I wish there was a way...

[Anonymous]

to find out how desperate my kid's SLAC is, financially. I just assume from all of the recent coverage that they are hurting. It seems rude though to call and ask. Plus, most of these schools seem to hold things close to the vest until they close.

I know a few years ago, they had a C financial rating. Any ideas how to proceed (or do we just wait for it all to play out...like so much of this pandemic)? My DC is a 2nd year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to find out how desperate my kid's SLAC is, financially. I just assume from all of the recent coverage that they are hurting. It seems rude though to call and ask. Plus, most of these schools seem to hold things close to the vest until they close.

I know a few years ago, they had a C financial rating. Any ideas how to proceed (or do we just wait for it all to play out...like so much of this pandemic)? My DC is a 2nd year.

What college?
Endowment is one way of checking.

[Anonymous]

Would rather now name it...but it is a very small school in a rural area. Endowment is just over 100 million.

[Anonymous]

Here are 2019 data on Pa college endowments:

https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-pennsylvania-college-endowments-20190131-story.html

it does not of course recent this year's market downturns

[Anonymous]

Assume they are hurting. Vassar, which has a large endowment, is cutting faculty pay and furloughing staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assume they are hurting. Vassar, which has a large endowment, is cutting faculty pay and furloughing staff.

There aren’t many colleges not hurting. Even Harvard took the stimulus money.

Vassar at $1B can weather the storm better than a $100M school.

[Anonymous]

But Harvard was shamed into giving that money back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assume they are hurting. Vassar, which has a large endowment, is cutting faculty pay and furloughing staff.

There aren’t many colleges not hurting. Even Harvard took the stimulus money.

Vassar at $1B can weather the storm better than a $100M school.

taking isn’t always about needing, it can be about wanting or about fear. All of the people lined up around the block for hours and hours don’t necessarily need the free groceries to eat tonight. They may want them, or they may be afraid to spend their money because they don’t know when the rug will be pulled out from under them.

[Anonymous]

Moody's does a rating on SLACs. My own college was downgraded to a negative last December.

[Anonymous]

Thanks...but all of the published ratings seem unreliable at this point, since they were calculated pre-COVID (i.e., before the market crash, international student reluctance to enroll, etc)

[Anonymous]

Yep I have a similar concern. I don’t understand how to read Moody’s ratings

[Anonymous]

Pp here. School had an endowment of 76k per student pre-covid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks...but all of the published ratings seem unreliable at this point, since they were calculated pre-COVID (i.e., before the market crash, international student reluctance to enroll, etc)

Well, if the college was downgraded, as mine was, pre Pandemic, by Moody's, you can rest assured it's place you want to avoid. My college has hit me up for money 8 times since the pandemic started.

[Anonymous]

Dickinson?

[Anonymous]

OP's kid is a sophomore

What exactly are you about? Are you concerned the school is going to close before your child graduates?