormous endowments. Vanderbilt has the reputation of an “old southern school” with a lot of old southern money… I think they have attempted to diversify their student body, and it’s slowly getting there, but it is known as a school for the rich.</p>
<p>I would not recommend believing propaganda about generous financial aid at all top private schools. There really are significant differences. You can crunch the numbers with data from IPEDS. A few things to look at:
- % receiving federal grants
- % receiving institutional aid * average institutional aid received
- total COA</p>
<p>I can understand your concern. Yes, some privates are very generous with aid for those with lower incomes, but the reality is that many wealthy kids get accepted to those schools, too, because most schools can’t afford to give everyone generous FA. Even the “need blind- full need and no/small loan” schools magically have about the same number of full-payers each year…something that they don’t seem to have an explanation for. </p>
<p>Vandy and USC and probably BC do have a significant number of affluent kids. That’s no secret. I don’t know about UMiami. </p>
<p>That said…how much are your parents willing to pay each year for your education? Do they have any financial limitations or is money no object?</p>
<p>Private schools have very different philosophies about how to shape their classes … a couple years back a terrific poster Mini developed the entitlement index … which looks at the percentage of students who went to private HSs and the percentage of students who receive pell grants (federal grants for families with very low EFCs). This is data and not perfect but may highlight some schools worth looking into … </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/11033-rich-kid-schools-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/11033-rich-kid-schools-4.html</a></p>
<p>checks out posts #57 and #58 … schools lower on these lists will tend to have more economic diversity in their students.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned Amherst. In 2009, Amherst College awarded nearly $35M in need-based aid. 100% of assessed need was granted to 100% of students judged to have need. 55% of first-time students got it. The average aid package was about $40K, according to the school’s Common Data Set. In other words, to attend one of the most selective colleges in the country, more than half its students spend on average about $10K per year. </p>
<p>That seems quite generous to me.</p>
<p>You may well find the middle class kids at state schools more money centric and materially driven than wealthy kids.</p>
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<p>Not all . . . “some.” For example, 57% of Harvard students now receive need-based aid, and on average, those students pay < $10,000 a year for tuition, room and board.</p>
<p>tk21769 - I was supporting Amherst as one of the most diverse institutions; I wasn’t against it.</p>
<p>@gadad: Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. It is not difficult to calculate the average amount spent at a college, and there certainly are differences.</p>
<p>From a few years ago…
- But while this brought in more low-income students, Amherst remains an incubator of the elite. More than half its students come from families prosperous enough to pay the full $42,000 annual tab out of their own pockets. Many shell out thousands more for cars, meals out, and other extras. (One student showed up recently with two BMWs – one a convertible for sunny days.)*</p>
<p>There are also so-called legacy admits, for whom Amherst reserves roughly 10% of its seats,</p>
<p>Kids from the lowest socioeconomic quartile represent a mere 3% of students at the 146 most selective U.S. universities, vs. 74% from the top quartile, according to the Century Foundation, a New York think tank.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information, everyone. I guess the general conclusion is that at most privates, especially the ones I’ve mentioned, students are more likely to be affluent, regardless of the other factors that go into that - I just need to decide whether I can deal with that.</p>
<p>My only concern about publics is that, coming from a boarding school, I’m used to small classes - I absolutely love that aspect. I love being able to have class discussions and form close relationships with teachers. But in the end I guess I’ll just have to cut my losses, because there is never going to be a perfect college that encompasses every single thing I’m looking for.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: Money is not really an object. I’m more concerned about money than my parents; I don’t see how it’s worth it to pay $180,000 for BC when I can get a scholarship to Alabama and pay $40,000 for four years, but apparently they do.</p>
<p>At private schools you will get a wealthier population, and if you are trying to get away from that, a state school would be the way to go. Not all state schools are huge. My son transferred from UMiami to a smaller state school and has found that the population is much more money conscious and down to earth. He is very happy he made the change.</p>
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<p>Since that’s your main concern, you should try visiting some of the publics that attract you and sit in on some typical large freshman level classes while you’re there. Also ask about Honors colleges within the large public U’s you’re interested in. Many times one of the perks of being in an Honors College at a large public U is the ability to get into small sized classes for some/all of your general education courses.</p>
<p>Also ask about class size in junior/senior level courses in your major. Once you’re through the intro classes, many times class size drops to 30 or less.</p>
<p>You’re kidding yourself if you think that UVA doesn’t have that wealthy atmosphere you’ve trying to escape.</p>
<p>I think you may be making a mistake assuming all private schools have a Prep School vibe and you could be overlooking a potentially great educational experience. Looking at the bottom of the list referenced in 3togo’s post,</p>
<ol>
<li>Case-Western 61</li>
<li>Univ. Chicago 61</li>
<li>NYU 57</li>
<li>CalTech 47</li>
<li>MIT 44</li>
<li>RPI 31</li>
</ol>
<p>I think these are private colleges that are not going to feel like prep schools. There are others as well. Technical schools tend to have a less pretentious student body. You won’t see students driving BMWs at a schools like Case or RPI. Yet they may have a student body more more focused on learning, aiming high, and preparing for a career than large state schools. Most on that list are medium sized schools with low student-faculty ratios and offer close contact with professors.</p>
<p>I think I understand where you are coming from.
I would add the University of Florida as the most similar to Texas, and drop UVA. By all accounts, UVA has the wealthiest student body of any public in the nation. I would drop Alabama on academic grounds. You might also consider Michigan, North Carolina, and Indiana. In the public sphere it is hard to find flagship schools with total student populations of around 10,000. William and Mary pops out.
PS. I have relatives who went to BC, and they report that when they told folks that they attended BC, they got one of two reactions- “You must be smart” or “You must be rich”. USC has long been known as the “University of Spoiled Children”, although that may have changed. If my kid went to Vandy , I would hope that he or she would marry well.</p>
<p>*My only concern about publics is that, coming from a boarding school, I’m used to small classes - I absolutely love that aspect. I love being able to have class discussions and form close relationships with teachers. But in the end I guess I’ll just have to cut my losses, because there is never going to be a perfect college that encompasses every single thing I’m looking for.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: Money is not really an object. I’m more concerned about money than my parents; I don’t see how it’s worth it to pay $180,000 for BC when I can get a scholarship to Alabama and pay $40,000 for four years, but apparently they do.*</p>
<p>My kids go to Alabama and they have many small classes. They’re both in the Honors college. Yes, they’ve had a few large classes, but most of their classes have been under 30 or under 15. Honors college classes are limited to 15 students. Classes that require extensive writing are limited to 25. </p>
<p>Upper division classes can be very small. My older son often only has 8 or 12 kids in his upper division classes. </p>
<p>As for the strength of academics at Alabama. They have been very impressive. My H graduated from 2 Big Ten schools and I graduated from UCI. The academics have been superior to what we experienced. So, the person who suggested that you drop Alabama because of academics, doesn’t know what he’s talking about.</p>
<p>Regina–I think going to public university is a great idea. Why not save the money if you don’t feel the experience would be measurably superior for you??? You can get a fantastic education in a public university, especially if you learn to be savvy about what classes to take and good at negotiation–which is a fabulous life skill. Going to a large uni is like living in a city. It can seem large and faceless at first, but soon you find YOUR community within it, your opportunities, your own city within that big city.</p>