Private colleges are owned by a body that isn’t the government. They may be non-profit, profit, or parochial (church).

The “owners” of a college decide that that college does. Many private colleges are able to implement interesting new ideas much faster than those who are required to work with the government.

Since public colleges are funded by tax dollars whereas the privates are funded by tuition, the privates then to have to charge higher tuition. But, this isn’t always true.

Private colleges aren’t government owned, they have no in-state vs out-of-state tuition like the publics. An out-of-state public often costs more than a private.

As for quality – this varies from school to school and is about the school and not whether it is public or private; there are some very poor schools in both categories. That said, the top ranked public university is below 21 other privates in the USNWR rankings of top schools.

I never went to a private college. I went to community college for 2 years. I took financial aid there. then after 2 years I transferred out to a Public University. I also got financial aid over there. Now I am a Registered Nurse and I am making $75,000 a year. The reason I went to community college first—– they offer the same first two years courses for a lot less. I didn’t want to pay crazy amount for basic courses. I didn’t have to take SAT. I don’t have any loans on my head. My friends who went straight to a Private University have tons of loans on their heads.

Santa Clara University and Stanford are private colleges

Cal Berkley and UCLA are state universities

San Jose State University and CSU Long Beach are also state colleges.

I went to University of Kentucky and I paid a lot of money, but generally private colleges can cost a lot more then state colleges

Private colleges depend on what they charge plus what money they can get people to donate.

Public colleges often get public funds… sometimes from the state.. sometimes from other entities.

Other differences? Well, each college is different depending on what subjects they are strongest in teaching.