

Adults with an undergraduate degree have an unemployment rate of 8% while adults with only a high school diploma have an unemployment rate of 28.8%. A year's worth of education from a university can range anywhere from 3,000 dollars to 40,000 dollars.  When thousands of dollars are being spent to secure your future you want to be sure that the degree you get will separate you from the rest of the pack. Many people have trouble choosing a university and the size of the school tends to be the deciding factor, but what are the differences between a big university and a small college? The question becomes what benefits does a degree from a national university give you when applying for a white collar job position? To answer this question, one must first define what a national university is and what a private college is. Then we have to look at what makes these two institutions different in how they operate and what they offer to students. Finally, we'll take a look at the interviewer's point of view and what they look for in their potential new employee. 

A common misconception most people make is that a college and a university are the same thing; but there are distinct factors that separate the two. "Colleges only offer and focus on undergraduate programs" (Lucier) while "Universities, on the other hand, usually offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees" (Lucier). A graduate degree is a huge advantage in the job market especially when competing for white collared jobs but getting into graduate school isn't easy. Students that go to smaller private colleges have the ability to achieve their undergraduate degree but if they decide to try and acquire a graduate degree they must apply to universities which are very competitive. However, if you acquire your undergraduate degree from a university and apply to that university's graduate program your chances of getting in are greatly improved. The other advantage of staying at the same university for your graduate degree is that you don't have to adapt to a environment which makes the transition between your undergrad degree and your graduate degree much smoother because the transition from a small college to a large university can be tough for some students. Universities also tend to be public, giving them more flexibility in spending opposed to private colleges. 

A public university offers more in regards of degrees and tends to be cheaper due to the money received by the government. An article published by Peterson's staff on September 29th, 2015 discusses the overall differences between public universities and private colleges. The first major difference is how public universities are funded compared to private colleges. "Most public universities are funded by the government which allows them to focus on other parts of the school rather then being limited by a strict budget like most private colleges are" (Peterson's Staff). Tuition is another clear difference; most public universities can offer a cheaper tuition which is easy to pay off after graduating compared to the more expensive private colleges. The last major difference Peterson's research showed was the range of degrees that a public university can offer versus a private college. "Most public universities can offer a wide range of degrees" (Peterson's staff), which can allow a student to change majors without transferring compared to a private college which might not offer the major you want. When comparing these two types of institutions the differences are drastic, but the results after graduating also differ. 

Attending a national university will give you better chances of securing a job straight out of school. A study conducted by Nerdwallet took the top 240 undergraduate programs and analyzed over 300,000 students from the years 2009 through 2011 covering the employment rate, salaries, and which major leads to the highest income. The data reported that the highest employment rates came from national universities, especially students that specialized in engineering or business. However, students that graduated from private but smaller well regarded colleges had a 20% increase in pay compared to the larger universities. The real deciding factor in guaranteeing a job was the major of the student. "The two majors that stood out in this study were Business with a 64% employment rate and Engineering with a 54% employment rate; but students that were Engineering majors had a 29% increase in salary over business majors" (NerdWallet). The information from this study suggests that when applying for a white collar job graduates with a degree from a larger more popular university have better chances of securing a job; but are paid less money than a graduate with a degree from a smaller college. The statistics from this study doesn't cover the interviewing process which is also a huge component in the processes securing a job.

Lynn O'Shaughnessy is an interviewer for a federal agency and her job includes interviewing graduates straight out of college. In an article written by O'Shaughnessy she talks about the process of interviewing and what she looks for in a potential new employee. First she clearly states that going to an elite school is not the only way you can get a job; she actually hires graduates based on what they did with their time at school and how they conduct them selves during their interview. Also she looks for diversity when hiring new employees and she states that her workplace is scattered with people from all different schools. Later in the article O'Shaughnessy touches on the differences she sees in graduates that came from bigger universities versus smaller colleges. Her opinion is that the graduates from "big state schools" tend to be more persistent and can deal with "bureaucratic issues" better because in a larger school you must learn these skills to survive. On the other hand, O'Shaughnessy says the graduates form the smaller schools tend to be the company's best thinkers and come up with the most ideas. So the information gathered from O'Shaughnessy's article is that both larger and smaller schools produce good employees, but they come out of college with different skill sets because of the size of the school they attended. 

 After gathering the information from the three sources the advantages of a degree from a national university versus a private college are still arguable. A public university can offer a cheaper tuition, more degrees, and better facilities; but a degree from a private college has proven to offer higher salaries after graduating. O'Shaughnessy first hand article did prove some interesting points that clearly show the pros of both sides, but she also stated that she focused more on what the graduate did in school rather then which school they attended. Both public universities and private colleges offer valid degrees and when it comes to securing a white collared job it depends more on your major, personal ability, and the grades you graduated with.   

