by L K. J

Created on: January 12, 2008

Massachusetts has long stood as a national leader in education, research and scientific development. According to the U.S board of Education there are a total of 55 independent and 29 public institutions of higher learning in the state, not to mention the highest concentration of PhDs in the world and one of the highest educated workforces in the nation.

Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Northeastern. Names of some highly prestigious private Universities and colleges in Massachusetts. In the Public arena we have University of Massachusetts- with campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell , Worcester and an additional list of community and state colleges.

The contribution of both public and private institutions to the region's economic and social standards has been staggering. The infinitely valuable resource of the human intellect has been and continues to be impressively mined in this great state, standing as perhaps the greatest natural resource and leading industry' in the state.

In spite of these glowing reviews, a closer examination of academic quality and institutional distinction between the public and private schools of higher learning in MA reveals a surprising trend. According to the upcoming February 2008 issue of the highly noted Kiplinger's Personal Finance' magazine, of the 29 public universities and colleges in Massachusetts, only one school ranks in the Top 100 best value Public Colleges' as compared to eight of their counterparts in the Top 100 Best value Private Colleges'.

Why the division? Why are the private colleges lauded more and rated higher than the public colleges?

According to the website, www.kiplinger.com , the ranking takes into account academic quality, cost of attendance and financial aid, with quality accounting for the bulk two-thirds of the total. There are two major factors that serve to, at least partially, answer the question of division in ranking between the public and private schools.

ADMISSION RATES

In surveying the national higher education landscape, it is interesting to note that MA is the only state in the nation with more students enrolled in private than in public colleges. Yearly both public and private colleges educate 416,000 students, with 227,000 of these attending private schools. Unlike the public colleges, the private institutions are employing vigorous and more generously funded recruiting and enrollment efforts with attempts to inform and garner applications from as many qualified students as possible.The percentage

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