Print edition: 
Many prospective college students and other readers may be surprised to learn that private colleges and universities enroll 21 percent of all four-year students in the state of Kansas. We do so efficiently, with no state assistance other than state aid that goes directly to about 65 percent of students with financial need, and we offer small classes with personal care and attention from professors who want to work with undergraduate students. The net results are high-quality experiences with terrific outcomes.
Friends University president Biff Green speaks with appropriate pride about his university's excellent programs in ballet and zoo science.
At Newman University, we have been celebrating the 100 percent pass rate of our graduating students who took the national nursing board exams last May.
This fall we got still more good news. The University of Kansas School of Medicine interviewed 52 percent of applicants for "early decision" to the 2010 class entering medical school, and accepted 73 percent of those it interviewed. All five Newman University senior applicants got interviews, and all five have been accepted.
And we are proud of the teachers we provide throughout the region in western Kansas and in Wichita (for example, two young men who have become mathematics teachers at Wichita North High School in the past two years).
Each of the Kansas private colleges and universities has outcomes of which it is similarly proud. In addition, we all do what we can to make our programs affordable.
The national average for tuition and fees at private universities is $26,273. The average for the Midwest region is $24,467, and the average for the Kansas independent colleges is $17,207. Nationally, room and board stands at an average $9,363, while the Midwest average is $8,026 and Kansas private colleges average $5,631.
Newman's total cost of attendance for 2009-10 increased just a little more than 3 percent, lower than the national average for public and private colleges. What's more, free federal aid based on need, such as the Pell Grant or the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, is the same no matter what the cost of attendance for a student, and between 95 and 100 percent of undergraduate students receive institutional aid of some sort at Kansas private colleges and universities.
When you factor in the need-based Kansas Comprehensive Grant and the aid each institution provides, we are certainly a bargain for private colleges in the Midwest, and may cost less out of pocket than a public university in Kansas.
I urge students to define their educational goals and then explore both private and public options to find the best fit for them. The real costs of pursuing your preferred educational dream could be considerably less than you think — and there's no more important investment than in yourself and your education.
