<p>hey guys a lot of people seem to debate about private versus public schools. Does going to a private university make a big difference in the job you will get after college??? Will future employers look more highly at a private university degree opposed to a public?? Well right now i am attending a local private university. It is a decent school, nothing like of ivy league status (its a 3rd teir doctorate school) and its considered a pretty good school. I am considering transfering to a public university of similar status mainly because the cost is much cheaper and affordable. Would this look less desirable for an employer to hire me when its on my resume???? Having a hard time deciding thanks for any help/advice</p>
<p>The only privates worth the money if you have to pay full cost are the Top 20 or so. Otherwise a good public is just as good or better and the top publics rival many top privates.</p>
<p>Yeah, most third tier privates are not worth the money. Personally, I would not go to a private ranked lower than #34 (BC, NYU, Rochester level) unless I got a generous scholarship or came from a wealthy family.</p>
<p>it'll be hard for someone to convince me otherwise of this but - academically at least - </p>
<p>the best public schools are as good as the best private schools.</p>
<p>the average public school is better than the average private school.</p>
<p>so unless you want a degree that has the words cornell or yale on it, i would recommend looking for what will serve you best.</p>
<p>A tier 3 private school most likely won't have a name that is any better than a public university - so if cost is a big factor i would recommend transferring</p>
<p>It's unfair to say that only certain private schools are worth the money. It depends on the student. For some kids, going to Hope or Kalamazoo instead of Michigan or Michigan State is worth $30,000. Some people need the environment, the learning style, the opportunities for individual scholarship that a liberal arts college offers. </p>
<p>To attempt to answer this question in a general manner is impossible. It depends 100% on the student.</p>
<p>On the main College Confidential website, there is an excellent article discussing the relative merits of public and private universities. </p>
<p>Renin,</p>
<p>Yes, I agree with you that some students simply need a small private schools ?attention? or whatever a small private school offers over a school like michigan state. However, I did not say that public schools are better than private schools. I said academically, the best publics (albeit in less quantity) are as good as the best private schools, and the mediocre publics are probably better than the mediocre private ones. That doesn't change the fact that some students need a small LAC or a small university to thrive at. </p>
<p>However, if cost is a major concern, it might be better for a student to just slave away at a public he only kinda likes rather than taking on $90,000+ in debt for just better personal fit. If name recognition matters, as the OP indicated, a tier 3 private school offers about the same recognition, if not less, than a tier 3 public school.</p>
<p>I agree fully with ReninDetroit. There are kids who would be lost in a large school that could flourish in a smaller one. It doesn't do any good to try to save money sending a kid to a big private, when he is going to be unhappy, and possibly not graduaate.
It really comes down to what your priorities are for college. If name recognition is your thing, the flagship publics are very well known (sometimes for athletic reasons more than for academic). As far as resources go, these schools do well. A good, motivated student can find a challenge in these schools. The amenities, the social life, also rate up there. There are kids who feel having a school with athletic teams supported by school spirit is a big plus.<br>
The small colleges can be more nurturing, but many are only known in their locale. When I visited my brother who lived adjacent to Butler University in Indiana, I found that the school was well known and well regarded there. It is a center for the arts and has some wonderful programs. But it is not a school well known here on the East Coast at all.
One problem with some schools whether they are private or public is if they have a large commuter/local population. That can affect the atmosphere of the college, and if you live a distance away and are living on campus, you may find yourself on a near empty campus with many amenities closed for the weekends. Some small private schools, however, have a large percentage of live in students and are not suitcase schools.</p>
<p>I would be sooo lost in a public college. </p>
<p>I went to a middle school with 40 students in my grade, 80 in the school, and my high school has 1000 students! I felt lost for awhile. To this day I still dont know many people, Im very intoverted, but I would be lost in a public college. 20k plus students! Thats alot of people. I would be miserable at a huge college like that!</p>
<p>However, cost is a major concern for me. My parents make less than 40k a year, and we couldnt possible pay 40k a year for college!</p>
<p>lovelykittycat, how do you know you would be lost? I think that's a myth/cliche that no longer applies to today's world. I personally went to a high school that had fewer than 200 students. My own class has just 30 students. I attended a schools with 25,000 undergrads and I never felt lost. Yes, I was overwhelmed at first, as did 99% of the students at most universities, but I never felt lost. One of my good high school friends was a complete wallflower and he never felt lost there either.</p>
<p>These are all great points thanks a lot, well the third teir type school im talking about and have applied/visited are Hofstra, CW post, and Adelphi that are private. Knowing that, do your views remain the same? Even though hofstra and adelphi are third teir i feel like they are pretty well-known especially around the area. Just wondering if employers would view those privates equally as they would of lets say, Farmingdale or Old westbury university public schools. Kinda wanna save the money but friends have told me the privates sound better and employers view the more money spent as a plus. I dunno what to do lol</p>
<p>That depends.. for exemple if you want to major in film chapman university is a good choice despite beeing private and not very prestigious.At least im my humble opinion you should look which universities/colleges offer the best deal (price, academics..)in your major.</p>
<p>Alexandre, just because a student thinks he will be fine in a large school, or is fearful of a large school does not necessarily mean it is so. But with some kids, there is agreement from the school, teachers, families, friends that they are not big school material. Sure, they may well be. But when you are looking at schools, the size is one of the things to consider. For my second son, it was not an issue. My oldest did not like any of the large schools he visited, and I was inclined to agree with him, that he was better suited to a smaller school. This one coming up has pretty much unanimous agreement that a small LAC would be best for him. He doesn't have a preference, but the signs for a smaller school are there. Now he might just do well at a big school, it's just looking at certain characteristics you make a match and smaller is better for him. Some kids just prefer a small school environment though they may do just as well or better in a big school. But having that prefernece does eliminate the larger schools. Now I know a number of kids who transfered from large to small and vice versa because the size was a factor. But if you want to come up with a list, there should be some standard for narrowing the choices.
In reality, kids who think that size is an issue may fall in love with a school that does not fit. Happens all of the time. Many kids inexpicitly like schools that may not fit anything they say they wanted. But when you are trying to narrow down your choices, your gut feelings are should come into play.<br>
Needcollegehelp, I don't believe that the more money spent is going to be a plus for jobs. More important for you, is which school has the most for YOU. If you are looking at an English major, a school that is nearly all business/educaton is not really your best choice. If you want to be a teacher, you will do as well or better in the old teachers' colleges in finding a job. How you like the atmosphere of the school should also come into play. If you want to commute or come home weekends, a suitcase school would be fine. If you want to live on campus, take a look at the accomodations and acivites at the school.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse, I respectfully disagree, but we are all entitled to our opinion.</p>
<p>Needcollegehelp -- I don't think those third tier privates are worth the money. Try applying to some other SUNYs like Albany, etc. If you decide you want to go to a private, I would choose Hofstra over Adelphi and CW Post. Hofstra has better geographic diversity and much more school spirit than Adelphi and CW Post.</p>