Private or Public Schools, What's the Difference?

I remember how, when I was nearing the end of my high school career, it seemed like I was going through a mountain of brochures and catalogs for every college, university, and school in the world. However, when I was going through all of this information, I found myself with a question that I couldn't quite answer right away. That question was what is the difference between a private college or university and a public one? There are a few relatively simple explanations that underscore the main or major differences between public and private schools.

The first thing that makes a public school public is where the funding for the school comes from. Schools like the University of Wyoming, California or Colorado receive a major portion of their funding from the state. This means that the schools are supported through the use of public funds, or tax dollars, to further their research and support their staff. Even though public schools receive a majority of their funds through tax dollars, they still charge a tuition fee for their students; however, this tuition fee is going to be much, much less than it would be at a private school.

Second, since public schools receive most of their money from the state, the state pretty much gets to have a huge say in how the school is run. In fact, the head—or dean—of any state school is usually an appointment made by the governor and approved by the state legislature. When it comes to public schools, the state sponsored schools usually have a much more welcoming admissions criteria than private schools and a more liberal view towards education than many of their private counterparts.

Third, private schools have a perceived benefit of being exclusive. Because of this, an air of prestige and excellence has built up around these schools. In fact, this reputation has built up so much that our society has come up with a "brand name" for the most prestigious of those schools, which we call the Ivy League. Over the years, the Ivy League schools have built up such a reputation for excellence in education, that simply being able to attend one of them (no matter how long) has given many people a foot into their dream job just because of the school name on their diploma.

Finally, despite the many excellent academic research programs in many state or public schools, the private colleges and universities have a reputation when it comes to research. If you are interested in helping out with actual research, then you should not blind yourself to a potential school, simply because it is a state school rather than a private college or university. Take a look at the individual programs, who is involved in them, and their reputation before making your decision.