The right’s war on college: “Starving the Beast” exposes the fight to destroy America’s great public universities Check out the documentary "Starving the Beast" for more. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4IlFhJ78QdU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Not only that, how many people are in major life crisis debt because of these universities and had to live like crap for years to pay off that debt or can never pay off that debt?
I have been through a few schools but the UT's medical school truly gave me the professors I needed to succeed. I paid alot of money for sh/t education throughout my life, but when I was finally offered a staff that did everything they could to make sure I understood and mastered the material.. even though I paid them, I'm so very thankful and will always feel 'indebt' to them. Another reason is medical school is hard to get into, it is a rigorous process and they CHOSE ME.. Again, I will always be thankful for that opportunity they gave me. If I had the previous staffs at other schools I may have not mastered the material, I may have not got into the career I wanted and succeeded in it at the same level which would be bummer for me, and also put peoples lives at risk. I'll donate money to my school because even though I paid them, they held up their end of the bargain and I'm thankful. I wouldn't be making an insane amount of money in a career I like without their concern. I want to donate to promote them, I want to donate so they have more to offer students because I know they WILL offer students more. at least that is MY reason You also want Doctors to be trained exceptionally well. Medical malpractice and errors are on the rise. I want to do my part, in whatever way, my way being donating money to the school to make sure future Doctors are receiving the best education possible to go on in their career and perform to the standards required. I could put my donation into a scholarship fund to give very poor potential superstar doctors financial help.. even if it means something simple like maybe they wont have to live of ramen noodles but can eat real nutritional food to help promote more efficient studying. These poor students are studying 8-12 hours literally every single day. I know, I've been through that grind.. Ramen sucked!! The world needs more great doctors. They will keep getting my money
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Well, understand my bias, OP/DD, and I'll admit I've done some fundraising for my U. (a non-profit, as most of them are), but here are some reasons. 1. As one donor told me, universities are like big ocean liners. If you like the direction they are going and what they're going to do with your money, you don't have to worry about them changing course next year (or going under completely, as with many other charitable causes). 2. Some people think investing in the education of the next generation is one of the best investments they can make. And you admitted that scholarships make sense -- those are one of the most popular causes that alumni donate to. 3. Universities have a lot of "in perpetuity" options for donors. Like name this scholarship for your favorite and now-dead professor, and we'll give a $10k scholarship in that professor's name, in perpetuity, using the interest on your gift, etc, etc. I don't give money to my own alma mater, but I totally see why people do. Cheers. PS -- tuition is rising for largely three reasons, IMHO: divestment by state and federal government, as per Rashmon's post above; increasingly bloated administrative and staff ranks; (and fitting with and causing that in part) massively increased federal and local regulations that drive more costs and staffing units. Some of those regulations are really good (title 9, for instance), but they all mean a U. has to open more offices, hire more staff, probably even get some consultants, etc, etc. Most universities really do need their donations and are just barely balancing their books. The Harvards and Stanfords are outliers, and I *really* do not understand why people donate to schools like that. It's like cheering for the Yankees or something.
I always pitch the extremely highly produced ($$$) donation requests. Aren't they making enough $$$ from collegiate sports?
It's important now more so than ever. Enrollment exploded and you had a lot more kids who expected to maintain the same middle- or upper-middle class lifestyle they did at home, the proliferation of retail development inflated land values around and on the campus and everyone decided they needed quasi-luxury condos and 24-hour rec centers. State governments will never be able to cover those costs as average campus populations creep up to 30,000 - 40,000.
Donations would conceivably help that by funding scholarships or lower costs and tuition. So would getting a marketable major or networking and apportioning some of the party time to mailing out resumes every night. People overborrow on houses, cars and travel all the time and somehow it's easier to shift accountability back to them.
This is what I was going to post. Your money can help, but giving the money to school's with large endowments is stupid. You should read about this guy. Donated $126 million to a no-name college and has created a huge engineering program for historically underprivileged students. http://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/how-henry-rowan-changed-glassboro-state-forever/
I admire anyone who supports a student or students getting a university education. Pardon me for patting myself and the significant other on the back, since one kid is out of school and he's doing great in his professional life as a software developer (6 figures last year at age 24 in Austin ain't too shabby - that sound you hear would be the S.O. and I howling with delight at his success), and we are 2 years removed from getting the other son graduated and off on his own with a career in computer animation. (yes, parental bragging going on here, as well) Thanks for starting the thread, OP. It gave me something new to think about. Starting a scholarship in my late father's name at the university where he was a department chair for decades is a great idea, if a couple of other family members I can think of are willing to join me. I have no idea how much would be required to fund an annual scholarship, in "perpetuity," of probably $3,000 a year ($1500 per semester for 4 years, minimum 15 hours completed per semester each school year, with a 3.0 grade minimum grade average over the course of the year). Anyone know?
Most college/universities are qualified under IRS to receive charity donation credit thing, which is great and help football/basketball coach to be well paid . Staffs also can aim to upgrade their gadget to the next cool thing when they have enough fund . But bottom line : they do issue a legit donation receipt .
Jeremy Lin Donates $1 Million to Harvard to help financial aid and build a stadium??? wtf...like Harvard needs help giving students financial aid and help paying for a stadium. This is exactly what @DaDakota and Malcolm Gladwell are talking about Maybe this Forbes article was correct after all: Jeremy Lin May Be The Dumbest Harvard Grad Ever
Won't comment on the stadium thing, but it IS important to keep in mind is that most elite private universities tend to give some of the most generous financial aid packages to students in need. If someone's qualified, money won't keep them out.
It's only looks "Generous" because the school tuition is so artificially inflated, to exuberant spending levels by elite parents. Every school gives very generous free full-rides to students. Don't pat Harvard on the back because $75K minus $0 is a bigger number than $25k minus $0. Harvard doesn't need the many to pay huge tuition, to help give aid to few. They have a $40B endowment, or something like that. Harvard doesn't need Jeremy Lin's $1m to help with that. Gladwell's point is other schools need that money to help even more students...for maximum value.
I'm pretty sure the % of students receiving that aid is higher than at most other schools, not just the total $$s given. I could be mistaken, and I'm honestly not invested enough in the argument to look it up.
