Both public and private colleges play a vital role in the landscape of American higher education. Our students have an opportunity, unequaled anywhere in the world, to find the colleges that best meet their needs.
Yet high school students and their parents may wonder how private colleges actually differ from public colleges and whether the difference is worth the cost.Attending a private college is certainly worth the difference in price - and the difference may be smaller than people think.
It's not easy to generalize about the nation's 1,500-plus private colleges; the term encompasses the Ivy League schools, traditional single-sex colleges, historically black colleges, religious colleges, small experimental schools and the hundreds of solid, liberal arts institutions around the country.
Choosing among them is an exciting - albeit difficult - task.
Unlike the majority of public universities, established for the very worthy goal of educating as many people as possible, private colleges were often founded for specific academic, social or spiritual reasons. Many of them still retain their original, sometimes unique missions.
The atmosphere at private colleges is often steeped in values and academic tradition, yet filled with a spirit of innovation and adventure.
Private colleges are devoted to providing a quality education to undergraduates. The average student body at a private college is small - more than 80 percent of private schools that award the Bachelor of Arts degree enroll 2,500 students or less.
What do these numbers mean?
At a private college or university, students are less likely to find themselves lost in the midst of a large lecture hall and more likely to find themselves participating in a lively discussion at the center of a small class.
Private colleges focus on the undergraduate, and faculty members are concerned first and foremost with teaching. Students are taught by professors, many of them nationally and internationally known, rather than by graduate teaching assistants.
Most private colleges offer opportunities for internships, interdisciplinary and international study not always as easily available at public colleges. Because the colleges are funded and managed indepen-dently and do not have to answer to large government bureaucracies, they can be unusually flexible and innovative in the programs and courses they offer.
Studies show that a student's ability to participate in extracurricular activities is affected by the size of an institution. Small, private colleges offer more students a chance to pursue their interests, test their talents and assume leadership roles.
The odds that a given student will be able to join the college senate, write for the newspaper, play football or march with the band are higher at a college with an enrollment of 1,000 than at a school with a student body of 20,000.
Unfortunately, too many parents and students shy away from private colleges due to the perceived cost.
According to the College Board, average tuition, fees, room, board and incidentals at a private college total almost $13,000 for the 1989-90 academic year; cost at a public college runs just over $6,000 per year for in-state students.
Yet according to a study conducted in 1986-1987 (the most recent year for which data is available), 65 percent of students enrolled in private colleges receive financial aid and the average award is $5,617.
Students who apply to private colleges often find that they can afford it, after all.
Private colleges and universities do represent an investment, but in the long run, it's an investment that pays.