With the increasing cost of private universities are public universities the best choice?
It is so hard to generalize about whether ALL public universities are a better investment than ALL private universities. Making overall claims can be dangerous. Similarly, making a decision on the whole universe based on comparing just a few colleges has its own set of extrapolations that can translate into a poor decision for a student.
Cost Considerations: Sticker Shock now more than ever
There is a general misconception about the cost of public universities across the board. For many parents that were educated in the 80s and 90s, there was not as much of a difference between an in-state public university and an out-of-state public university. Since the downturn around 2008 and 2009, more students, at least in the Northeast, migrated to public colleges. And along with the pressure on state funding, state colleges began to charge more for out-of-state students to cover their costs.
Yet something went very wrong. According to an article from the New York Times, with tax revenues plunging, states slashed funding to colleges just as millions were seeking to enroll. Public colleges could not adequately educate the influx of students. As their state subsidies shrank, public colleges either restricted enrollment, spent less on educating each student, or raised tuition. Sometimes, they did all three.
There are three categories of public and private 4-year colleges: In-State Public, Out-of-State Public and Private. I selected some popular schools in each of these categories and although there are outliers from the ones I selected, it is easy to see the gaps between these three categories.
In-State Public: $27,000 per year
Out-of-State Public: $51,000 to $56,000 per year
Private: $69,000 to $75,000 per year
Data source: College Navigator