Do you give $ to your alma mater?.... why or why not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Extremely modest amount and usually to my program of study. Graduated in 1993.

Smaller, state SLAC.

DH alma mater has an emergency fund for students in peril-I’ve given to this on DH behalf. If my school had such a fund that was earmarked for such emergencies, I’d be generous, but unfortunately this information isn’t easily available.

what a great program

GMU has this too. Also a student-founded food and toiletries pantry on campus.

[Anonymous]

No, although I've considered giving to my public undergrad school because I received a lot of merit aid from them. I won't give to my grad school because I spent 9 years there while they paid me poverty level wages to TA for almost a decade. I'm not in a high earning profession now. Looking back at how many of my colleagues did not successfully land jobs in their field, I believe it's an abusive practice of admitting more students than they can place in jobs in order to get cheap labor to teach the undergrad classes. I can't support that model.

[Anonymous]

No, I haven't. Thought about it, but never did.

Now I'm paying college tuition for my child, all extra money goes to that.

[Anonymous]

Gave a token amount every year until last child chose a college, in case the track record of giving plays into legacy admissions. Now we’re done and won’t give another cent. One kid going to one of the alma mater schools, but the legacy status had nothing to do with it (recruited athlete).

[Anonymous]

No, but I did give a large donation after my father passed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. They got my tuition money.

You understand that even people paying full freight aren't paying the full cost of their education, right?

I can think of a lot of good reasons not to donate to one's alma mater, but "I paid tuition, so we're even" isn't one of them.

I know this is true for private HS but is this really valid at the college level? I understand that colleges have many streams of revenue (depending on the school) that would include interest from endowment, sports tickets, grants - but it seems clear to me that a large endowment school like Harvard that is varying tuition by ability to pay - a person paying full tuition could be paying even more than what their own education cost if it was averaged over all students.

This is not a complaint and not even meant as a negative statement....just curious if what you say applies to colleges - or even most colleges - in the same way it applies to HS.

For most colleges and universities, the athletic programs are a cost, not a revenue stream.

That is not true of the Power 5 schools that everyone tends to point to when complaining about money spent on athletics. These schools were hurt badly financially by covid because they lost sports revenue.

[Anonymous]

I went to undergraduate and graduate schools that are Catholic. They are well-known, with rabid alumni. I donated when I was fresh out of school, but no longer. With time and distance, I looked back and realized how toxic the culture was for women, students of color, and non-Catholics at those schools. I just can't support them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. They got my tuition money.

You understand that even people paying full freight aren't paying the full cost of their education, right?

I can think of a lot of good reasons not to donate to one's alma mater, but "I paid tuition, so we're even" isn't one of them.

Yes, of course I understand that. But I do not feel indebted. I did not get one penny of financial assistance from the school. My parents also did not give me one penny, either while I lived at home the first year or for the two years after I moved out. So I largely worked full-time during my undergrad experience. I donate money to charity but I do not give money to the state university where I got my undergraduate degree. I graduated from a top-five law school that is sloshing around and money and does not need my modest donation. Lastly, given the ridiculous swelling of administration positions, salaries, and costs, along with the ridiculous Club Medification of institutions, I just don’t feel I need to donate money to those institutions. If they start cutting administrator salary and start paying adjunct instructors a decent rate, then we can talk and maybe I would reconsider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to undergraduate and graduate schools that are Catholic. They are well-known, with rabid alumni. I donated when I was fresh out of school, but no longer. With time and distance, I looked back and realized how toxic the culture was for women, students of color, and non-Catholics at those schools. I just can't support them.

Cool. The women graduates of Catholic colleges I know tend to be devout alums. And I also know several POC grads and even Jewish grads who had great experiences.

I don't donate to my alma mater (Ivy) because they have enough money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to undergraduate and graduate schools that are Catholic. They are well-known, with rabid alumni. I donated when I was fresh out of school, but no longer. With time and distance, I looked back and realized how toxic the culture was for women, students of color, and non-Catholics at those schools. I just can't support them.

Cool. The women graduates of Catholic colleges I know tend to be devout alums. And I also know several POC grads and even Jewish grads who had great experiences.

I don't donate to my alma mater (Ivy) because they have enough money.

I bet I know more people who went to Catholic schools than you...you know, since I went to one and you went to a secular institution.

But thank you so much for imparting your opinion based on a limited sample.