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Private College: Your Best Choice Choosing a college or university may be the most difficult choice you'll ever have to make. To be sure, there are lots of tough choices in life, but for most of them you don't have over 3,000 options! Half of all the accredited colleges and universities in the U.S. are private. Among private institutions, you'll find traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church-and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges and universities, women's colleges, two-year colleges, and professional schools. They're located in every state and in rural, urban, and suburban campus settings. The 2.9-million students who are currently enrolled in private colleges and universities are there for different reasons. Here are just some of the reasons why they chose-and perhaps you should choose-a private college or university. Your classes will be smaller, allowing for more challenging and interactive learning. The number of students at private colleges and universities varies from fewer than 1000 to more than 30,000 students. The average enrollment is 1,868 compared to 9,725 in four-year state colleges and universities. Given the smaller ration of faculty to students-for example, 9:1 at Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and 8:1 at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia-your presence will really count and you'll be an active participant in class. At some colleges, like Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, you'll be able to take special seminars in your first and second years. These smaller classes and seminars will help you develop your capacity for critical thinking and self-expression. You'll get to know your classmates better and see familiar faces throughout the day. And your fellow classmates will be stimulating: most National Merit Scholars are enrolled in private colleges and universities. You'll have more personal contact with highly qualified professors. Because your classes will be smaller, you'll be able to develop close relationships with your professors. You certainly won't be anonymous or asleep at the back of a large lecture hall! For example, at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, it's rare when a professor doesn't know each student by the second week of class. Your professors will be more accessible, too: most have scheduled office hours for conferences with students-and many even give out their home telephone numbers. A biology professor at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon had more than 1,000 students to dinner during his 20 years there. You'll have access to state-of-the-art computer technology. Private colleges and universities have invested widely in computer technology-everything from campus-wide intranet systems to fiber-optic Internet connections in the dorms. And at private colleges, you'll have lots of opportunities for hands-on use of technology. At Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, every member of the freshman class received and IBM ThinkPad® notebook computer as part of an ambitious and innovative Mobil Computing Program. Your fellow students will come from diverse backgrounds. Contrary to popular opinion, the proportion of minority students in private colleges and universities is about the same as that of state institutions (24% private, 25% state). Beyond that, at private colleges and universities the same proportion of students come from families earning less than $30,000 a year as from families earning more than $75,000 a year. Among all students enrolled in private colleges, those who are 25 or older account for 41% women 55%, and part-time students 30%. And private colleges and universities attract many students who are the first in their families to attend college-35% of freshman-according to a recent survey. Private colleges and universities are affordable. Too many people think private colleges and universities aren't affordable., However, more than twice as many private colleges have tuition and fees less than $10,000 as have tuition and fees more than $20,000. In 1999, the average was about $12,000. More important, few students at private colleges and universities pay the full, advertised 'sticker price.' Philanthropy, alumni gifts, and endowment earnings make it possible for colleges to offer generous financial aid packages. Eighty percent of dependent, full-time undergraduates at private colleges received some for of financial assistance in 1998-99. The average full-time undergraduate art a four-year private college or university received approximately $11,000 in financial aid during that period. You'll graduate with life skills, not just a diploma. In many private colleges and universities, the emphasis is on developing the whole person, not just the intellect. Everyone at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, for example, agrees to live by an Honor System that holds him or her to a high stet of personal and community values. At many institutions, you'll find a commitment to community service. Students at the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon travel to South Dakota for the spring break Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge or spent their first weeks of summer volunteering in Oaxaca, Mexico., students at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington, spend 21,000 hours assisting people in need throughout the city and around the world. You'll be more likely to complete your undergraduate degree in four years. If you go to a private college or university, you're more likely to graduate within for years. Over two-thirds of students who rece9ived their undergraduate degrees from four-year private institutions were able to graduate in four years, compared with 34% of graduates of four-year state institutions. Some private colleges and universities like Doane College in Crete, Nebraska take it one step further: they guarantee you will graduate in four years. At Regis University in Denver, Colorado, if you don't graduate in four years, they'll pay for the additional classes required. You'll be more likely to go on to graduate school. Students who receive their undergradeuat4e degrees at private colleges and universities are more likely to pursue graduate studies than their state college or university counterparts. Students at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, for example, are consistent finalists for a number of postgraduate scholarships, including the Rhodes, Marshall, and Truman scholarships. The college has had two National Science Foundation fellows and nine Fulbright Scholarship winners in the last six years. Reed College in Portland, Oregon has produced 30 Rhodes Scholars since 1915. Individualized career guidance will help you get a better job when you graduate. Of 70,000 leading executives with graduate degrees, 62% received them at a private colleges or universities. Most private colleges and universities have a high rate of placement: at Lehigh University, for example, 93% of graduates were employed or in graduate school with six months of graduation. AT Bryant College in Smithfield, Rhode Island, the Office of Career Services offers various workshops, a sophomore career development course, and alumni shadowing program, mock interviews, and individual counseling. You may not even have to leave the campus to find a job: at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, over 500 corporations and agencies came to campus to recruit graduating students. By: Sybilla Green Dorros | |
