<p>I have been accepted to Western Washington University and Seattle University. I like both schools. Western seems like it would be more exciting and fun to be at, however Seattle is much more prestigious and has a better accounting program (what I plan to study). From an employers point of view, what would best? Cost aside, what would CC’ers recommend? </p>
<p>I’m sure this general question (private vs public) has been asked many times over so I appologize for redundancy.</p>
<p>Private is always better because at private institutions, you are considered a student and not a number. You will have a lot of opportunities to prepare yourself for a career.</p>
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<p>Possibly the worst advice possible. I would go with these conditionals:</p>
<p>Is money a big factor? If yes, choose the cheaper option (may indeed be the private depending on aid/scholarship packages) as long as the concentration you want exists, which it does in this instance.</p>
<p>If money is not a big factor, is one of the program significantly (as in head and shoulders) over the other? If yes, then go with that one. If no, then still choose the one with the lower cost. A dollar saved is much more than a dollar earned.</p>
<p>If neither of those are true, then yes choose the college that you feel fits your personality better. For the majority of students, the first two should take precedence though. Purely my own opinion, I’m sure there are some who differ. Although anyone telling you that privates are always better or to always go with the cheaper option (the extremes) are doing you no favors.</p>
<p>I should have thought about costs, but usually nowadays financial packages from private schools make the cost to attend equivalent to that of a state school.</p>
<p>I’m definitely not being extreme when I say go to a private school though. They practically spoon feed you and care about the education you get. You don’t go to class just for the sake of going to class like most students do at state schools. You go to class to learn and in the end you end up learning critical thinking and analytical skills that can be applied to a wide variety of careers. </p>
<p>I’m specifically talking about private LACs. Private LACs > State Schools. Always if you’re leaving money out of the question. </p>
<p>You have a better relationship with your professors, thus leading to quality recommendations. There is an actual sense of community, which helps you personally build a network.</p>
<p>Private schools also have access to a wide variety of internships that are set aside for the students. At state schools you have to compete with so many other people for internships and there is no guarentee that you will get one. </p>
<p>Professors have more accessible office hours and there’s a small student to professor ratio. </p>
<p>I could go on and on, but private > public if we are leaving out financial aid. Private isn’t always expensive. Just don’t be ignorant and assume that they are. Wait until you see your financial package for each school that accept you and compare them.</p>
<p>If you read what I wrote, I noted that the private option may be in fact cheaper than the public. And yes, saying a private education is always best is an extreme opinion whether you personally believe it’s true or not. Especially as the OP seems fairly focused on a career in accounting, which generally do not recruit much from LACs… so I’m not sure why you even brought them up to begin with. Your posts read like you have a opinion on which type of schools are “better” with a checklist of only pros and completely ignored what the OP was actually looking for.</p>
<p>Seattle prestigous? I don’t know about that, if it is, it’s insignificantly so. And generally, bigger schools, such as WWU tend to have more recruiting, but you’ll have to do some research. But based on the very little I know about both programs, I’d recommend Western. </p>
<p>Although, if you’re going for accounting in WA, I’d recommend UofW, WSU, or Gonzaga.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help guys. You have allowed me to view this with a different perspective.
Upon further examination of my financial aid award, after scholarships and grants, I will be paying $2500 out of pocket in addition to 7500$ in sub/unsub loans for tuition for my freshman year (this doesn’t take into account room/board/personal expenses). Is this too much? </p>
<p>Once again I do appreciate the detailed responses!</p>
<p>What are the costs between the two schools? Does one have a program that is notably better than the other, like being internationally accredited, something very few programs are? How do they each handle the transition to getting that CPA and prepping for the exam at each school? Do they just leave you to figure it out yourself, or are there some set paths for which there is guidance? Do you prefer one school over the other for daily living? How are the other programs at the schools? If you change your mind, does one school have better options and programs that you can enter? ANd then what are the cost diffrentials? Unless there is something big that is so different between the schools, the cost is important. You will likely do equally well with a CPA going to either school. So the experience and cost are big factors here, but look at all of the issues and see if any strike you as important.</p>