Abstract:
This survey research describes the profile of students who attend private higher education and explores the reasons why they prefer to study at private universities in Turkey. In this study private universities are ranked as “high- ranking, middleranking, and low- ranking” so that it will be possible to make comparisons between them, which enable us to understand varying dynamics of Turkish private higher education. Initially, this thesis draws the picture of students profile studying at three different ranks of universities by demonstrating their selected characteristics such as their age, socio economic status and gender. Then, it moves to whether the students’ characteristics show differences according to three ranks of universities and student status (scholarship/non-scholarship students). In the second place, the reasons why these students prefer to study at private universities and whether these reasons differ according to three ranks of universities and student status are analyzed. The data was collected with a questionnaire, particularly developed for this study. Research participants were selected from the universities representing high, middle and low ranking universities. Based on the findings ,it is possible to conclude that students characteristics differ depending on the ranks of universities and student status. For example, the types of high schools they graduated from differ in terms of student status and ranks of universities. Moreover, the reasons why students prefer to study at a private university differ from one another according to ranks of universities and student status. For instance, prestige, job opportunities, facilities are among the reasons which differ according to ranks of universities.
