Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

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MrCheapo
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Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by MrCheapo »

I'd be curious to the general answer for all states but in particular California.

In CA our kids have several options when graduating:

1) Go directly into a U.C. (getting very hard now, the incoming mean GPA of some majors is now 4+)
2) Go into a community college and then transfer to a U.C. (but you could luck out and get stuck with a CC degree).
3) Go the private route either in-state or out of state.

The problem is that the cost of an ENTIRE UC 4 year degree in tuition is about $64K which is not much more than a SINGLE year of private school tuition!

So I can't seem to believe that a private school education is every worth it, but maybe I'm missing something.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by student »

You may be interested in this thread. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=200269&p=3066874&hi ... e#p3066874

UC is an excellent system. Unless is money is no object, I will stick with UC.
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MrCheapo
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by MrCheapo »

student wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:10 am You may be interested in this thread. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=200269&p=3066874&hi ... e#p3066874

UC is an excellent system. Unless is money is no object, I will stick with UC.
Thanks.

I agree UC is a great university system. But the problem is that getting into UC is getting more and more difficult. So if my kids do not get in, is spending 4 x on a private university worth it?

I don't see the worth quite frankly. Sure UC has its limitations (lower division classes are quite big and often taught by TAs not professors) but most of the lower division stuff kids learn from each other or YouTube.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by eye.surgeon »

I'm a physician so I can speak most directly to my profession but there is little to zero advantage to spending big money on an Ivy League school if your plan is private practice. I suspect the same is true across professions with some rare exceptions, mostly academic careers. As a fellow California resident I sent both my kids out of state for higher education and am glad I did, cost being one of several factors.
Last edited by eye.surgeon on Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:37 pm, edited 9 times in total.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by humblecoder »

My son is graduating HS in 2022 so I am facing a similar dilemma.

What I have observed is that many private universities are very generous in terms of their merit and need-based scholarships. Therefore, you cannot compare sticker prices. One of the private schools that we are looking at for my son might actually cost less than our state's flagship public university based upon the merit scholarships that they offer for students with a certain GPA.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by MrCheapo »

eye.surgeon wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:30 am I'm a physician so I can speak most directly to my profession but there is little to zero advantage to spending big money on an Ivy League school if your plan is private practice. I suspect the same is true across professions with some rare exceptions, mostly academic careers. As a fellow California resident I sent both my kids out of state for higher education and am glad I did, cost being one of several factors.
Thanks fellow Californian.

I'm starting to reach the same conclusion you have about in-state vs out-of-state for undergraduate.

But your last statement seems to be a non-sequitur? "I sent both my kids out of state for higher education and am glad I did, cost being one of several factors." did you mean in-state not "out of state" or by higher-education do you mean graduate school?
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by KlangFool »

OP,

1) Is worth it to you?

2) As compared to what?

3) Are you willing to give the savings from the private universities to the kids?

4) If not, why should your kids take the cheaper option?

5) Are you comparing

A) Spending 64K in public universities and gave the 100K savings each to your kids?

B) Spend 164K each for the kid?

6) How much 100K to each of your kid at 20+ years old worth to your kid?

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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by bsteiner »

UC Berkeley v. the least selective private college?

Or Harvard v. the least selective UC school?
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by Bigt3142 »

Have them go to community college and then finish at UC or another university. Their diploma only says where they got their degree from, not where they went for the the full four years. I do not think a private university is worth the money. Most companies don't care where they went to school, only that they have the degree.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by sunny_socal »

I went to a private university for my BS and a UC school for my MS. I'd say the UC school was at least as good if not better. Sending my kids to a state school.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by adamthesmythe »

Impossible to answer (or even guess at) without more understanding of the student's ability, personality, and ambitions.

In any case there is no downside to applying to out of state privates to see if any aid is offered.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by oldfatguy »

MrCheapo wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:03 am I'd be curious to the general answer for all states but in particular California.

In CA our kids have several options when graduating:

1) Go directly into a U.C. (getting very hard now, the incoming mean GPA of some majors is now 4+)
2) Go into a community college and then transfer to a U.C. (but you could luck out and get stuck with a CC degree).
3) Go the private route either in-state or out of state.

The problem is that the cost of an ENTIRE UC 4 year degree in tuition is about $64K which is not much more than a SINGLE year of private school tuition!

So I can't seem to believe that a private school education is every worth it, but maybe I'm missing something.
Aren't you missing an option?

1a) Cal State system?
UpperNwGuy
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by UpperNwGuy »

Private universities do not provide a better undergraduate education, but the prestige factor provides a bit of magic in landing a good job after graduation.

I'm a public university guy myself.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by cbs2002 »

What outcome does your kid want from higher education? Excel at a specialty field and get a job right after graduation? Pave the way for professional grad school? Get a Ph.D.? Barista? Build critical thinking skills that can apply to multiple fields? Make friends?

Need more information such as field of study, needs (not wants) of student, desire to access a particular professional network, etc. Paying more to go to a specific school can make sense, but unless you don't have to think about cost I'd want to understand what the student expects to get for the money.

An undergrad degree from any reasonably competent institution is an asset. What is done with it is up to the student.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by interwebopinion »

MrCheapo wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:03 am 1) Go directly into a U.C. (getting very hard now, the incoming mean GPA of some majors is now 4+)
UCs admissions have moved to a de facto class rank system, especially now they have eliminated standardized testing. So yes GPA will be a big factor. I've seen parents occasionally move to weaker school districts to improve their chances.
MrCheapo wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:03 am 2) Go into a community college and then transfer to a U.C. (but you could luck out and get stuck with a CC degree).
Transfer is guaranteed with seats set aside at every UC. So unless your student bombs CC, it's fairly likely they will transfer. Transfer to top UCs is still competitive though, but a shade less competitive than going from HS.
MrCheapo wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:03 am 3) Go the private route either in-state or out of state.
The problem is that the cost of an ENTIRE UC 4 year degree in tuition is about $64K which is not much more than a SINGLE year of private school tuition!
So I can't seem to believe that a private school education is every worth it, but maybe I'm missing something.
Define worth. Also define private.

If you mean nameplate private, then it may be worth it for entry into nameplate conscious fields (e.g. investment banking). Also may be worth bragging rights at the country club. Otherwise, it's vastly overrated. And I say this as I am just about to drain the 529 for my Ivy League DD.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by jandres12 »

If the kid couldn't get into a UC, I'd be looking at the Cal State system before looking at private. I don't see how a private school that has admission standards lesser than the UCs would benefit financially long term.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by invest4 »

MrCheapo wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:03 am
In CA our kids have several options when graduating:

1) Go directly into a U.C. (getting very hard now, the incoming mean GPA of some majors is now 4+)
2) Go into a community college and then transfer to a U.C. (but you could luck out and get stuck with a CC degree).
3) Go the private route either in-state or out of state.
1. If cost is reasonable enough, this is potentially the easiest option in that you don't have to consider things like transfer credits from the community college.

2. Due to potential for significant cost savings and likely school options with reasonable proximity to home during first two years (if that is desirable) coupled with the fact that student will graduate with the degree from the state school, this is the route we have also chosen for our own 4 children.

3. While this option may be worthwhile for some students, I think it is not worth the price of admission for the majority.

Of course, there are many other considerations beyond the financial ones including those specific to each person who will be attending which may lean toward one choice vs the other. Some people have strong opinions on this topic including things like wanting their student to have the "college experience" or their perception of the education being provided by the various options and their relative value.

Best wishes.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by 02nz »

There's an (overall) excellent system between UC and community college: CSU. It's also way cheaper than UC.

Hard to answer the question given private universities are also all over the map in quality and cost. But in my mind it's almost impossible to justify say USC tuition vs in-state UC.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by 02nz »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:06 am Private universities do not provide a better undergraduate education, but the prestige factor provides a bit of magic in landing a good job after graduation.
There's only a handful of schools where that's true though, and I think the only big one in CA would be Stanford, possibly some of the Claremont colleges and Occidental. I don't think USC or Pepperdine, for example, will look better on the resume than Berkeley or UCLA - very much the reverse, actually.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by Jags4186 »

Public vs. private doesn't mean much. It always depends on the school. Just from a resume perspective, would you rather have a degree from UC Berkeley or Seattle University? Would you rather have a degree from University of Virginia or from Thomas Jefferson University? Sure, the allure of private is there when you're talking about Harvard, Yale, Williams, Amherst but is the allure there when you're talking about any random tier 2 or 3 private school?
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by neowiser »

Looking back at my daughter's 2012 high school graduation class, the kids who went to CC first pretty much had their pick of UCs to attend after two years. Kids that had zero chance to get into UCLA or Berkeley as freshmen transferred without problems after 2 years at CC and did well at their chosen UC. Those kids, plus the kids who went to Cal State campuses all did well. My daughter went directly to a mid-level UC and took advantage of opportunities for undergraduate research, something that might not be available on CC campuses. I don't think it's worth paying for private school when Californians have such high quality options for higher education.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by MedSaver »

I did undergrad, med school, residency and fellowship at UCs so I’m biased. But there is a good education to be had for a relatively cheap price IF you can thrive in a large campus environment. That is the main difference between the typical UC and private college in my opinion. The overall quality is similar but you can get left behind quickly if you don’t function well in a class of several hundred. There is much less personal all attention. I keep reading comments about how lectures are taught by TAs at UCs, but that was almost never the case in my experience. TAs ran small group discussions after the professor gave the lectures.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by Charon »

No, private is not worth it. (It is true that many private university have high "discount rates", which means actual tuition paid is much less than the sticker price - but still a lot more than a public.)

You're looking at the UCs collectively, as far as I can tell? Berkeley is not Santa Cruz is not Riverside is not Merced. If Berkeley or UCLA aren't options, Merced might be. But as others have pointed out, the CSU system is your obvious choice if you can't get into a UC. Also, you might consider CSUs from the start - you can have smaller classes and better student-faculty contact at those than at large research universities. Berkeley is more prestigious than Sonoma State, but you're all but guaranteed a better undergrad experience at the latter.

Community college first can be an okay option in some majors, but it's also wasted time for some. The classes will quite frankly not be on the same level as a four year, and you have to be careful about transferring credits in a system that mixes quarters and semesters. In some majors (particularly STEM), CCs only offer one year worth of classes, so students spending two years at them load up on gen ed and have difficult and weird schedules once they transfer to a four year. CCs are a great option for those who aren't quite ready for college, and for those looking for a real financial bargain - as long as you pay attention to transfer issues from the start.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by nisiprius »

The elephant in the room is "social prestige." According to Wikipedia, in 1908, Scotsman Robert Knox Risk wrote
Princeton, like [Harvard and Yale], confers some social distinction upon its graduates. In this respect Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are the Western Counterparts of Oxford and Cambridge, and are maintained largely for the sons of rich men. Members of the American aristocracy would send their boys to one or other of these three universities if there were any aristocracy in the United States
Of course, it isn't 1908.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by livesoft »

Generally, sometimes private universities are worth it and sometimes they are not. Sometimes private universities are less expensive than state universities. We had two children who earned masters degrees. One graduated from a Tier 1 state university and one graduated from a top 20 private university. I think both are happy and productive members of society. :twisted:
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by harrychan »

Not worth it unless the private school offers scholarships which makes it comparable with public. I’m a product of CA CC then transfer to a Cal state school (polytechnic). I can tell you my career has been well comparable, and more successful, then my social peers who went to schools like UCLA and USC. My sister in law, who are twins, went to UCLA and UCSD. The one who went to UCSD had a much positive experience as it’s not as competitive than UCLA. The name on the diploma may matter for your first job but soon most companies will look at your accomplishments. I think the important thing is put your child where they will be success and build confidence. Put them in an environment where they will flourish.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by QBoy »

As a professor at an elite private university, here is my take:

This is like asking, "Are BMWs worth it compared with Toyotas?" Both cars will drive you to the same place, but many people think there is extra value in the BMW that makes it worth the higher price.

In general, the elite private schools will give you smaller class sizes and a more impressive group of peers, which translate into a better overall experience. Depending on your financial resources, that could be worth the price. I was certainly willing to pay it for my own children.

A related comparison is between elite private universities (such as Harvard) and elite private colleges (such as Williams). For an undergraduate experience, I think the latter are often undervalued compared with the former (and I say that as someone who teaches at the former).
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by Charon »

nisiprius wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:06 pm The elephant in the room is "social prestige."
Not really. Someone who can't get into UC Santa Barbara as an in-state student is not going to Harvard. Whatever random private college they can get into isn't going to be nationally known by the general public (for job interviews), or well respected by admissions committees (for graduate school).

I know people try to buy prestige, even at the low end. It's not worth the cost, though it can seem like it is for a student if they're not paying a dime of the cost (either parents or scholarship covering it all).

There are states without really high-end R1 publics, but California is not one of them.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by flyfishers83 »

As with many things in life, I'd say it's complicated, and you probably won't know until after the fact. Each student and university is different. For whatever it's worth, quick anecdote: Wife's sister is 16 years younger than my wife. We tried to talk her out of going to what we considered to be an overly expensive private college. We both went to state schools for undergrad and advanced degrees. She ended up attending the private college, which I think has been a very expensive blessing. She has thrived in the small setting, and has set herself up well for pursuing a number of opportunities. Maybe she would have had the same experience elsewhere, but it's impossible to know that. It's particularly complicated because my wife's family couldn't afford it, but tried to. Maxed credit cards and basically paying financial musical chairs for the last couple of years. Because of the situation, wife and I are stepping in to pay/loan what she can't otherwise borrow for the last year of tuition. It's basically a financial mess, but hopefully worth it-probably won't know for a few years.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by Charon »

QBoy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:19 pm This is like asking, "Are BMWs worth it compared with Toyotas?" Both cars will drive you to the same place, but many people think there is extra value in the BMW that makes it worth the higher price.
Not really, though, since we're talking about California. In my field (physics), Berkeley is ranked above Cornell, Yale, Columbia, etc. (and vastly above some Ivies like Brown).

There are people who truly benefit from really high-end peers at places like UChicago or MIT, but these people are not your run-of-the-mill 4.0+ GPA, perfect SAT score, high school valedictorians. Such folks are a dime a dozen at those places, and many of them would thrive more elsewhere, honestly. (I say this as someone with experience at elite private universities, but also R1 publics, average privates, and regional comprehensives.)

If we're talking your average college student, the CSU system gives you all the benefits of small class sizes and deep interaction with faculty, but without intermediate layers and layers of grad students and postdocs that you'd get at any R1, public or private. And at a vastly better price.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by Pdxnative »

As others have pointed out, the relevant distinction is not pubic v. private. No one is putting Yale and U of Denver in the same category, or Michigan and Eastern Washington.

The relevant distinction is between tiers. There are public schools like Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, etc. that most would consider top tier schools and belong in a conversation along with Duke, Vandy, and the like. People can argue about whether HYPSM and similar deserve their own super-upper tier category. But I think most would recognize that there are a lot of privates in the mid and lower tier along with publics, just as there are publics in the top tier.

Now, does Stanford offer things that UCB doesn’t? I think so. Is it worth the extra money? That’s a discussion that’ll depend on the student. But it’ll have no relevance to whether a private school like Tulane or Gonzaga is also worth more money.

Also, as others point out, at most of the mid tier and lower tier privates, strong students will get significant merit aid.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by UpperNwGuy »

02nz wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:23 am
UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:06 am Private universities do not provide a better undergraduate education, but the prestige factor provides a bit of magic in landing a good job after graduation.
There's only a handful of schools where that's true though, and I think the only big one in CA would be Stanford, possibly some of the Claremont colleges and Occidental. I don't think USC or Pepperdine, for example, will look better on the resume than Berkeley or UCLA - very much the reverse, actually.
You're probably correct for west coast. I'm on the northeast where there are many more high-cost, high-profile private schools.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by getthatmarshmallow »

California one of the best public university systems in the world in a state that is the sixth (maybe fifth?) largest economy in the world. If CC to UC, or CSU, is a reasonable route for your child, I'd be hard pressed to think of much better.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by 02nz »

QBoy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:19 pm A related comparison is between elite private universities (such as Harvard) and elite private colleges (such as Williams). For an undergraduate experience, I think the latter are often undervalued compared with the former (and I say that as someone who teaches at the former).
This is an important point that most of the public don't understand. There's a big difference in focus between faculty at Harvard (in particular) and to a lesser extent Yale and Princeton on the one hand, and smaller liberal arts colleges on the other. Research university faculty get tenure primarily on, well, research, not quality of teaching. For many of them teaching is afterthought, and a lot of the teaching is done by TAs.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by neverpanic »

For all its flaws, California, IMO, has one of the best higher ed systems in the country.

It begins with automatic admission to the community college system and for many, the first year is free tuition. Tuition alone may not be a huge savings - after all, textbooks are still textbooks, whether you're at Santa Monica or UCLA - but for the cost conscious, those savings add up.

CA also has the auto-admission to a UC for the top 9% of the class and very high admission rate to CSUs for qualified graduates.

There is also the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG), which allows students to take care of a lot of the gen ed at a CC and then earn admission to a specific UC, though UCLA, Berkeley, and UCSD are not included.

And there is the normal transfer route as well. UC Davis has a 56% acceptance rate for transfers and several other schools in the UC system have similar stats. UCLA and Berkeley are much lower, of course, in the mid-20s.

Last but not least, there are several terrific and highly competitive CSUs. Long Beach State comes to mind.

We all have different goals and worldviews, and want different things for our children, but there is ample opportunity to get an excellent education at an affordable price in CA.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by QBoy »

Charon wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:31 pm
QBoy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:19 pm This is like asking, "Are BMWs worth it compared with Toyotas?" Both cars will drive you to the same place, but many people think there is extra value in the BMW that makes it worth the higher price.
Not really, though, since we're talking about California. In my field (physics), Berkeley is ranked above Cornell, Yale, Columbia, etc. (and vastly above some Ivies like Brown).

There are people who truly benefit from really high-end peers at places like UChicago or MIT, but these people are not your run-of-the-mill 4.0+ GPA, perfect SAT score, high school valedictorians. Such folks are a dime a dozen at those places, and many of them would thrive more elsewhere, honestly. (I say this as someone with experience at elite private universities, but also R1 publics, average privates, and regional comprehensives.)

If we're talking your average college student, the CSU system gives you all the benefits of small class sizes and deep interaction with faculty, but without intermediate layers and layers of grad students and postdocs that you'd get at any R1, public or private. And at a vastly better price.
Even when Berkeley is ranked high, as is the case in many fields, the benefits do not flow to undergrads because of student-teacher ratios, which are three as high at Berkeley as at Harvard or Brown. That's why my friends who teach at Berkeley often send their kids to elite private universities.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:37 pm I'm on the northeast where there are many more high-cost, high-profile private schools.
Yeah, that was obvious from your username :D :oops: :sharebeer
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by tj »

I graduated from a CSU school. I've done alright.

Not sure why you have omitted them from your consideration.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by KFBR392 »

neverpanic wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:44 pm
CA also has the auto-admission to a UC for the top 9% of the class and very high admission rate to CSUs for qualified graduates.
My understanding is this now comes with a "pending available space" asterisk and that you'll rarely get your top choice for a campus. Choosing between a more expensive private school and UC Merced isn't the same as weighing private university vs. UCI.
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by Minty »

There's lots of information about ROI for colleges and universities and social mobility effects out there.

But young people have different needs and personalities, and, because we had prioritized 529 savings for some time (after making out retirement) we elected to send our kids to the schools where they thought they would thrive. They could have gone to very strong UCs and other publics with scholarships, but went to liberal arts colleges with no merit aid.
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Vulcan
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by Vulcan »

MrCheapo wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:03 am I'd be curious to the general answer for all states but in particular California.

In CA our kids have several options when graduating:

1) Go directly into a U.C. (getting very hard now, the incoming mean GPA of some majors is now 4+)
2) Go into a community college and then transfer to a U.C. (but you could luck out and get stuck with a CC degree).
3) Go the private route either in-state or out of state.

The problem is that the cost of an ENTIRE UC 4 year degree in tuition is about $64K which is not much more than a SINGLE year of private school tuition!

So I can't seem to believe that a private school education is every worth it, but maybe I'm missing something.
The few top universities that are arguably worth their price are not ones whose typical student can benefit from community college offerings, and their admissions are significantly more selective than UC (as evidenced by average test scores; e.g. 25%-75% ACT UCLA 29-35; Caltech 35-36).
If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything. ~Ronald Coase
momvesting
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by momvesting »

This depends on a lot of factors involving the kid, their ability to get in to various schools, their major choice (and how certain they are), as well as the family's income and savings. We are among the poorer bogleheads, who utilize tax advantaged accounts to keep our income in the five figures. For us this meant that many top-ranked private schools for my kid's chosen major were about the same cost as the majority of the lower-ranked state universities outside our state (our state does not offer her specific degree choice). Some of the highest ranked state schools for her major, including one of the UCs, were far more money than private at our income level. So when she got in to her top choice, highly-ranked private university, and the aid package put our cost under $30k/yr including room/board, it was a no-brainer for us. If we had to pay full freight for this school, there is no way we would have chosen it.

But that's just one scenario and one kid. If I had another kid who was unsure of their major, or leaning towards a major that our state university has a good program for, I would certainly go the community college or state university near home route.
DidItMyWay
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by DidItMyWay »

Jags4186 wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:26 am Public vs. private doesn't mean much. It always depends on the school. Just from a resume perspective, would you rather have a degree from UC Berkeley or Seattle University? Would you rather have a degree from University of Virginia or from Thomas Jefferson University? Sure, the allure of private is there when you're talking about Harvard, Yale, Williams, Amherst but is the allure there when you're talking about any random tier 2 or 3 private school?
+1

The short answer is "It depends."

You can have them apply to both and compare net costs. Run your numbers through the private universities' online Net Price Calulators. It only takes a few minutes, and you can get an idea of what kind of aid may receive. Many of the top private schools have large endowments and good need based aid.

Also, "worth it" is a subjective term. If we are strictly talking numbers and ROI, you may come to the conclusion that private schools are not "worth it". However, fit and overall eperience are variables that cannot be quantified. Also, a higher price tag may be worth it to you if you can cash flow the tution or have most of the money saved up; however, if you are taking out a crazy amount of student loans to pay for undergrad, then IMHO it would almost never be worth it.
Last edited by DidItMyWay on Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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mceagle555
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by mceagle555 »

As someone who has worked in Higher Education & tech for 20+ years:

- Private university (Top-20) worth it for those going into big-law or government/politics?: Yes. This is all about connections.
- Private university (Top-20) worth it for tech jobs?: No. Focus on good state schools + certifications. Tech is already heavily being swayed towards certifications.
- Private university (Top-20) worth it for liberal arts?: Absolutely not.
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anon_investor
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by anon_investor »

mceagle555 wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:36 pm As someone who has worked in Higher Education & tech for 20+ years:

- Private university (Top-20) worth it for those going into big-law or government/politics?: Yes. This is all about connections.
- Private university (Top-20) worth it for tech jobs?: No. Focus on good state schools + certifications. Tech is already heavily being swayed towards certifications.
- Private university (Top-20) worth it for liberal arts?: Absolutely not.
As former biglaw, I can say undergrad means not all that much good grades are more important, and the LSAT likely the most important. Law school is a different story, if you can get into a top 14/15 law school that cost may be worth it over a lesser law school (if your goal is biglaw).

But I don't think the OP mentioned the kind of private college/university. I think an Ivy league may be worth it over a lesser UC. An Ivy over UC Berkely/LA, tougher call.
Last edited by anon_investor on Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DidItMyWay
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by DidItMyWay »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:47 pm
mceagle555 wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:36 pm As someone who has worked in Higher Education & tech for 20+ years:

- Private university (Top-20) worth it for those going into big-law or government/politics?: Yes. This is all about connections.
- Private university (Top-20) worth it for tech jobs?: No. Focus on good state schools + certifications. Tech is already heavily being swayed towards certifications.
- Private university (Top-20) worth it for liberal arts?: Absolutely not.
As form biglaw, I can say undergrad means not all that much good grades are more important, and the LSAT likely the most important. Law school is a different story, if you can get into a top 14/15 law school that cost may be worth it over a lesser law school (if your goal is biglaw).

But I don't think the OP mentioned the kind of private college/university. I think an Ivy league may be worth it over a lesser UC. An Ivy over UC Berkely/LA, tougher call.
Former BigLaw here too: I agree with anon_investor.
Slow and steady wins the race.
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anon_investor
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by anon_investor »

DidItMyWay wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:51 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:47 pm
mceagle555 wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:36 pm As someone who has worked in Higher Education & tech for 20+ years:

- Private university (Top-20) worth it for those going into big-law or government/politics?: Yes. This is all about connections.
- Private university (Top-20) worth it for tech jobs?: No. Focus on good state schools + certifications. Tech is already heavily being swayed towards certifications.
- Private university (Top-20) worth it for liberal arts?: Absolutely not.
As form biglaw, I can say undergrad means not all that much good grades are more important, and the LSAT likely the most important. Law school is a different story, if you can get into a top 14/15 law school that cost may be worth it over a lesser law school (if your goal is biglaw).

But I don't think the OP mentioned the kind of private college/university. I think an Ivy league may be worth it over a lesser UC. An Ivy over UC Berkely/LA, tougher call.
Former BigLaw here too: I agree with anon_investor.
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hi_there
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by hi_there »

My former classmate is becoming a billionaire due to unicorn fintech that is about to have an IPO. He's the second person I know to be in this situation, as far as I know. I can't count the others who have merely 8 figure net worth or are heading there. We're all in our 30s. I doubt any of this would have been possible without the alumni connections and career incubation from the university we attended.

With this experience in mind, I would say that if you have a shot to attend a very elite private, top 5 maybe, university in the US, then it is a no-brainer decision. What they give you almost cannot be quantified in academic rankings; whatever you have to pay will be worth it. The value is less apparent as you descend in the rankings from there (from what I can tell at least).
interwebopinion
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Re: Are Private Universities Worth It Compared to State Universities?

Post by interwebopinion »

This is an important distinction that I was not clear on. Thanks for the clarification.
neverpanic wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:44 pm There is also the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG), which allows students to take care of a lot of the gen ed at a CC and then earn admission to a specific UC, though UCLA, Berkeley, and UCSD are not included.

And there is the normal transfer route as well. UC Davis has a 56% acceptance rate for transfers and several other schools in the UC system have similar stats. UCLA and Berkeley are much lower, of course, in the mid-20s.
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