6-21-07 College Answer Guy Column

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6-21-07

College Q and A

Why are some schools so much more expensive than others? Does the amount of tuition reflect the quality of education?

You’re probably talking about the difference in price between public and private colleges and universities. You may have seen last week’s column in which I quoted the College Board’s Trends in College Pricing 2006, listing tuition and fees at 4-year public institutions averaging $5,836 and $22,218 at 4-year private institutions. Quite a difference, huh? Public means they are funded by the state (from taxes), and private means they are privately funded – through monies raised from alumni, private foundations, etc. or by a particular religious denomination. In my state, Oklahoma, the tuition and fees paid by college students only covers less than one third of the total cost of their education (http://www.okhighered.org/studies-reports/report-card/KIA2006/kia2006.pdf). The taxpayers of the state pay the other (over) two thirds. In private schools, the tuition charged more closely reflects the total cost of the students’ education. As you can see, a college education is expensive, no matter how you look at it.

As for the cost of tuition reflecting the quality of education, I’m not sure you can make that assumption. Many highly respected public universities charge much lower tuition rates than some less highly respected (or maybe not as well known) private institutions. Some of the most respected colleges and universities are, however private. Often, the quality of the education you receive from a school has more to do with you, how you make use of the opportunities available to you, the quality of the particular academic program you major in, and the “fit” with your particular goals, than it does with the name of the school or the amount of tuition you pay.

When should I be making all those visits to college campuses?

The most common time to visit campuses is the summer before your senior year begins. Since that’s not always possible, use the year between December of your junior year and December of your senior year. That way by the start of Spring of your senior year you’ll be able to start narrowing things down.

I hear people talking about it all the time, but I have no idea what they’re talking about. What’s the Student Union?

The Student Union is kind of the center of activity on a college campus. It’s a building where there may be some administrative offices, but it’s main purpose is for students. There are lots of different kinds of spaces there, meant to house many different types of activities. There will usually be community areas where students can gather individually or in groups – like a food court or food service area, and meeting rooms of various sizes and designs. There may be shops (including the campus bookstore), recreational facilities (like an arcade or something like a bowling alley), and will likely have either a computer lab, wi-fi access, or both. You may not have any classes there, but you’ll certainly have meetings and other student events there. You will probably have a reason to go there most days you’re in college.

Contact the College Answer Guy or submit questions for him to answer at lance@collegeanswerguy.com and visit his web sites at http://www.collegeanswerguy.com and http://collegeprep.okstate.edu.

Next week... Choosing a Major.