- Around 1,600 private colleges and universities in the United States enroll approximately 2.9 million students.
- While private colleges enroll only about 21 percent of all students, they awarded one-third of all degrees.
- The proportion of minority students enrolled at private colleges is about the same as at four-year public institutions.
- Private colleges enroll about the same proportion of students from families earning less than $30,000 a year as from families earning more than $75,000 a year.
- Approximately 80 percent of dependent, full-time undergraduate students at private colleges receive some form of financial assistance.
- Much of the financial aid awarded to students at private colleges comes from the institutions' own resources. Private college students receive more than four times as much grant aid from institutional sources as from the federal government.
- The average tuition that students pay at private colleges has actually declined over the past decade, if you subtract grant aid and adjust for inflation.
- Most financial aid to undergraduate students at private colleges is based on financial need.
- The majority of private college expenditures are for instruction, scholarships and student services.
- Sixty-five percent of students who receive a Bachelors degree from a private college complete their degree in four years, compared to 34 percent of graduates at state institutions.
- Private college graduates are more likely to pursue advanced study than graduates of public institutions.
- Students who work full time, have a high school equivalency diploma or face other challenges are far more likely to graduate from a private college than a state institution.
- Fifty percent of senior corporate executives received their undergraduate degree from a private college. Of those with graduate degrees, 62 percent received them at a private college.
- More than half of all private college students participate in volunteer and community service activities, averaging eight hours per week.
- More than 40 percent of private college students are 25 or older. Around 30 percent attend part-time.
- Students who have dependents or support themselves attend private colleges at about the same rate as at four-year public institutions.
- Private colleges offer degrees in more than 760 fields of study.
- Approximately 80 percent of the United States population lives within 50 miles of a private college of university.
Sources:
- Independent Colleges and Universities: A National Profile
- Twelve Facts That May Surprise You About America's Private Colleges and Universities.
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