In case you missed it, reporter Colin Hickey did a good job explaining the reasons behind the escalating costs of a college education in Sunday's newspapers.

You can read his stories here:
Some parents find coping with college costs daunting

Intimidating costs can be managed

But I have a different question: Do you feel a private or public college education is best? There are several ways to look at this.

If you examine raw tuition and reimbursement, U-Maine and its nonflagship campuses cost roughly a third of what Maine's "elite" private schools do.

Then again, the private colleges will tell you they have nice financial-aid packages and hefty endowments. So really, they argue, they are just several thousand dollars a year more for most Mainers than a Maine public university would be, all things considered.

A note of full disclosure: I went to Shippensburg University of Pa., a Division II state college in my home state, and graduated in 1983. I remember it cost about $4,000 a year then, for tuition and room and board. My parents were poor but my grandfather was not, and he left us enough so I only graduated with about $1,500 in debt (I had part-time jobs all through college, and won one scholarship) after four years.

If or when you have the choice, will you send your child to -- or will you go to -- a private school over a public one, if you can?

I see two arguments here:

1. A public university is more like the typical workplace demographically. Unless you are trying to end up in a top law firm, accounting firm, or become a physician, to me, I think vying in college "against" those whom you will vie with/against in the real world is a plus for public education. I actually believe a kid who goes to a private high school, an elite college and then enters a "typical" work force is at a DIS-advantage.

2. But then there's quality. You walk on the campus at Colby or Bowdoin or Bates, you go to the events and lectures and -- if you're little ol' Shippensburg me -- you think, "Wow, this is really well done." As a father of two daughters, it's tempting to try to send them to the best I can (period), and see what happens.

Personally, and I've thought about this a lot for some reason, I'd go to Shippensburg again and not change a thing.

But what do you think?