Private Universites v. Public/State Universities

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey Guys,</p>

<p>Lately I have been trying to narrow my college decision down to either Tulane University of University of Texas At Austin. I am a resident of Texas and I know the fees are cheaper but I am more worried about the quality of education and recognition out of Texas as far as job placement and whatnot goes. From what I have heard this is the breakdown:</p>

<p>State Schools:</p>

<p>Pros:
- Forces you to work hard. This develops better responsibility and time management skills.
- Cheaper fees (tuition, room and board etc.)
- Wide variety of backgrounds. Fun getting to know different types of people for those who enjoy it like me.
- More Extra-curricular activities/opportunities
- Usually located in heavily populated cities/areas so its easier to get internships and whatnot
- More alumni</p>

<p>Cons:
- Classes with 100-500 students which means less students to interact with and socialize with and also less attention from professor if you actually enjoy his/her. Also hard to contact the professor during their hours.
- Professors don't try as hard to teach "their best" since public schools don't pay professors as much compared to private schools
- TA's tend to teach a lot of the classes
- Availability of classes
- Student population can be overwhelming sometimes especially for introverted students.
- With state universities usually being in large cities they can offer very big distractions (clubs, bars etc.)
- State schools are usually big on drinking.
- So many different types of intellectual types so its hard to get an A and you have to compete with the other brilliant kids.</p>

<p>Private Schools</p>

<p>Pros::
- Smaller student/teacher ratio
- Usually smaller amount of total number of students so you are close with mostly everyone.
- Professor's give their best when teaching (They actually care about you)
- More class participation
- More class discussions
- Get to know professor easier
- Everyone is usually on the same "level" as far as competition goes.
- Private schools usually have stellar graduate programs and professional schools (medical schools and law schools)</p>

<p>Cons:
- Having to know EVERYONE kind of sucks because you can't meet new people every time
- High sticker price
- Socioeconomic gap between the rich and poor kids
- Cultural and social isolation - Not much variety of kids
- Credits in previous institutions may not transfer towards private schools
- Lack of activities
- Not heavily emphasized on school spirit especially in sports.</p>

<p>Please feel free to suggest which school is better and feel free to correct me in my pro/con list for each one! I would really love to read all your insights! Any help is greatly appreciated</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>If you get into McCombs, I would take UT Austin in a heartbeat over Tulane. I don’t think Tulane has a particularly big presence in the banking, consulting and advertising world. I know a UT-Austin junior who will be interning for McKinsey this summer and he told me that job opportunities are plentiful for qualified UT grads. Save the money for grad school or at least a better private school if you can get into one.</p>

3

<p>Those pros and cons are based on more the size of the school rather than public or private status - not all public schools are huge with 500 students a class (my sister goes to a public regional university with just over 6500 students), and it’s located in a small town in suburban Georgia.</p>

<p>Also, your assumption about pay is erroneous. Top flagship public schools often pay professors more than private univerisities, especially if the private university is a small liberal arts college or operates on what we call “soft money” (which means the professors are only paid a certain percentage of their salary and have to make up the rest by applying for grants). Public universities are much more likely to be “hard money” (which is the opposite - when you get paid a full salary regardless of how how much you bring in in grants). That said, though, professors don’t try hard because of how much they get paid - it depends on the amount of research versus classroom teaching they are expected to do. Professors at small undergraduate colleges know that teaching comes first and thus, they are motivate to teach more because often they sought out an LAC because they wanted to teach. Professors at large research universities are often distracted because their research is far more important to tenure and promotions than their teaching.</p>

<p>Private schools don’t always have stellar graduate programs, and a lot of times the top public schools have better graduate programs. Some of the best grad programs in my field are at UCLA, Berkeley, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin-Madison and Washington. And actually UT-Austin has a great graduate program in my field as well.</p>

<p>Honestly, were I you I’d go to UT-Austin. Lots of opportunities, it will cost you less and UT is a well-known top public flagship that will open doors for you as much or more than Tulane will for a lower sticker price. I agree that you should save your money for graduate school, particularly if you ARE interested in going into banking - MBAs are financed primarily with loans unless you get your employer to pay.</p>

4

<p>As far as job placement, I don’t see why you think Texas wouldn’t be as recognized as Tulane. I would think the opposite is the case actually.</p>

5

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<p>Did the OP say she was interested in those worlds?
I would choose Tulane over UTexas, personally. More of a national network. Draws people from all over. New Orleans a more interesting town. Austin is a town that Texans <em>think</em> is really edgy and liberal - but it’s only so by Texas standards; it’s really no different from any good sized northern city in terms of social norms.</p>

6

<p>UT Austin is one of the best public universities in the country. At full rates, you’d be paying more than double for Tulane.</p>

7

<p>@pizzagirl: I applied McCombs and am still waiting for a reply on whether I got into the school or not… I am interested in Business and/or Law so yes technically Banking would be a viable option for me! </p>

<p>Why UT though honstly?</p>

8

<p>bump please!</p>

9

<p>Another vote for Texas here. Tulane is a good school, but Texas is stronger in most fields, including your fields of interest. imo, the only potential disadvantage of Texas is class size, and that will be less of a factor after the first year. </p>

<p>Just my $0.02.</p>

<p>Congratulations on the impressive admits, and good luck with your decision.</p>

10

<p>I gather that the OP has crossed Fordham off the list, as that was a previous comparison with Tulane. </p>

<p>You will find all sorts of opinions about this or that school, both public and private. Not that the opinions are invalid, but they are all subjective to some extent. Thus, the best way to decide schools is to visit them, particularly after you have been admitted. Its never a good idea to attend a school sight unseen. </p>

<p>The bottom line, particularly in business schools, is that if you do well and rise to the top of the class, opportunities will abound for you. The further down the class ranks you go, the more you have to work to find opportunities and sometimes make them for yourself. Then again, many top students intend on entrepreneurship anyway, and its just a matter of finding funding capital.</p>

<p>And a word of caution. You can over analyze and obsess about this stuff. In the final analysis its your decision alone, nobody here can decide for you. Nor should they. And millions of seniors are going through this process now and wringing hands about what to do. It will only get more frenetic by May 1, the drop dead date. You will likely never get a 100 percent certain decision point, though a strong feeling of comfort with your decision will ensue if done right. </p>

<p>State schools by and large are big, with big classes and wonderful sporting events. Private schools are smaller most of the time, smaller classes and they may or may not have wonderful sporting events/teams. </p>

<p>Unless you go to a really small private school of less than 2,000 students, you will have plenty of opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds and experiences. </p>

<p>I know plenty of people at both state and private colleges and almost without exception they each made the right decision for themselves. </p>

<p>Austin Texas is different from New Orleans which is different from New York City. All three have different lifestyles and costs. There isnt a wrong answer here. But it is up to you to decide what you want. And go where you will thrive. </p>

<p>School rankings should be a very low factor in your decision.</p>

11

<p>I disagree that state schools are necessarily stronger than private schools in terms of ECs or opportunities or diversity of the student body.</p>

<p>I’d still go to UT Austin though.</p>