Choosing a Private or Public College

There are two huge misnomers when comparing private colleges to public colleges: 1.  Private schools are for the academically gifted, public schools are for the average student. False! 2.  Private schools cost more money than public schools and thus are for the wealthy. False! The truth is that average students will more than likely perform better at a small liberal arts school and the cost of a private education can be in the same ballpark as a private education if you know what you are doing.

Public Colleges

Study after study shows us why large universities are the exact type of environment where a poor to average student will more than likely struggle.

1. Many state schools’ first priority is not undergraduate education. Rather, schools like the University of Washington are focused on research and graduate programs just as much, if not more, than on their undergraduates.
2. It is not unlikely for entry-level math or science classes to have 300+ students, who are told on day one that the point of the class is to weed people out. In fact, T.A’s tell students that based on the grading curve just how many people will fail the course. The goal is not to see everyone succeed. The goal is to separate the very top students from all the rest.

An average freshman student being part of a large class, with often little access to the professor, no attendance requirements, and a curve that guarantees failure for a good percentage of students often is the recipe for failure.

Private Colleges

Small, private schools are almost always about undergraduate education first and foremost, and it shows in their smaller class sizes, better student to faculty rations and the fact that typically classes are taught by a PhD faculty member rather than a T.A or graduate student.

1. At a small private school, not only will professors know students’ names, they will notice when they miss class.
2. Professors will be more likely to take a personal interest in their students.
3. Professors are accessible, and the school truly wants to see their students succeed.

The graduation statistics don’t lie

The national average shows it takes 6.24 years to graduate with a 4-year degree! And sadly, 40 – 50% of college students will still not have a degree after six years. Why pay tens of thousands of dollars in expenses, take on debt, and waste years of your life when you’re faced with these odds? Private schools in general have much better graduation rates. For example, consider Whitman College which graduates close to 86% of its students in 4 years! If you’re a talented, hard-working student, you will no doubt be successful no matter where you go. But for the average student and especially the below-average student, private schools offer a superior way of delivering higher education, and if you position yourself correctly it can be had for around the same price as a public university. This is just one strategy in the college selection plan to make sure you are paying wholesale price for college instead of retail. Let me help you make the right choice and show you how we build college savings plans for families that are not a “Plan to Pay” but a “Plan to Save” and have the college pay!