There are about 1,600 private colleges and universities in the United States . Some are as old as the nation itself. They range from fewer than 100 students to more than 30,000. The average enrollment is around 1,800.
Private colleges are as diverse as the nation itself. They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church-related institutions, historically black colleges and other institutions that serve primarily racial-ethnic students. Some are two-year schools, others have graduate programs in law, medicine, engineering, business, and fine arts.
Because they offer a wide range of choices, private colleges attract students from a variety of backgrounds, ethnicities and age groups with a wide range of academic interests and career goals.
Education at a private college is a highly personal experience. It is marked by teachers who care about students as individuals and are part of a community of students, faculty and staff who respect and support each other.
Participation
The student-teacher ratio at private colleges is lower than at public institutions. Students are more likely than their public school peers to participate in study groups, meet with faculty outside of class and attend lectures, conventions and field trips.
More than half of all students who attend private colleges participate in volunteer and community service activities.
Affordability
A quality education at a private college or university is affordable to students of all family incomes. Eighty percent of dependent, full-time undergraduate students at private colleges receive some form of financial aid, most of it need-based and much of it coming from the college's own resources.
While the cost of providing education—buildings, books, computers, laboratories, services-is similar at comparable public institutions, private colleges usually cost more because states do not subsidize their tuition as they do for all students at public colleges and universities.
Success
Students who complete their undergraduate degree at a private college are more likely than students at a public institution to do so in four years. That is true for all ethnic groups.
The real key to success, however, lies in the reasoning and social skills and ethical values students acquire at private colleges. By learning to think critically and communicate effectively, and by learning to appreciate education as a lifelong journey, private college students develop the abilities that will serve them well, wherever life may take them.
Source: Independent Colleges and Universities: A National Profile
