What exactly is a college's "endowment"?

Question

What does it mean when articles discuss the amount of a college's endowment?

Answer 1

The endowment is the amount of money the college has in the bank that it doesn't use to pay bills with. It usually comes from gifts from the alumni.

If the endowment is high, it can be assumed the alumni have a lot of money. If the alumni has a lot of money then the college did a good job of preparing them to make money. ☺

Colleges use the interest from the endowment fund to pay for cool things like scholarships for students. A college with a huge endowment doesn't need to be as concerned about getting 100% tuition out of you.

They can also afford to repair buildings and buy new technology and.... well, you see.

Answer 2

The endowment is money in the bank (probably in a portfolio of investments). Endowments are typically managed by the college's foundation, and are the result of fund raising and gifts to the college. Colleges, mostly, use the return on the endowment investment to help with on-going costs and to build a larger endowment. It is a measure of the school's wealth and often, but not always, reflects the wealth of students, at least the wealth of alumni who give to the school.

Grinnell college in Iowa has the largest endowment per student, while Harvard has the largest endowment.

Answer 3

Endowment Per Student

Answer 4

The endowment is the amount of money people have given the college over the years and what it is now worth.

Answer 5

It basically means the value of all the property, stocks, and money the college has as investments that they can use to generate income. Mostly it comes from getting large donations from rich alumni, or occasionally other rich people, and then investing that money well.

Answer 6

how much money they get from alumni, investors, donations things like that