Headlines often mention the ongoing power struggle between President Donald Trump’s administration and private universities such as Columbia and Harvard.

However, such elite universities only educate a small percentage of American undergraduate students, with the number of the university reaching 20 million in the fall of 2024.

As an associate professor of higher education, I published research on policies that affect college acquisition, retention, and graduation. My job has checked data from different types of higher education institutions.

Ivis and other elites

Less than 1% of American college students attend elite private universities.

A small group of colleges, composed of Ivy League schools and other highly selective universities, called "Ivy-Plus", fits in this category.

The Ivy League consists of eight private schools and established a sports conference in the 1950s. Member universities are known for their academic excellence.

Ivy-Plus is a highly renowned university across the country, with a similar reputation for outstanding scholars such as Stanford, Duke and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

These universities have very fierce competition for enrollment and usually accept less than 10% of applicants.

What they are more important than any other type of institution is students from high-income backgrounds. Students from high-income families account for 60% to 70% of elite private participants.

Elite private universities award undergraduate and graduate degrees and focus on research.

Elite public universities

Elite public universities such as the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Virginia are close to the rankings of U.S. News and World Report. They are also often flagship universities in their state, such as the University of Michigan.

These universities also have a highly selective admission process, which typically accepts about 10% to 20% of applicants.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public universities have the largest revenue, with approximately 40% coming from government data, including grants, contracts and grants from federal, state and local governments.

Students from high-income families account for 50% to 55% of attendees at elite public universities.

Like elite private universities, elite public universities award undergraduate and graduate degrees and focus on research.

Community College

There are 1,024 community colleges in the United States, serving 39% of undergraduate students.

These two-year public universities award associate degrees with occasional bachelor’s degrees. They also offer certificates, workforce training and non-credit courses to prepare students for college courses.

Community universities have strong teaching focus and are the mission of serving the community. They tend to guarantee admission to anyone who wants to register and offer lower tuition and fees.

Community colleges are also students from low-income families, as well as those considered to be ethnic or minority, or the first student in the family to attend college.

Like other public institutions, community colleges rely heavily on state funds as well as local property taxes.

Regional University

About 70% of all college students attending public four-year institutions enrolled in school.

They include colleges in state systems such as State University of New York and California State University.

Regional public universities have a wide variation in acceptance rates, but they tend to be moderately selective, accepting half to 70% of applicants.

Regional public universities offer a wide range of academic programs, mainly in bachelor’s and master’s degrees. They also rely heavily on state funds.

Small private university

Smaller, fewer private universities typically have an acceptance rate of 60% or more, enrolling 3,000 or fewer students.

Their budget depends mainly on tuition and expenses.

Some of these types of colleges have been intensified by the 19th pandemic since the early 2000s due to the decline in enrollment.

Many of these agencies lack large donations that allow elite private individuals to address the financial challenges brought about by the pandemic.

Due to financial difficulties, many small private universities, such as the College of Eastern Nazareth in Massachusetts, have been closed or merged with other universities.

These small private universities often offer academic programs at the bachelor’s and master’s levels.

Private for-profit

About 5% of students attend private for-profit colleges.

These universities offer convenient format courses that may be attractive to older students, including those working full-time.

For-profit college students disproportionately identify older, black and female. Students attending these universities are also more likely to be single parents.

In recent years, the federal government has violated false commitments made by some for-profit institutions about graduates’ job and income prospects and other outcomes.

Law enforcement has led to the closure of some universities, such as ITT Technical College and Collins University.

Minority Service Agency

The mission of minority services is to serve certain student groups.

Minority services include historically black colleges and universities such as Morehouse College; Hispanic services or HSIS such as Florida International University; Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander Services or Aanapisis such as North Seattle College; and tribal colleges or TCUs such as Blackfeet Community College that serves Native American students.

The federal government determines which universities meet this standard.

These are mainly two- and four-year universities, but some are awarded graduate degrees.