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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]UW alum 15 years out. I've done well in my career and LOVED my time there. A universally beloved undergraduate experience creates a strong and passionate alumni network. [/quote]

Endowments are a good indicator of student satisfaction.  Wisconsin and Michigan are similarly sized institutions.  Wisconsin’s endowment is approx. 3.5 billion.  Michigan’s endowment is over 17 billion.   So you tell me, where are the “passionate” graduates of Wisconsin when it comes to giving back? [/quote]

Sounds like OP is considering the wrong schools.  Texas and Texas A&M have the largest endowments by far, so are clearly the best.[/quote]

Not really:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/10-universities-with-the-biggest-endowments[/quote]

The endowment for the University of Texas is almost $43 billion.  It's the richest public university by far and second only to Harvard when private schools are included.  Michigan isn't even close with only $17 billion.

[url]https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/02/17/college-endowments-dropped-fiscal-year-2022[/url][/quote]

The OP stated that both Texas AND Texas A&M had much larger endowments than Michigan. That was not accurate. TAM has a similar endowment to Michigan with many more campuses and students to educate.  Furthermore, Texas has over 430,000 students on 14 campuses, a few bigger than most state flagships, using that same endowment. Michigan has only 3 campuses and less than 15% in comparison to the amount of students at UT.  Ann Arbor also gets, by far, the largest share of the endowment proceeds.

Here is a listing of the 4 largest public university endowments:

Institution	State	Endowment[3]
(billions USD - FY2022)
University of Texas System	Texas	$42.668
Texas A&M University System[b]	Texas	$18.243
University of Michigan	Michigan	$17.347
University of California System[c]	California	$15.418

No public is close to the University of  Texas system. 
[/quote]

This isn't about how endowment funds are distributed or used.  The PP at 21:03 implied that Michigan's large endowment means it has the most satisfied students.  As you and others have noted, the calculus of endowment size is considerably more complicated than that and impacted by a wide variety of factors, not the least of which is the average wealth of students who are admitted and choose to attend in the first place.  A (slightly) better measure might be the alumni giving rate.  Not surprisingly, that category is dominated by expensive private universities. The top public is neither Michigan or Wisconsin--it's William and Mary.

[url]https://news.wm.edu/2022/09/12/wm-remains-top-public-university-for-alumni-giving-in-u-s-news-rankings/[/url]
 [/quote]

It simply means that Michigan’s graduates give back more to their Alma Mater than Wisconsin’s 
Nowhere did the OP say otherwise.  They are similarly sized schools with a huge endowment difference.  That’s it.  [/quote]

You seem dense.  The endowment size alone could reflect endowment spending, investment performance, and business decisions made 50-100 years ago much more than recent alumni giving.  Focusing on participate rates makes more sense.[/quote]

You know very little about Michigan obviously. Michigan made a concerted effort to increase their endowment about 30 years ago when it became obvious that the state was not properly funding the school.  There have been numerous campaigns to strengthen the endowment since then. Participation rates are cute, but it takes big bucks to maintain a school.  In the meantime we’re comparing Michigan to Wisconsin, not some smallish private LAC type school. Try to focus on that obvious fact and quit with the ad hominem attacks.  [/quote]

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