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10 Universities With the Biggest Endowments

By U.S. News & World Report

The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.

Colleges with large endowments generally have more money available to spend on academic programs, school facilities, extracurricular activities, research and financial aid, and these schools can afford to recruit distinguished professors. In addition, large college endowments indicate a school has exceptionally wealthy alumni and generous donors.

The growth of U.S. college endowments slowed in fiscal year 2015 with an average growth rate of 2.4 percent compared with 15.5 percent in 2014, according to a national survey of 812 colleges and universities.

[Find out the 10 most and least expensive private colleges.]

Slower growth in endowments may be a problem for universities. Schools turn to their endowments for, on average, nearly 10 percent of their operating funds, said John D. Walda, president and CEO of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, in a written statement. “Lower returns may make it even tougher for colleges and universities to adequately fund financial aid, research, and other programs that are very reliant on endowment earnings and are vital to institutions’ missions.”

The 10 colleges with the largest endowments in fiscal year 2015 are the same as in 2014, and Harvard University remains the clear front-runner with an endowment of $37.6 billion. Nine of the 10 increased the size of their endowments in fiscal year 2015. The one exception is Texas A&M University–College Station, whose endowment was $9.75 billion in 2015 compared with $10.52 billion in 2014. Texas A&M came in eighth among the 1,146 ranked colleges that reported these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, compared with sixth place in the prior version of this list.

[Understand why public school may not be the cheapest option.]

All of the colleges with the biggest endowments are National Universities — schools that emphasize research and offer not only bachelor’s degrees but also master’s and doctoral degrees.

Among the 10 colleges with the largest endowments at the end of fiscal year 2015, the average endowment was $16.9 billion compared with $16.2 billion in 2014.

The median U.S. college endowment at the end of fiscal year 2015 was $58.8 million.

Below is a list of the 10 universities with the largest endowments at the end of fiscal year 2015. Endowments were examined by campus, not across public university systems. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.

School name (state) End of fiscal year 2015 endowment U.S. News rank and category
Harvard University (MA) $37,615,545,000 2, National Universities
Yale University (CT) $25,542,983,000 3 (tie), National Universities
Princeton University (NJ) $22,291,270,000 1, National Universities
Stanford University (CA) $22,222,957,000 5 (tie), National Universities
Massachusetts Institute of Technology $13,474,743,000 7, National Universities
University of Pennsylvania $10,133,569,000 8 (tie), National Universities
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor $9,809,705,000 27 (tie), National Universities
Texas A&M University–College Station $9,754,202,036 74 (tie), National Universities
Columbia University (NY) $9,639,065,000 5 (tie), National Universities
University of Notre Dame (IN) $8,784,381,000 15 (tie), National Universities

Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find endowment data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2016 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The endowment data above are correct as of Oct. 4, 2016.

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10 Universities With the Biggest Endowments originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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