What are the advantages and disadvantages to a student in a private university?

Answer 1

I went to a private univ. for undergrad (a large one) and a large univ. for grad school. At a private school there was much more attention paid to you. they really care about you in school and after you graduate. The public school could care less - you are more or less a number that they need to get funding. Private schools usually cost more than public schools though. At a private school chances are you will make better social connections.

Answer 2

Well, I can tell you the advantages of a private university and the disadvantages as well. I attend a private university and will be graduating in the Spring. I have really enjoyed the experience. Because our school is a private school, we don't have private funding and don't necessarily have to take off national holidays like President's Day and so forth. However, we may take days off to celebrate what is meaningful to us. So, you should consider a school that has similar belief systems as you if you choose a private school. Our school is mostly sponsored by alumni and AME churches. The scholarships alumni scholarships are numerous and I have received a couple every semester since I first applied. Though I am not a methodist, nor have been taught to be a methodist while at the institution, I have enjoyed the spiritual benefits. We are allowed to talk about God, to hold services, chapel, and so forth. At my university, the teachers are really caring and other students are like family. It's not a really large school, but it's very personable. The disadvantages are that we may not be building new facilities, dormitories, or academic buildings as quickly as other schools, because the funding is less. However, innovations are quickly being brought to our school. Across the street from us there is a public university. That university is larger, has more money, more programs (like arts, majors and sports), is building new academic buildings, more crime, a larger population. However, the atmosphere is totally different at that school. Attitudes are different. You could probably tell if one of their students were at our school, even though they are across the street. At the public school they are not as relaxed and not as family oriented. Both schools are good schools, but it really depends on what you are looking for. Visit college campuses if you can and ask the students, not the student ambassadors what they really think. Grab some email addresses and be sure to follow up. They may tell you differently when the student ambassador is not standing beside them.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, our private school is a lot more expensive than the private school. However, many students with at least a 3.0 have access to a lot of funds. Our school will give you a scholarship coming in if you have a 3.5, but if you don't there are other options. I'm a graduating senior with only a $2000 college loan.
The private school students are no smarter or less smarter than the public school students.
The atmosphere is diferent though at every school. Schools are like people, they have personalities of their own.

Answer 3

The advantages to a student would be that the university can be more responsive to student needs. For example, if there seems to be a demand for a particular program, the private school can implement that program right away, while a public school often has to get approval from the state, which can be very bureaucratic and take years. Private schools are tuition-driven and need to remain appealing to students. On the other hand, the obvious disadvantage to a student is that the private school is almost always more expensive. It also is less likely to offer programs which are seen as unprofitable, so you may find fewer esoteric offerings which only apply to a few people.

Answer 4

In general, there are no specific advantages to students in going to a public or a private university. There are very good and very bad universities in both categories. Typically, public universities have lower tuitions, but this is only for in-state students. Out-of-state students pay tuitions comparable to those at private universities.

Even the very best universities fall into both public and private categories. Harvard and Stanford are private; University of Michgan and University of California are public but comparable in most fields of study.

I attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison for both BA and PhD, and received a great and very satisfying education.

I taught at Purdue (public) Stanford (private) Carnegie Mellon (private) and Temple (public).

Overall, I thought the public universities provided a much better undergraduate education than the private ones. But I really don't think their status as public or private had much to do with that, just the cultures of the specific universities.

The really important difference is not between public and private, but large and small. I enjoyed large universities, because though they were large, or because they were large, they had loads of people I could relate to. At smaller colleges you will find more group conformity, as you just can't find a large number of people who share your individual interests and values.

Answer 5

Advantage: You'll probably be friends with a lot of rich people. You are paid more attention to than public school. You tend to get more in scholarship and financial aid from private school than public. In public school there are too many students that the likelyhood of you getting any $ is zip.

Disadvantage: EXPENSIVE. May run into snobby people.

Answer 6

For some reason it seems that good looking girls are in the private schools (pro, not too bright but has access to money), and the smart ones are in public universities (con, they are smarter than you, making it tougher to get decent grades)

Answer 7

you have to pay more in a private school

Answer 8

pro: privacy
con: no one has ever heard of your lame school