Private Colleges and Universities

Private schools vary widely in size, location, academic programs, and institutional missions. For instance:
❏ Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, with more than 26,000 students, is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
❏ Landmark College in Putney, Vermont, is a two-year school with about 400 students, exclusively serving students with dyslexia, AD/HD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), or specific learning disabilities.
❏ Wilmington College in New Castle, Delaware, is nonresidential, open access, and nonsectarian, with more than 7,500 students. Admissions standards generally vary from open access to highly selective. The schools are financed by tuition, fees, and endowment earnings; gifts from individuals, businesses, and foundations; and some government appropriations.
Fast Facts about Private Schools
❏ There are about 1,600 private two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States.
❏ Tuition and fees average $19,710.
❏ The average tuition that students pay at private colleges has actually declined over the past decade, once you subtract grant aid and adjust for inflation.
❏ Two-thirds of grants given consider financial need; one-third is based entirely on factors other than need.
❏ The proportion of students from racial and ethnic minorities is almost the same as at four-year state schools.
❏ Students who work full-time, have a high school equivalency diploma, or face other challenges are more likely to graduate from a private school than from a state school.
❏ Students are as likely to earn their degree in four years at a private school as they are in six years at a state school.
Why I Chose a Private School
I thought at first I would have to go to a public school, in-state, because I couldn’t afford a private school. After applying to different places, I found that a private school can be cheaper.
At first I looked at smaller colleges fairly close to where I live [Harrogate, Tennessee].
Then, for the heck of it, I printed out the list of the top 200 liberal arts colleges from U.S. News, did a search on www.collegeboard.com for colleges that fit my criteria, and visited the Web sites of the schools that appeared on both lists. Once I got my list down to 10, I called admissions offices.
Through that search, I ended up here with a full scholarship. I was also offered a half scholarship from Centre College [Danville, Kentucky]. When I went there for the Governor’s Scholars Program, I was with 300 students and got the feel of a small college. Actually, as a Governor’s Scholar, I could have had my way paid at a state school. But at a private school you hardly ever have a class of more than 25, and for the majority of professors, teaching is their focus. They do research as well, but their main focus is students. I’ve been asked out to lunch by every one of my professors. That would not happen in a class with 200 kids. Here, if you need help, you have the professors’ phone numbers. I highly encourage anyone interested in a private college to let people in the admissions office know you really want to attend that school. Call and let them know how things are going.