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Submitted by: Susan Appleby
A person’s education is one of the biggest factors in determining the course of that person’s life. When I use the term ‘education,’ I don’t just mean the actual process that the particular person goes through to become more intelligent and more able to perform tasks better and more effectively as a member of society, I also mean the specific steps that this person takes to become educated.
Even if, on paper, two different institutions are similar, and even if (on paper) the degree a person earns from the two schools is comparable, the experience that a student has at one institution and the experience that a student has at another institution can make a world of difference in that student’s life.
It is in the nature of today’s places of higher learning that any educational decision that you make will have a profound impact on the rest of your life. Picking whether or not to go to college, and then making a decision about which college to go to, will determine not just which professors and students you will spend time around, or which programs and classes you will be able to choose from, but also which city you will live in, and for how long, and, a major consideration that many students spend far too little time thinking, how much you will have to pay each month until you pay off your student loans.
One of the most fundamental questions that this whole issue boils down to is this: is it better to attend a state (public) university, or a private university? There are many factors to consider either way, but let’s try to think of this question in terms of the two major questions people need to ask themselves.
First of all, where will you get a better education? First of all, you need to define what you mean by a ‘better education.’ In many situations, people want a better education because they want a better job, and it is generally true that a diploma from one school does not carry much more weight with employers than a diploma from another school does, as long as both school are accredited legitimate institutions. With the exception of a few types of professional situations, employers care more about what kind of experience and recommendations you have in their field, and how you handle the interview, than they do about where you went to school.
The other major question is this: which type of school gets you more value for your money? Very often, private colleges and universities cost far more than their public counterparts. Many high school students are encouraged not to think about money when it comes to education, because making the right choice for the best education is more important than money, but this seems like advice that expensive colleges came up with.
The fact of the matter is that once you graduate from school, you will have to pay off your loans, and those can be well over a hundred thousand dollars if you attend a private school. There is an extraordinary cost difference associated with going to a private school, so if you make that choice, be sure that you have a concrete reason to go there, and you have a realistic plan for paying off debt afterward.
Don’t get sucked into the ‘prestige’ of going to one school over another. Plan ahead so that you don’t get stuck for years paying off loans that you might not have needed to take out.
About the Author: Susan Appleby likes to help students and their parents to discover the
best SAT prep course
for them. She helps out over at the
test prep
blog Testing Is Easy. Susan also likes to write articles about many other topics as well, like education and school.
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