Why do private colleges cost more than public colleges?
All colleges, whether public or private incur similar costs to educate students — salaries, utilities, supplies, and maintenance of facilities. However, public colleges receive tax dollars from the state to help fund their operating costs, allowing them to offer a lower tuition rate. While tuition is generally lower at a public college, room and board costs tend to be similar at public and private colleges. Other ways that public colleges are able to offer lower tuition is that they usually tolerate a much higher student to faculty ratio, use graduate assistants and/or part-time rather than full-time faculty to teach lower division courses, and employ fewer individuals dedicated to assisting students in a one-on-one fashion. While our total cost for tuition, fees, and room and board for 2009-10 is about $35,500 our average financial aid package is over $22,400. In other words, many UE students receive the benefit of their UE education for no greater expense than that of a public colleg
