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Public vs. Private: Finding your college niche

Esther Farler-Westphal ~ Staff Writer

Don’t tell Mark Lebrun that he’s a slacker.

Don’t tell Jessie Reuteler that she’s a spoiled brat.

Lebrun is an engineering major at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, which is named fifth in the country for chemical engineering by US News. Just because he attends a public school doesn’t mean that he is stupid.

Reuteler is a psychology major and French literature minor at the University of Chicago, which is named eighth in the country by US News. But just because she attends a high profile private college doesn’t mean that she’s a rich snot.

While high school seniors are deciding where to spend the next four years of their lives, they are hoping to find a niche where they fit in. According to US News only 50 percent of college bound high school seniors end up graduating, which shows the importance of this decision. Many students consider both private or public universities, but disregard one type or another because of the misconceptions he has adopted.

The associate director of operation and recruitment at Northern Illinois University, Tim Carter, once worked for North Western University as well as the University of Chicago. When comparing the Universities for which he’s worked he said , “Well, they are just different.”

“You get out of your education what you put into it.” One isn’t a better bang for the buck, “it’s a different bang for your buck. It really depends on the individual. Take the opportunities that you can.”

Lebrun enjoys going to Mechanical Engineering Laboratory at his public university. “You work on homework with other people. Chances are there will be someone who is working on the same thing as you or has already done it. I go there to get help from people smarter than me.”
In four years of high school Lebrun got straight A’s except for Mr. Conboy’s biology class and a gym class that he can’t seem to remember much about. He now has a 3.49 GPA. “Freshman year is like a repeat of high school, physics, calculus etc. Then they start teaching more and more new things. Straight A’s are almost unheard-of in engineering.”
As stated by the College Board website, the average annual cost of a private four year college is $26,000 and can range much higher in the Chicago area. The average annual cost of a public four year university is $7,020.

But the director of Undergraduate Admission at Roosevelt University ,Christy Harper, and the Assistant Director of Admission at Roosevelt, Carina Santoyo, believe that there’s more to the tuition than just the ticket price.

“It’s important to take a look at the overall picture. Most people think that they can’t afford a private University, but there are many financial resources available such as institutional grants.” The average Roosevelt student receives $7,000 a year in merit based aid.

Along with the financial aid she receives, Reuteler helps pay her hefty UChicago tuition with an on campus job in the admissions office. She interviews prospective undergrads and answers any questions which they may have.

“At UChicago, lots of people have campus jobs. Some kids work in the library, in coffee shops or even researching in their field.”
Harvard and some other “elite private universities and colleges have abolished student loan programs in favor of grants,” according to the website gocollege.com.

The University of Chicago recently launched a $400 million Odyssey Scholarships. Fifty-five million dollars is awarded each year for need and merit, “to ensure that undergraduate students of all backgrounds, regardless of economic circumstances” can have the opportunity to study at U Chicago.

A student must decide for himself whether he or she is looking for a larger or smaller school.

“Small schools can nurture their students and help them take charge of their time,” said Carter. “In big schools, the resources are there, but the students have to find the resources, it’s not the other way around.”
But Lebrun loves “all the crazy clubs and all the crazy people you can meet,” at a large public school.

“It can be a hard transition from a small high school to [auditorium sized classes]. At a small school, students get more professor attention,” said Roosevelt’s Santoyo.

“It’s also important to consider class sizes,” said Carter. “At state schools you have TAs and just larger classes in general. You have to figure out what’s right for you”

“Class sizes could be improved, but it doesn’t really bother me,” said Lebrun.

Reuteler likes her intimate discussions, and she feels like she’s getting basic but valuable skills that make a foundation for critical thinking which she’ll be able to apply to everything.

“[These classes] change your perspective on the world. Sometimes I get ridiculously into a small assignment because it inspires me.”

Carter’s advice for college bound high school seniors is to: “Do some soul searching and gravitate toward what you are looking for.”

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