Private vs. Public school admissions

[fbrlauren, BSN]

I'm a SoCal resident, and I'm planning to apply to a few Cal States and some private universities in and out of state. Is there a difference in admissions between private and public schools? A professor recently told me that Cal states/public schools are actually a lot more competitive than public schools. Is this true?

Also, does living close to a school effect admissions at all? I have heard of people saying that it's easier to get accepted in the San Diego State, for example, if they live in the area.

[combsj25]

Interesting question, I would be anxious to hear others' thoughts. While I do not know I would think that Public Schools could be more competitive as more people apply because cost of tuition would be lower than a private school. Seems logical to me, but I have no idea.

Also, I have heard where some schools do blind reviews so as not to give preference to where folks currently reside or where they have taken previous classes, where as others do give some preference to locals and/or where classes were taken.

If you are worried about the competitiveness of your application - I guess my best advice would be spread your applications among various programs - in state, out of state, private, public, etc. Best wishes to you!

[mjo07]

I've heard that private schools are less competitive because less people apply, due to the high costs.

[CareQueen, BSN, RN]

I've also heard that private schools are less competitive because they are more expensive. I'd never actually thought about that much until I read through a lot of threads on this site however. For me, it was about going to a school with the best resources, networking potential, & likelihood of a good finaid pkg. For those reasons I chose to go private.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Yes - inverse correlation between cost and competitiveness which has not changed over the years. I am not including commercial (investor-owned) "schools" in this mix, as they are in the business of selling tuition with little regard for actual degree outcomes; their sales techniques are designed to minimize awareness of cost & consequences of enormous student loans.