Private University Student, Elizabeth Cleave. As a student at Vanderbilt University, Elizabeth Cleave talks about what helped her make a decision to choose a privately held university over a public university.
There is a long tradition of publicly sponsored post-secondary education in the Untied States. But while traditional, state supported colleges and universities have much to offer, they do not fit the requirements of all perspective students. To meet the particular needs a growing population of non-traditional students and persons with non-traditional educational goals, an increasing number of private schools have developed.
Enrolling in a private college, university or academy can be the answer to many peoples' problems. Some individuals are not able to travel to distant schools. They may not be able to afford to live in another location or they may be tied down to where they are by an existing job or family obligation. Many private schools, because of their smaller infrastructure, are able to locate themselves closer to their student base.
Another appeal of many private schools is the lower cost and shorter time required to graduate. Often people go to school to learn specific job skills or professions. While these skills, such as computer programming or business administration, may go way beyond the traditional industrial arts of a vocational technical school, they still lend themselves to the same kind of educational philosophy that vo-tech schools have succeeded with. By focusing on narrowly defined professional goals, continually adjusted to fit the demands of the job market, this breed of private school helps its students enter their chosen fields as quickly and economically as possible.
Another, relatively new, approach to education that has been incorporated and used to great affect by many private institutions is distance learning.
