[molmalo]

Yes, there are several private universities in Argentina. While some of them have a very good level, some are pretty much just a means to buy a diploma. That, and especially the fact that they are much older, is why some of the public ones are much more respected (UBA - Universidad de Buenos Aires, UTN - Universidad Tecnologica Nacional - Universidad Nacional de Cordoba) than the private ones.

The main problem with public and free higher education is that at least the first two years, there are A LOT of people assisting who will eventually drop out.

And students coming from poorer families are the most vulnerable, and tend to drop out in a much higher percentage, some of the reasons being: - they have to work to help their families. - they have children at a younger age. - lack the money to take the bus or train everyday (no campus to live in). - they lack of a solid high school education. In the end, only the ones who can persist and really have the will to finish their studies will get the diploma. But if they can get it, they will surely have a much better life (economically speaking) than their parents.

[conanbatt]

Depends on the degree though: Medicine at UBA is a disaster, and other subjects like Accounting and Law don't have much prestige(maybe because it doesn't matter to those degrees).

UBA has its own problems with budget managing, building decay and internal governability issues. Not to mention that is not only free for Argentinians, but free for anyone, which presents extra strains on its budget.

Im all up for free college education tho, it would change the landscape in the US forever if colleges were non-profit oriented.

[lfottaviano]

Medicine@UBA a disaster? Are you talking seriously? Do you have arguments to say that?

[conanbatt]

Many, I took a random class there and had friends there.

1) Decay is tremendous in Medicine: there are pests and cockroaches everywhere. Bathrooms are used very indecently and its not even safe. Girls dont dare go alone to several bathrooms in the building.

2) Under-budgeted: labs are unequipped and classes have an inordinate amount of people for the number of teachers they have.

3) Kafkesque paperwork and Draconian teachers : there are so many people going to medicine in UBA that students get no attention or assistance. The emotional health of med students is disastrous there, people break down a lot.

A few private med schools actually are pretty prestigious and when you study there, you can actually focus on studying medicine and not just surviving an ordeal.