My last blog listed the first five things to consider for finding the right college match: location, size, campus, students, and grades. Here are another five to round out the list: 6. Cost and Affordability: Admissions personnel in private colleges and universities often tell students not to count them out in favor of public colleges and universities because of cost. That's because there are ways in which they discount the cost to students, which can often mean that a private education can cost the same or less than a public one.