Public or Private College – Which Should I Choose?

Hello friends!

A common question for those seeking Higher Education is about the differences between private colleges and public colleges (state or federal). In this text, I will talk about the main differences so that you can choose the best option for you. As I have been working at universities since 2002, I think I can help you with your choice.

Advantages of Public College

In Brazil, we have a curious fact: people who have better financial conditions, send their children to private school from kindergarten to high school and, later, in high school or higher education (college), they want them to enter a public university. The Public University – for those who don’t know – is a type of University, with several faculties, which is maintained by the Government, state or federal.

The main advantage is that it is not necessary to spend on enrollment or monthly fees. All costs for maintaining the courses are paid by the Government, which, of course, in turn receives money from our taxes.

But, in addition to this advantage of being free, Higher Education in Public Colleges is due to a special factor: all teachers are public servants and have career stability. Which means, in practical terms, that each professor (after going through the probationary period of 2 years) will remain there at the University until they retire due to length of service or reach the age of 70, when retirement is compulsory.

If we imagine that we are in the teacher’s position, we will see that it is a very interesting work situation. For example, a professor – knowing that he will continue with the group he has just joined until the end, giving some disciplines and internships – will be able to program his work in the long term and, with that, he will be able to create projects, elective subjects, guide students in scientific initiations (with and without scholarship). Finally, he will not only have the autonomy to create his own work project, but will also have the certainty that he will continue to perform the function for a long period.

This factor makes teaching and learning quality.

Advantages of Private College

If the main advantage of public colleges is teacher stability, in some cases this can be a disadvantage. Unfortunately, there are professors who are not interested in teaching or research. The only interest is to receive the salary and go home. But, as there is stability due to the competition, it is difficult for students to complain about lazy, incompetent or unfair teachers in the evaluations.

Seen from this angle, the lack of stability of professors in private colleges is an advantage, since if the professor is unable or willing to teach, if he does not have a talent for teaching or if he is arbitrary in the grades, the student has someone to turn to and, often , the private college dismisses the professor for the negative judgment of a class.

However, it is important to point out that the best private colleges have a relatively stable career plan so that, as in public colleges, professors can develop their work in the long term.

If a while ago public colleges also stood out for having teaching staff with a greater number of doctors than private ones, we are now seeing that good universities also have specialist teachers, masters and doctors. In this regard, public colleges are still, in general, better, that is, professors at federal ones, in most cases, are already doctors.

Differences in the Labor Market

It is still common to think that students graduated from public universities have an advantage in the job market, if we compare them with private universities. When I worked with Human Resources, doing hundreds of selection processes, I only saw an industry requirement that trainee candidates be graduates of state colleges. In all the other selection processes in which I participated, there was no difference.

I think that this market assessment is due to the growth of private universities, which in recent decades have managed to improve their teaching staff and teaching in general.

From what I could see – personally – people who graduate from private colleges of psychology education is more geared towards the labor market and people who graduate from public universities have more opportunities for academic research. For this reason, roughly speaking, it could be said that in public universities (at least in psychology), teaching tends more towards theories, while in private universities, teaching is more practical, as if the whole objective of a higher education course were get a job vacancy. As theory is necessary for good practice, it may happen that someone knows how to apply a psychological test, but does not know how to interpret it, for not knowing the implicit theory.

With that, unfortunately, I saw very badly trained students, that is, students from the private network, who did not have adequate training. The question that arises is whether learning depends on the student or the teachers or the place of training.

Well, in general, at least in my area of ​​expertise, I can say that students from public universities have a better, more complete education, both in theory and in practice. It was with great regret that I saw graduates from private schools who knew almost nothing about psychology…

That is, the academic environment will influence training, of course. We enter college without knowing much about what will be studied or how to study or what to study. Therefore, we are guided by teachers. It turns out that some private colleges are very bad (just look at the MEC’s ​​evaluations in Enade), which makes the best student at a private school an average student at a public school. This saying on average. Extreme cases and exceptions to the rule will always exist.

An important caveat is that we have private universities that are excellent. For example, in São Paulo, PUC and Mackenzie are high-level colleges. I had the opportunity to meet professors there and I recommend it. By the way, both are well-known and renowned colleges.

Choosing public or private college?

Well, this is a question that must be analyzed in conjunction with each one’s conditions and circumstances.

If you can study for the entrance exam or ENEM and have a great chance of passing a federal one and if, in addition, you can either live in the city that will offer the course or commute every day, I suggest that you choose a federal college or state.

If you probably won’t reach the cut-off point to enter the course you want, or if you can’t afford to move to another city (or state) to attend a federal one, I suggest you go to a private college.

Above I mentioned the names of PUC and Mackenzie, but there are other quality colleges that are nationally known. It is also important to note that some colleges are known for excellence in a particular degree. That is, they are excellent in law school, for example. Therefore, if you want to study law, you should find out about the best undergraduate courses available near you.

If you don’t have the money to pay for college reference in the desired course, you have options: get financing with scholarships and then pay less or be exempt, or even finance college to pay after you graduate (in Fies). If you don’t get scholarships or funding, the solution is to find a college that has an affordable price and fits your budget.

It is also important to point out that, for those who live in the interior, sometimes the only option available is a smaller college in the region. Studying at colleges of this size can be interesting, yes, but it is necessary to calmly analyze whether the college has MEC authorization, whether students are satisfied with the course, whether there are already formed classes, among other factors.

Conclusion

I spoke above of a hierarchy for the choice, if the conditions are available, the ideal would be to choose in this order:

1) Public college (state or federal), for the following reasons: we don’t need to spend on tuition or enrollment and most of the time, the teaching is of quality and superior to other colleges, allowing scholarships for scientific initiation, continuity of study in master’s and doctorate, scholarships outside Brazil.

2) Well-known private colleges: because colleges like PUC and Mackenzie have been in the market for decades, have excellent, dedicated and stable professors, have comfortable facilities and high-level students (since the entrance exam is also demanding).

3) Private colleges that are a reference in a course: in many cases, the university itself is not so well known, but it is a reference in one or two teaching areas. With this, although the university is not a reference in itself, it becomes a mark of quality for certain undergraduate courses.

4) Colleges in small towns: usually have a low cost and for many it may be the only option to study. This does not mean that they are of low quality, but they would still be at a lower level compared to the others.

In addition to these options, an alternative that has been gaining strength is distance learning. You can see the free and online colleges in this text:

– Online and free: courses and colleges for free on the internet

If you have any questions, please leave your comment below and I will respond as soon as possible!

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