Private and Public Universities
Before you finalize the target Universities to apply, it is very important to understand the difference between a public and a private University. There are both private and public Universities which are very well known and the respect for a degree is mostly determined by the academic reputation, and has nothing to do with public or private.But for your application and tuition cost, it may make a difference. The tuition cost at a private University is typically higher as compared to a similarly reputable public university. Also the application fee is higher. It must be very easy to decide then - apply to public Universities. Not exactly.Our goal is to guide you towards the best quality education at minimum cost - TO YOU. Private Universities of similar reputation and ranking pay more to research and teaching assistants. So if you are funded, you might be better off in a private Universities, assuming all other academic factors are equal.
Here are the advantages of public Universities, in terms of funding. Application fee is lower and we know that application cost itself is a big factor for international students. If you are not funded initially, lower tuition helps. Public Universities are typically large, so the chances of getting funded later are brighter. Also many public Universities have a concept of in-state-tuition.
Harvard, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford Universities are private Universities and are among the best in the world. However if you are not exactly the next Einstein and are planning to apply to low ranked Universities, then going for public Universities is a risk free option. In lower end of the spectrum a private University may not have even basic facilities or accreditation and it is difficult to find out because all Universities have awesome websites. If you are admitted to a lower ranked state University, the chances of extreme disappointment is lower and the degree is likely to carry some value compared to that of an unknown private University.
Academic quality, research interests and your admissibility should be the main criteria for University selection, but it is good to know the public private concept for a better decision-making.
How to find out: As a rule of thumb, public Universities include the name of the state. But if the name of a state comes with a “direction”, then the University is not necessarily public. Example: University of Southern California is a private University - a very reputable one.
