Public vs. Private Schools: Which Really Cost Less?

Paying for College
1

<p>As a rising senior in a bothersome financial situation, I am curious as to whether it is more often the case that private schools end up costing less than public schools after aid. </p>

<p>My parents are...private-school-phobic. They fear me even applying to private schools, I guess because they're worried I'll get my heart set on attending and they won't be able to pay. However, I have heard about people getting so much aid to attend a private school that the private option becomes less than the public school. Where does this money come from? Scholarships? The government? The school itself? Is it just because they have low income? How often does this occur? What about OOS public schools?
Which of three (private, in-state public, OOS public) give the most aid?</p>

<p>I ask because I am curious as to whether or not my parents are right and I should stick to applying only to public in-state schools to make paying for college possible.</p>

<p>Oh, and I'm from California, if that helps...I know our public schools system is in a financial mess, so would that make it even more likely that a private or OOS option would be less expensive?</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>It depends on your situation and it depends on the school.</p>

3

<p>It does happen that private schools end up being less expensive than publics, but the only way to find out if it might work that way for you is to apply widely and see what kind of offers you get back.</p>

<p>Aid is offered based on need and/or merit. </p>

<p>Merit aid is based on talents you would bring to the colllege and is usually for high academic stats (relative to the majority of enrolled students at that college) or athletics or musical talent or some other skill or asset that a student has and that the college wants.</p>

<p>Need based aid is based on the parents’ and student’s income and assets.</p>

<p>Schools have differing policies based on the their needs or their mission and on their ability to provide aid – some have bigger endowments and/or scholarship funds than others.</p>

<p>You can research where your best options lay in terms of what private schools you could apply to, but you can ease your parents’ anxiety if you are accepting of their parameters in terms of what they feel they can contribute. You could apply to some well-selected privates where you might get decent aid, but still make sure they understand you won’t be pressuring them to accept admission at a school that’s going to cost more than a public university.</p>

<p>You may end up with some good private options that meet that financial test or you may not, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to try.</p>

4

<p>Ok. So here’s my situation</p>

<p>Our income is just above the national average. I won’t give exact figures, but we’re mid 5 digits. </p>

<p>I got a merit scholarship from my private school(Smith) that, added with need based aid and outside scholarships made the cost of attending Smith less than the cost of TUITION only at my instate public</p>

<p>In my case, private school MUCH LESS than any public option</p>

<p>For most of my friends though public is MUCH LESS than private</p>

5

<p>Here’s another example: My family income is approximately 50k. In my case, I received a hefty amount of aid from a private school, but it still would not have cost less than the public school, where I also received a lot of aid. At the private, I received almost 40k in aid, leaving 13k for me to pick up (personal expenses, books, travel included). At the public, I would have spent no more than 4k a year.</p>

<p>It also depends on which schools you apply to. The very top schools (think top 30) are typically very generous with their financial aid. Visit the websites of the schools you’re interested in and see if you can find a financial aid estimator. If the difference is not much, let your parents know that. Also, if you think your family might qualify for a significant amount of aid, I would be wary of merit scholarships that may decrease the amount of grant money you’re eligible for. In many cases, merit scholarships granted by the college will reduce the amount of need-based aid they award you. That said, there are scholarships out there that will award you free tuition, leaving your family with no more than approximately 15k (55k-40k tuition) for many private schools.</p>

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<p>Op in your situation I would forget about OOS publics unless your stats are way above their avg in which case you might get merit. You will not get need based aid from on OOS public - that is saved for the residents of the state b</p>

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<p>The OP hasn’t given enough info for us to be helpful really. OP…you need to figure out an estimate of what your family contribution will be. There are online financial aid calculators that can help you with this. Since you are considering applying to both public and private schools, do two computations…federal methodology and institutional methodology.REMEMBER…these are estimates.</p>

<p>Also, we don’t know your high school stats, what you want to study or where you would like to go to college (location, size). There are some OOS publics that do give merit awards to attract high achieving OOS students (McNair at U of South Carolina is one). BUT as noted, most institutional aid at public U’s goes to their instate residents.</p>

<p>Now…costs…If your family has a LOW (very low) family contribution, it is POSSIBLE (note…possible, but not guaranteed) that you could get need based aid that would reduce the cost of attending a private college to below that of attending your instate public.</p>

<p>If you have high (very high) stats, it is possible (not guaranteed) that schools giving merit aid MIGHT give you enough to attend at a cost less than your instate publics.</p>

<p>You are from CA. There are TONS of public college options in California and perhaps this is what your parents are saying. They probably want you to look at these options. After all…they DO pay taxes that partially support these universities. Our state only has 4 public universities…not a lot of choice. Yours has TONS…the UCs, the Cal States. </p>

<p>Discuss this with your parents. You need to know what THEY think they can pay for college. That is the important number. Your computed EFC or family contribution doesn’t matter if your parents are not able to meet that amount OR if they are willing and able to pay more than that. You need to know this number to help you choose a college.</p>

<p>Many folks set an amount that they can pay…and IF the student is able to garner the aid to support any amount over that, they can attend.</p>

<p>Oh…one more thing. Remember that need based aid is computed annually. And if you get merit aid, you need to look for the provisions of renewal. College is a four year plan…not one.</p>

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<p>The answer is “it depends.”</p>

<p>I applied to three OOS public schools, two in-state public schools (one of which was the state flagship), and two private schools.</p>

<p>Here’s the amount I would’ve had to take out in loans (per year) for each school:</p>

<p>OOS public #1: $25k
OOS public #2: $33k
Private School #1: $22k
Private School #2: $12k<br>
Public In-State #1: $7k
Public In-State #2 (flagship): $6k</p>

<p>So, for me, public in-state was the cheapest, and the option I ended up picking. The private schools offered me big scholarships/grants, but their initial expense was so high that they were still more expensive than the in-state public schools. The OOS public schools didn’t offer me ANYTHING except loans (aside from federal grants–but you get those from everyone.)</p>

<p>But this may differ for you. It really depends on the individual schools you apply to, your parents’ income, and your grades.</p>

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<p>Wow, I’m always surprised at all the helpful information available on this site, thanks :)</p>

<p>Okay, stats. How much information do you need?
ACT: 30
SAT I: Not Taken
Subject Tests: World History-650, Math 2-650, US History-620
GPA: 3.6 Unweighted, 4.0 UC and 4.2 Weighted
APs: World History, Statistics, Music Theory, English Language, US History and will take Spanish Language, English Literature and Government next year
I have a lot of ECs (music, athletics, work experience) and community service. </p>

<p>I am interested most in majoring in Music Education and then it may be likely I would be attending a Cal State. I’m interested in:</p>

<p>San Diego State
Sacramento
Fullerton
Fresno</p>

<p>(Many of my music teachers are graduates of and recommend UCLA. Though I know how difficult it is to get in there, with a decent music audition, admission could be possible for me) </p>

<p>The private schools I am interested in are:</p>

<p>Chapman University (another teacher alumni)
Pepperdine University
University of the Pacific
Puget Sound</p>

<p>My counselor also suggested I look at ASU, University of Arizona and University of Washington for scholarship money, but those are all OOS publics and you all have said that they would be rather expensive. (Also, if anyone has any other college suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated.) </p>

<p>I really should get on my parents and not just let it go when my mom rolls her eyes when I ask about financing college. My household income is way above average, but somehow, we are always strapped for cash. I don’t have a college fund. My parents never planned to have children and have two. The money they saved up for me in the fourteen years before the financial uproar is now gone. My mom doesn’t think that our family will qualify for any need-based aid because our income is too high. How do colleges decide who needs need-based aid?</p>

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<p>I can’t tell you about music education specifically, but if you’ve researched the Cal States in your list and have found them to have good music education departments, those might be your best bet. Your grades are good for UCLA but you’d need a really good SAT I to have a good shot at getting in. </p>

<p>My 2 sons applied to Chapman, University of the Pacific and UPS with somewhat similar stats. S1 got around $15K in merit from Pacific. S2 got $15K from Chapman. UPS offered nothing. Even with this aid, these colleges were well above their CSU options in terms of cost.</p>

<p>UW will be very expensive as an out of state student. You might look at the WUE colleges for other options. What about Southern Oregon in Ashland?</p>

<p>[Western</a> Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.wiche.edu/wue]Western”>Save On Tuition | Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE))</p>

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<p>I can chime in on Southern Oregon if that’s of interest to you, and you might get some decent merit aid from them.</p>

<p>Need-based aid is determined by a federal form called the FAFSA, and some private schools require an additional application besides the FAFSA. There are questions about parent and student income, assets, etc. The grant aid available from the government is quite small and goes only to students with low and low-ish income families.</p>

<p>It sounds, though, like you might want to consider a CSU to which you can commute from home if your parents are really limited in how much they’re willing to spend.</p>

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<p>I’m no expert on financial aid, but based on how you describe your financial situation, I would doubt you would get any need-based aid at all–since you say your parents have a high annual income.</p>

<p>That is a huge part of what the FAFSA looks at. (FAFSA is the federal index that schools use to determine who has need). There are FAFSA calculators online that will figure an approximate ‘Estimated Family Contribution’–and what ever that number is, does not mean anything above that would be in covered by grants or scholarships. Usually it won’t be covered by anything but loans. But I am guessing that your EFC will be very high if your family income is way above average. See if you can get your mom or dad to do the FAFSA calculator, and maybe it will spur some frank discussions about money. There’s a calculator on college board dot com.</p>

<p>Money can be hard for parents to talk about, especially if they feel like they don’t have enough or haven’t saved enough. It is what it is–reality. I’m sure they did the best they could, and it sounds like they are willing to help with costs, so that is a good thing. Now you just need to try to pin down how much is realistic.</p>

<p>Your stats are very good. You sound like a solid student, and I am sure you’ll do well. At less-prestigious privates (not to say, not good–just less well-known) you may get some good merit aid. Dig around on the sites of the schools you are interested in and see how much merit aid they award and how many students get it.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I’d say your Cal States are going to be your best option. Do Cal States give any merit aid? You would seem to be in the top of the Cal State applicants, so if they do give merit, that might make those even more affordable.</p>

<p>Another option is to apply to a community college & get your basic requirements out of the way, then transfer to a UC to finish. I have a relative who is doing that.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>We are not eligible for financial aid. Maybe with two in college we’ll get something, but right now, no dice. When my college aged son applied to schools a couple of years ago, he had a varied list of choices. He applied to private colleges, no tuition colleges, state schools, OOS publics, low sticker price schools, schools with good merit packages. His best deal by far were with the in state schools. He would make money at one school, and had a $12K total cost at another. If he had gotten any of the big time merit awards at the other schools, things would have been different, but he did not. His best deals were in state, both public and private. He got offers ranging from full ride+ to full sticker price, at the highest levels, with a lot in between. Though he was not accepted to the tuition free option, even then his cost would have been about $12K for living expenses, fees and other costs. </p>

<p>With our rising senior who does not have the stats of his brother, his best option will definitely be in state publics. Also reducing the cost would be some OOS publics and commuting to private schools in this area. MOst merit awards are at about $5K range anyways, and is not going to bring a $60K COA down to the $35K that we can afford.</p>

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<p>You need to explain the “game” to your mom…tell her that you’re trying to construct a solid list of schools to apply to so you’re not wasting your time and their money applying to a bunch of schools that will be unaffordable. Let her know that you have pretty good stats and you’re trying to target schools that will give you good merit aid - and that works best when all the cards are on the table and the research is done up front. Have her read a few threads here on CC and perhaps she’ll be less exasperated when she realizes there are potentially tens of thousands of dollars to be saved through your efforts this summer and fall.</p>

<p>If you’re interested in music education, you might want to look into schools that participate in the federal TEACH grant. TEACH is a $4K/year grant which turns into an unsubsidized Stafford loan if you don’t end up teaching - not sure if there’s any other eligibility criteria but it should be easy to find info on the web.</p>

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<p>Here is a link for a site that gives VERY approximate EFC (expected familiy contribution). It’s not perfect, but it will get you in the ballpark.<br>
[FinAid</a> | Calculators | QuickEFC Chart](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid)</p>

<p>Note that this only works for FAFSA schools (publics and some privates). Many private colleges use CSS Profile. Depending on family circumstances, the results may be similar or maybe not. Also with FAFSA is that second student in college will halve the EFC… usually not the case with CSS. </p>

<p>Few schools fill all “need” (Cost - EFC), and many packages have large loan components.</p>

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<p>On average, public schools cost a lot less than private schools (OOS notwithstanding) but remember, you get what you pay for…</p>

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<p>post #16 – “… but remember, you get what you pay for…”</p>

<p>That is not always the case. Depending on what a student wants to study, the kind of educational environment he or she would like, etc… the least expensive option could be the best option for a student. In the case of music education, because all states have different certification requirements, often the state schools are very well connected to student teaching opportunities and certification requirements. </p>

<p>OP – you may also want to post this on the music majors forum if you have not already done so. Good Luck!!</p>

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<p>Oh, I’m not saying that public schools are a bad option because of their cheapness. I’m just saying that cost shouldn’t be the ONLY important consideration; if you go to the cheapest school possible even if it lacks the programs that you’re going to, then you’re just throwing money away since you might as well have not gone at all. My point is that you should narrow down to the schools that you want and THEN look at affordability rather than looking at affordability first and then ending up with a list of mediocre schools or schools that fit badly.</p>

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<p>post #18 – now I understand :)</p>

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<p>Glad I could help clarify my earlier remarks! Sometimes things that make sense in your head don’t come out so good on the page… :D</p>