As difficult as it is to transfer, it’s a process many community college students go through. When applying for transfer, students have to weigh out the many schools to choose from. For some, a public state college like San Francisco State University should suffice, while others aim for a private college like Dominican University.

The term “private college” has been stained with such a negative connotation, though. Some students say that private schools are a complete waste of money, but contrary to popular belief, this stigma is wrong. Private colleges are not a waste.

Upon meeting new students at Skyline, the most common questions to ask are “what’s your major?” and “where do you plan to transfer?”

A majority of the time, the responses include colleges such as UC Davis or CSU Long Beach. Rarely do students choose to attend private colleges. If anything, they spit at the word “private” and transition into a rant on how private colleges aren’t worth attendance.

One of the main reasons people frown upon private colleges is because of the high tuition rates. According to the College Board, the average tuition in the 2015-2016 school year for private colleges was estimated to an average of $32,405, while public colleges totaled to $9,410. These numbers are high enough to scare students away from applying, but the outcome of attending a private college is well worth the bill.

Attending a private college has many benefits. Due to the high tuition, students are supplied with greater and higher quality resources. Private colleges also tend to have a smaller population, an estimated average of about 1,920 students, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).

This small size shows lower student to faculty ratios, giving students more access to their professors and a higher chance of personally communicating with them. This is opposed to a public college, where lecture halls are composed of 200 students and one professor, where a student may hardly know anyone else’s name.

Furthermore, the faculty at private colleges work closely with their students to ensure they’re on the right path to graduate on time. It is shown that 79 percent of students graduate from private schools in four years, compared to the 49 percent that graduate from public state universities.

Upon researching about the transfer process myself, I, like many others, limited my search to public state campuses. After researching graduation rates, degrees offered and extra curricular activities, I found that some CSU’s were a perfect match for me, while none of the UC’s fit my interests. Some lacked the programs I needed, and others lacked environmental appeal.

This led me to immerse myself in the world of private colleges. Anyone would love to save thousands of dollars by attending a public college, but the thought of whether or not you’ll be happy at the school you choose is most important.

The debate of private colleges versus public colleges was born long ago, and there ultimately isn’t an answer of which college is better. There will always be arguments between the two, but the ultimate argument comes down to money. While the cost of college is one of the main aspects in determining where to apply, it shouldn’t govern the entire decision. There is nothing wrong with attending a private college and the negative stigma associated with them is only an opinion of others.